Case Study: Best Methods in Protecting the Semiconductor Chip

Introduction

The semiconductor industry relies on circuit miniaturisation and innovation in the design of chips. As, however, chips shrink to smaller sizes and get powerful, they are more prone to damage, interference and fraud. It thus requires strong protection techniques both at manufacture and later.

The growth semiconductor ecosystem of India has been on the move to rapid progress in chip protection adoption and innovation. Be it PCB design and manufacture in India or the more advanced security protocols implemented by semiconductor design manufacturers in India, chip protection has been transforming the industry landscape.

Why Chip Protection is Critical

Physical Damage: Chips can be sensitive to physical effects such as handling or packaging errors.

• Moisture, heat, and electromagnetic interference damage the chip.
• Global supply chains leave chips vulnerable to counterfeiting and tampering. They become risks for sensitive applications, therefore.
• Malicious individuals can exploit vulnerabilities of chip design for copying or interference.

Unless protection is done well, these factors could cause system failure, loss in efficiency, or security compromise in industries like telecommunication and defence etc.

Methods for the Protection of Semiconductor Chips

Let’s discuss the good practices adopted by the industry towards protecting semiconductor chips.

1. Encapsulation and Packaging: The encapsulation guards the chip from every type of physical damage, and also environmental damage since the chips are encapsulated in extremely rugged epoxy resins. The premium packaging also includes thermal dissipation which is required for high-performance chips.

Case Study: SPEL Semiconductor: One of the significant semiconductor houses in India is believed to be encapsulated by SPEL Semiconductor. With low cost and very high reliability, chips have ensured that even under aggressive environmental conditions, they work well; they also cover both international and domestic markets.

2. Conformal Coating: Thin polymer films deposited on PCBs and chips ensure that the invasion of the contaminants, which include moisture, dust and chemicals, do not penetrate.

Example: PCB Power Market is one of the leading PCB design and manufacturing companies in India. The company uses conformal coating processes in its production lines to make the chips more durable for automotive and industrial applications.

3. Hardware-Based Security Techniques: Hardware-based solutions are the need of the hour as cyber threats are on the rise, and one should not allow unauthorized access or tampering.
4. On-Chip Encryption: Cryptographic keys are embedded in the chips for data encryption.
5. Physically Unclonable Functions (PUFs): These rely on the properties of the chip material to produce unique identifiers and hence authenticity.

Tata Elxsi is one of the largest semiconductor designing manufacturers in India, and they use PUF-based security in their chip designs mainly for IoT and automotive usage.

4. Anti-Counterfeit Measures: The biggest challenge for the global semiconductors’ supply chains is counterfeiting. Laser marking, holograms, and blockchain-based tracking techniques are being increasingly adopted.

Example: Vedanta-Foxconn Semiconductor JV is spearheading blockchain-based supply chain management to ensure the authenticity of chips, one of the most critical issues the industry faces.

5. EMI Shielding: EMI can severely degrade the chip performance, especially in highly congested electronic systems. Shielding materials such as metallic coatings and conductive tapes are applied on chips and PCBs.

Case study: Saankhya Labs: A semiconductor designing company in India uses EMI shielding in chips designed for 5G satellite communication where the performances are designed to be optimized at a high frequency.

6. Advanced PCB Design for Chip Protection: Safe chips require a good PCB. It is reliable because it has surge protectors, heat sinks, and reinforced traces.

Example: Meena Circuits is one of the leading companies in designing and manufacturing PCBs in India. In its tie-up with the semiconductor companies in producing a PCB layout, which will prevent chip voltage surges and overheating.

7. Environmental Stress Screening (ESS): ESS exposes the chips to extreme conditions so that they get weaknesses early and hence, only strong chips reach the market.

In this context, the companies like Wipro add ESS characteristics to semiconductor design and manufacture for Indian locations so that high-quality chip reliability comes as a guarantee when it goes on applications like aerospace and defense requirements.

8. Tamper Resistant Packaging: The packaging detects and prevents entry with unwanted individuals during transit or deployment as provided by chemical coatings that undergo a color change upon tampering.

Example: Global technology companies partnering with Indian PCB manufacturing companies use tamper-proof seals so that the integrity of chips is maintained throughout the supply chain.

9. Die-Level Protection Methods: They add low-k dielectric layers that improve durability and thermal stability at the die level.

Case Study: Silicon Labs with Indian Manufacturers: Silicon Labs has exploited the latest die protection techniques collaboratively with Indian PCB design houses for industrial automation applications that are extremely robust.

Chip Protection Ecosystem in Indian Semiconductors

Indian semiconductors, ably supported by the Semiconductor Mission, follow the best global industry practices in chip protection. Domestic companies, through collaborative partnerships with international collaborations, strive towards:

• Training Engineers
• Advanced Defence Solutions for the Engineers
• Investments in Infrastructures
• R&D Centers for the Evolution of Innovative Solutions
• Policy by Government
• PLI Scheme to facilitate the investment in chip protection technology

Future Trends in Semiconductors

Protection with Chip Protection:

• Production Analytics data using AI and ML models: AI/ML Models predict vulnerability thus reducing the defectiveness rate
• Quantum Secure Chip: The quantum-resistant chips will be required in the future when security will be a problem due to the maturity of quantum computing
• Nanotechnology Coatings: The best protection against environmental stress, nano-coating is about to revolutionize the chip’s durability.
• 3D Packaging and Integration: New technologies of 3D packaging, in which chips are vertically stacked, are going to enhance protection due to less physical exposure.

Interactive Discussion: India’s Advantage in PCB Design and Manufacturing

India is fast becoming one of the prominent PCB manufacturing hubs. Companies such as PCB Power Market and Meena Circuits can service the domestic market and also reach out to the international market, thus solving the problems of many industries. The country’s position in the global semiconductor supply chain is enhanced through a focus on chip protection through innovative design and sophisticated manufacturing techniques.

Case Study: Actual Life Use of Protectant Techniques

Case Study: Automotive automobile company has been consistently showing failure from chips due to moisture entrance into the chip.

Case Solution: Conformal coating as well as EMI shield in the system with joint operation of Saankhya Labs. Due to this, failure cases were extremely low and this system managed to work consecutively at extreme climatic conditions as well.

Results: Consequently, the company was able to observe a 35% decrease in its warranty claims related to electronic failures; thus, the protective mechanisms for the chip have been proved feasible.

Conclusion

A semiconductor chip is vital for the reliability and performance of electronic devices combined with long-term efficiency. India is rapidly developing PCB design and manufacturing capabilities and making progress in the domain of semiconductor designing manufacturers. The country is poised to take pole position in the world as the sector becomes immersed with AI, blockchain, and nanotechnology.

Indian companies, with the help of the government, will develop tamper-proof and high-performance chips that meet international demands.

FAQs

1. Why is chip protection important in semiconductor manufacturing?

Chip protection as such ensures reliability and longevity because it safeguards against physical damage, environmental degradation, and security vulnerabilities.

2. Which Indian companies are on par with the international standards of PCB designing and chip protection?

Leading Indian companies among them: PCB Power Market, Meena Circuits, and SPEL Semiconductor – leading providers in India of the latest and latest technologies in the PCB design and chip protection industry. A and SPEL Semiconductor are top companies in PCB design and chip protection technologies in India.