News: The Union Cabinet approved a ₹76,000 crore scheme to boost semiconductor and display manufacturing. With this, the total amount of incentives announced for the electronics sector became ₹2.30 lakh crore. Read the news here.

Let’s Understand In Simple Language:

The Union Cabinet has approved a total of 76000 crore rupees for the development of semiconductors through its comprehensive program for the development of a sustainable semiconductor and display ecosystem in the country. The approval was given on 15th December 2021. Under this scheme, with the government’s support, at least 15 units of Compound Semiconductors and Semiconductor Packaging are expected to be established.

According to the government, the boost to the semiconductor industry will lead to a new era in electronics manufacturing by providing a globally competitive incentive package to companies in semiconductors and display manufacturing as well as design.

Through this scheme, financial support of up to 50 percent of the project cost will be given for setting up semiconductor and display fabrication units. Moreover, the Central government will also work in tandem with the State Governments to set up high-tech clusters with the necessary infrastructure such as land and semiconductor-grade water.

Not just this! In order to give long-term support, boost, and make the production of semiconductors in the country sustainable, the government is planning to set up an ‘India Semiconductor Mission’. This Mission will be a specialized and independent Mission.

At the moment, as India does not produce any semiconductors, the country’s demands are met with imports. The demand for semiconductors in India will reportedly reach around $100 billion by 2025, up from the current demand of $2 billion.

According to a report by the SEMICONDUCTOR INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION, the United States’ firm’s formed around 47 percent of the total semiconductor sales of the world in 2020. South Korea – 20 percent, China just 5 percent, Taiwan hovers around 7, and the European Union 10 percent.

What are Semiconductors?

A semiconductor is a material product comprising of silicon, which conducts electricity more than an insulator, such as glass, but less than a pure conductor, such as copper or aluminum. Their conductivity and other properties can be altered with the introduction of impurities, called doping, to meet the specific needs of the electronic component in which it resides. Also known as semis, or chips, semiconductors can be found in thousands of products such as computers, smartphones, appliances, gaming hardware, and medical equipment.

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These semiconductor devices with their useful properties are used in a variety of products. Some of these semiconductors are used for showing variable resistances, reactions to light or heat, amplifying signals, and displaying energy conversions, etc.

Semiconductors are those substances whose conductivity lies between that of a conductor and an insulator.

On the basis of purity, semiconductors are divided into two types:

1. Intrinsic semiconductor
2. Extrinsic semiconductor

Further, extrinsic semiconductors are divided into two types:

1. n-type semiconductors
2. p-type semiconductors

Broadly, the semiconductors or chips are classified into four types:

1. Memory.
2. Microprocessors.
3. Commodity Integrated Circuit.
4. Complex SOC (System on a Chip).

Questions related to the topic:

Q. Which of the following is the most commonly used semiconductor?

1. Silicon
2. Carbon
3. Germanium
4. Sulphur

Answer: (a)

Q. What happens to the resistance of a pure semiconductor when heated?

1. The resistance increases
2. The resistance decreases
3. The temperature remains the same
4. None of the above

Answer: (b)

Q. Which of the following does the resistivity of a semiconductor depend upon?

1. Length of the semiconductor
2. Atomic nature of the semiconductor
3. Shape and atomic nature of the semiconductor
4. Shape of semiconductor

Answer: (b)

Q. Which of the following statements is true about extrinsic semiconductors?

1. The gap between the conduction band and the valence bond is more than 16 eV
2. The gap between the conduction band and the valence bond is about 1 eV
3. The gap between the conduction band and valence band is 100 eV and more
4. The conduction band and the valence band overlap.

Answer: (b)

Q. At ordinary temperature, an increase in temperature increases the conductivity of_______

(a) a semiconductor

(b) a conductor

(c) a superconductor

(d) an insulator

Answer: (a)

Q. How will the Cabinet’s decision to support the semiconductor industry impact the Indian market in a global competitive scenario? (250 words)

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