Quick Take
- MeitY launched India’s first silicon photonics PDK and PPIC Test Engine at IIT Madras on April 24, 2026.
- The 50-component PDK frees Indian startups from reliance on US and European photonics design tools.
- Multi-project wafer fabrication runs start July 2026, with domestic packaging via Bengaluru’s izmo Microsystems.
India silicon photonics has crossed a foundational threshold. On April 24, 2026, MeitY Secretary S. Krishnan launched two indigenously developed silicon photonics tools at IIT Madras in Chennai: a Silicon Photonics Process Design Kit (PDK) containing more than 50 verified components, and a Universal Programmable Photonic Integrated Circuit (PPIC) Test Engine. Both were built at the MeitY-sponsored Centre of Excellence for Compound Semiconductors and Photonic Integrated Circuits (CoE-CPPICS) at IIT Madras. Until this launch, Indian researchers and startups designing photonic chips had no choice but to use foreign design kits and send prototypes overseas for testing.
That dependency is now broken at the design layer — the first and most critical step in building any chip.
StartupFeed Insight
Most semiconductor debate in India focuses on fab infrastructure — who will build the next chip factory. That misses the strategic leverage point. A PDK is the design layer: it is the set of rules and components engineers use before fabrication even begins. Controlling the design layer is how countries build long-term chip sovereignty. Belgium’s IMEC and France’s CEA-Leti built global influence through their PDKs, not their fabs. IIT Madras has now done the same for photonic chips. India silicon photonics is also better positioned than legacy silicon: it is an emerging domain with no entrenched Taiwan or US monopoly yet. Deep-tech VCs, defense R&D organisations, and semiconductor startups building for 5G, 6G, or AI data centres should treat this as an infrastructure unlock, not just an academic milestone. Expect India to announce a dedicated silicon photonics fab under India Semiconductor Mission 2.0 by Q2 FY28, modelled on the IMEC anchor-institution framework. — StartupFeed Desk
What Did IIT Madras Launch and Why Does It Matter?
Silicon photonics is a technology where chips use light — photons — instead of electricity to move and process data. Conventional chips move electrons, which generate heat and hit physical speed limits. Photonic chips move data at the speed of light, consume far less power, and generate far less heat. They are central to the next generation of data centres, 5G and 6G networks, AI accelerators, and quantum computing hardware.
| What Was Launched | What It Does | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Silicon Photonics PDK (50+ components) | Library of verified building blocks for designing photonic chips | Indian designers no longer need foreign PDKs from US or Europe |
| Universal PPIC Test Engine | Tests Programmable Photonic Integrated Circuits domestically | Eliminates need to ship prototypes to overseas test facilities |
| CMOS-compatible technology | Works with existing semiconductor manufacturing lines | No need to build new fabs from scratch for photonic chip production |
| SilTerra Malaysia (foundry partner) | 200mm CMOS-compatible fab for fabrication runs | First fabrication outside Taiwan for this technology category |
| izmo Microsystems, Bengaluru (packaging) | Domestic photonic IC packaging partner | Closes the India-based supply chain from design to packaged chip |
| MPW runs (from July 2026) | Multiple chip designs share a single wafer | Dramatically cuts prototype cost for startups and research groups |
The PDK is the most critical element. Think of it as the rules of the road for chip designers — a library of pre-verified components (waveguides, modulators, photodetectors, couplers) that engineers combine to build a working chip design. Without an indigenous PDK, every Indian researcher and startup had to license foreign tools, submit designs through foreign gatekeepers, and accept foreign terms for access.
Bijoy Krishna Das, chief investigator at CoE-CPPICS, said the centre will begin enabling silicon photonics Multi-Project Wafer fabrication runs from July 2026. MPW runs let multiple organisations share a single wafer, splitting fabrication costs — a model that makes chip prototyping affordable for startups and university labs that cannot afford a full wafer run on their own.
About CoE-CPPICS, IIT Madras
The Centre of Excellence for Compound Semiconductors and Photonic Integrated Circuits (CoE-CPPICS) at IIT Madras was established on December 29, 2020 under a MeitY sponsorship. Led by chief investigator Bijoy Krishna Das, with Prof. Shanti Bhattacharya heading the Department of Electrical Engineering, it operates on a Product Research, Development and Manufacturing (PRDM) model designed to push technology all the way to commercial manufacturing. It serves as a shared national facility for India’s photonics research and development community, open to industries, startups, academic institutions, and defence R&D organisations across classical and quantum technology regimes.
How Does India Silicon Photonics Compare to Global Leaders?
Silicon photonics PDKs are controlled by a small number of institutions globally. India’s launch puts IIT Madras in the same category as the world’s most influential photonics research institutions.
| Institution / Country | PDK Status | Platform Name |
|---|---|---|
| IMEC, Belgium | Established — global benchmark | iSiPP / silicon photonics MPW |
| CEA-Leti, France | Established — European standard | Leti 200mm / 300mm platforms |
| IME A*STAR, Singapore | Established — Asia Pacific hub | Silicon photonics MPW service |
| Intel, USA | Proprietary (internal use only) | Intel Silicon Photonics |
| IIT Madras, India | Launched April 24, 2026 | CoE-CPPICS PDK + PPIC Test Engine |
| Taiwan (TSMC) | No major public photonics PDK | Conventional CMOS dominant |
The comparison reveals something counterintuitive: Taiwan — the world’s dominant chip manufacturer — does not have a widely accessible silicon photonics PDK platform. India, by building one indigenously, has leapfrogged the conventional semiconductor hierarchy in this specific emerging category. MeitY Secretary S. Krishnan called for a dedicated silicon photonics fabrication facility under the India Semiconductor Mission to complete the end-to-end domestic capability, noting that design tools without a domestic fab still leave India partially exposed.
What Does This Mean for Indian Startups and Researchers?
Before this launch, an Indian startup wanting to design a photonic chip had to access a foreign PDK — most likely from IMEC, CEA-Leti, or a proprietary tool — which required navigating foreign licensing, export control sensitivities, and overseas fabrication lead times. The cost and bureaucracy effectively locked out most early-stage teams.
Now, Indian startups can design photonic chips using a domestic toolkit, test them at IIT Madras, and submit designs for fabrication through the MPW programme starting July 2026 at SilTerra Malaysia — with packaging handled domestically by izmo Microsystems in Bengaluru. The full design-test-package pipeline is now accessible without a single US or European gatekeeper in the critical design and test stages.
The applications are wide. In defence, photonic chips enable LiDAR, secure optical communications, and quantum key distribution. In telecom, they are the backbone of 400G and 800G data centre interconnects and 6G fronthaul. In AI, photonic accelerators promise to process neural network inference at dramatically lower power than GPU clusters.
What’s Next
The immediate milestone is the MPW fabrication run in July 2026. Watch for the first batch of Indian startup and academic designs to go through the CoE-CPPICS pipeline — the results will determine how quickly the programme builds credibility. The longer-term indicator is the India Semiconductor Mission’s decision on a domestic silicon photonics fab. MeitY officials indicated it may be established under India Semiconductor Mission 2.0 after commercial capabilities are demonstrated.
Will IIT Madras’s CoE-CPPICS become the IMEC of Asia — the anchor institution that defines India silicon photonics for the next two decades?
Frequently Asked Questions
What is silicon photonics and why is it important for India?
Silicon photonics is a technology where chips use light (photons) instead of electricity (electrons) to move and process data. Photonic chips are dramatically faster, consume far less power, and generate less heat than conventional electronic chips. India silicon photonics matters because it targets the next generation of technology — AI data centres, 5G and 6G networks, quantum computing — where no country has yet built an unassailable lead. By building indigenous design tools now, India positions itself to compete in this domain before it becomes dominated by existing incumbents.
What exactly did IIT Madras launch on April 24, 2026?
IIT Madras launched two silicon photonics tools developed at its MeitY-sponsored Centre of Excellence, CoE-CPPICS. The first is a Silicon Photonics Process Design Kit (PDK) with more than 50 verified components — the foundational toolkit for designing photonic chips — that Indian researchers and startups can now use without accessing foreign tools. The second is a Universal PPIC (Programmable Photonic Integrated Circuit) Test Engine for testing photonic chip designs domestically. Together, they cover the design and test stages of the photonic chip development pipeline within India.
Does this mean India can now make silicon photonics chips without the US or Taiwan?
At the design and testing layer, yes. Indian researchers and startups can now design and test photonic chips using entirely domestic tools. For fabrication, the centre’s current partner is SilTerra Malaysia — not Taiwan or the US — significantly reducing the geopolitical exposure in this technology segment. A domestic fabrication facility has been proposed under India Semiconductor Mission 2.0, which would complete end-to-end sovereignty. Full independence from all foreign manufacturing is a longer-term goal that depends on when and whether India builds a domestic silicon photonics fab.
