IIT Indore has achieved a feat wherein out of 144 designs of a chip submitted, 2 designs were approved by Efabless Corporation which in turn has fabricated the chip for the Institute free of cost. For a selection of 40 projects, a total of 144 projects were submitted, with 83 from India. This program was under Efabless Open Multi Project Wafer (MPW) Program, which provides opportunities for designers to experiment and push the state-of-the-art without having to reconcile the risk associated with the cost of fabrication.
Chips are indispensable components in modern technology, serving various purposes. One of the fabricated chips will be dedicated to hardware security applications, enhancing protection against cyber threats. This will help generate security keys for various applications like device authentication and privacy policy thus safeguarding against unauthorized access and tampering. The second chip will serve as a hardware accelerator for edge AI applications, contributing to the development of advanced technologies. Matrix multiplication, a fundamental operation in computing, finds applications in speech recognition, image processing, and generating computer graphics. It forms the backbone of many advanced technologies.
"The Hardware Security design was submitted by PhD Scholar Neha Maheshwari, and the Matrix Multiplier design for the Accelerator design was led by MS Scholar Radheshyam Sharma with a team, including MTech Scholar Komal Gupta, and BTech student Satvik Reddy. This involvement underscores the commitment of IIT Indore to fostering academic excellence and research in semiconductor design and related fields," said a press release issued by IIT Indore.
Prof. Santosh Kumar Vishvakarma, faculty member at IIT Indore and supervisor, said “These chips represent a leap forward in semiconductor design and contribute to the advancement of technology in diverse fields. These accomplishments reflect the collaborative efforts of academia and industry in advancing technology and fostering innovation. They highlight the importance of interdisciplinary research and its impact on addressing real-world challenges. Moreover, they align with the objectives of the India Semiconductor Mission launched by the Government of India, aiming to bolster India's position in the global semiconductor market and promote indigenous chip design and manufacturing capabilities.”
Presently, the testing of the chips is underway, and the authentication of the security keys will subsequently commence.
Efabless Corporation are the first creator platform for chips where hardware and software developers, chip experts, students and researchers design, share, collaborate, fabricate and commercialize their own chips.
