SRMIST students showcase semiconductor innovation from research to industry projects

Students of SRM Institute of Science and Technology (SRMIST) showcased research in semiconductor device modelling and processor security, including the design and fabrication of a silicon carbide diode with support from Indichip Semiconductor.

Presenting their work at Semiconductor Summit 2026, final-year students Khyathi Atmakuru and Dhruv John Sebastian outlined research initiatives spanning integrated circuit design, semiconductor materials and power devices.

The institute’s power semiconductor research includes silicon carbide diodes, metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) and insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) for railway applications.

The device-design work uses specialised simulation tools to optimise device geometry, doping concentrations and electric field distribution, with the aim of improving performance, breakdown voltage and reliability.

The students said they work with specifications and problem statements received from industry, with designs evaluated by industry experts for further optimisation and consideration before fabrication and packaging.

They also highlighted the importance of power semiconductors in electric vehicles, renewable energy systems, industrial drives and AI data centres, where efficient power conversion is essential.

Separately, Mr. Sebastian said he presented his research on a secure trap-handling architecture for a three-stage RISC-V processor at the Pan Asia Conference on Circuits and Systems, held at National Sun Yat-sen University in Taiwan in September 2026.

“In simple terms, it is about how a computer processor can handle unexpected problems safely. When something goes wrong, the processor must identify that problem, save the important information it is dealing with and recover without affecting what it is doing normally,” he said.

The research involved designing and simulating the processor architecture using Xilinx Vivado, followed by waveform analysis and performance evaluation. Potential applications include embedded systems, real-time control systems and security-critical computing.

SRMIST’s semiconductor research ecosystem is supported by facilities including VLSI simulation, semiconductor fabrication, and process-integration laboratories, alongside a student-led Semiconductor Chip Design Club.

The institute said it was encouraging research at undergraduate level and students are exposed to industry problem statements.