Semiconductor Design Registration Services

The Semiconductor and Integrated Circuits Layout Design Act (SICLDA) 2000 is Governing the registering of Intellectual Property behind Semi-conductor Integrated Circuits in India. The Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout Design Registry (SICLDR) has been established for registering original Intellectual Property in Semiconductor Circuits.

Based on the chemical changes and external conditions, a semiconductor is capable of acting both as an insulator or electrical conductor. Semiconductor devices could limit and boost minimum voltage current. Depending on the need, the devices are designed to either block or pass the current through to another medium. Owing to this, the semiconductor devices are now being used in many electrical appliances today. The semiconductor industry is expected to see a growth of approximately 9% by the end of 2017. The increase in the utilization of electronic gadgets like smartphone, tablets, and smart devices would contribute heavily to this market growth. As the demand grows, the variations in the manufacturing methods and Designs of semiconductors also grew as well. Various complicated technologies and business problems are involved in the manufacturing and Design of semiconductors. Even so, the high demand for the semiconductor devices has attracted a lot of competitors in the market.

WHAT KINDS OF SEMICONDUCTOR DESIGNS LAYOUTS CAN BE REGISTERED IN INDIA?

Among the markets for semiconductor Design, India has managed to enter the front lines, owing to its mass production of integrated semiconductor chips every year. Many engineers are working in India, on different Designs of semiconductors. India receives about 2 USD Billion for chip designing alone. Because of the restrictions placed by India against copying a Design, very strict rules and regulations are followed in registering a semiconductor Design. The Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout-Design Registry (SICLDR) of India, separately manages these rules for registration. It keeps a record of all the semiconductor Designs registered under the Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout-Design Act, 2000. Along with the Design, the record would also contain the details of the proprietor, such as the name and address. The record is known as the Register of Layout-Designs. The Act forbids everyone from registering again any semiconductor Design under this record.

LIST OF SEMICONDUCTOR DESIGNS REGISTERED IN INDIA

Two semiconductor Designs were registered in India under the Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout-Design Act of 2000. They each were given a specific Design name and number by which they will be identified.

The 50-60 GHz Sub Harmonic IQ Mixer Design was registered by the ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) of India while the 8 port Micro-controller was registered by the Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL) of India. The 8 port Micro-controller holds the position as the first semiconductor integrated circuit Design in India.

WHAT CANNOT BE REGISTERED?

If a semiconductor’s Design is very similar to the other registered Design, then the semiconductor Design cannot be registered under Design Act, 2000. If the semiconductor Design is used anywhere within the country for the commercial purpose, it cannot be registered as a new model. The Design must be original, and it must never be seen or used before. The Design must be easy to distinguish from other models of the semiconductors Designed. A Design cannot be registered if it does not follow the following protocols.

LAYOUTS OF SEMICONDUCTORS DESIGNS THAT CANNOT BE REGISTERED:

1. a) Not Original
2. b) Have been commercially exploited anywhere in India or in any Convention Country, i.e., Any country notified by India, by gazette notification for becoming a member of part of treaty, convention or arrangement
3. c) Not Distinctive by nature
4. d) Not being capable of distinguishable from any other registered layout Design

REQUIREMENT FOR SEMICONDUCTOR DESIGN IN INDIA

To register your semiconductor Design, you are required to follow all of the rules and regulations set by the law that you are registering under.

• The layout Design must be original, and it should not be a copy or an improvement of other similar Designs registered under the law.
• The Design of the semiconductor should not be a part of any commercial elements or used for any commercial purpose.
• The Design must be unique compared to the other Designs developed by other Designers.
• For filing of an Application for a Design Lay out of Semiconductors under SICLDA in India, is to be done in prescribed form with 3 sets of drawings which clearly describes the lay out Design and 3 sets of photograph masks used for fabrication of Integrated circuits by using the Layout Designs.

Types of Semiconductors Design

• Intrinsic Semiconductors

Generally, the semiconductors made of a pure material is called as an intrinsic semiconductor. Technically, the intrinsic semiconductor is the one which has the same number of holes to that of the electrons in the conduction band. And, the forbidden energy gap of these semiconductors is considerably low, and so the valence electrons can jump off the roof and reach the conduction band even at room temperatures. And, these materials have Fermi level somewhere in between the valence band and the conduction band. Fermi level is the level of energy where the probability of finding an electron is 0.5 which means half chances, according to probability theories.

• Extrinsic Semiconductors

These semiconductors have a few impurities added to them, and those tiny ingredients are called as dopants. The dopants are minuscule of addition to the pure semiconductors. Precisely, the impurities are just one part of the hundred million parts available with the semiconductor. There are two types of dopants, namely, trivalent and pentavalent dopants. Based on the type of dopants used, the semiconductor is further classified into P-type and N-type semiconductors. Electrons are the major carriers in N-type semiconductors whereas, in P-type semiconductors, the major carriers are holes.