At Quest Global, we believe that we have a moral responsibility to manage the environmental impact of our operations. Internally, we have set a company-wide, all-encompassing ESG policy that evolves the social, ethical, and environmental standards. Additionally, we carefully adhere to regulations and guidelines laid out by regional and industrial governing bodies, noted Taher Madraswala, Strategic Client Partner Semiconductors, Quest Global, during an interview with Niloy Banerjee, The Volt Post. Taher also shares his vital outlook on the growing skill gap in the semiconductor industry, supply chain efficiency with resilience, and overcoming technical and operational challenges faced in sub-3nm chip production. Edited Volt-Age Excerpts Below.
With the growing skill gap in the semiconductor industry, what innovative approaches are being taken to build and sustain a specialized talent pipeline?
The growing requirement for talent in the semiconductor industry is a tremendous opportunity for us to train and prepare the next generation of aspiring engineers for our industry. The first step is to expand talent pool at the grassroot level by tapping into educational institutions, especially in tier-2 and tier-3 cities.
There’s also a strong focus on talent retention, where we’re seeing success driven by these main strategies:
- Investment in upskilling and development through workshops, mentorship programmes, and training courses. This equips employees with skills that will serve them for the rest of their careers and is a solid foundation for personal and professional growth overcoming skill gap in the semiconductor industry.
- We’re offering enhanced value to upcoming talent by providing different opportunities, and a culture where innovation, creativity, and inclusivity are encouraged. Overall, we’re consolidating our position as an organisation of choice for budding talent.
How is the industry balancing supply chain efficiency with resilience, and what technologies are being implemented to prevent future disruptions?
The global semiconductor industry has grown into a $600+ billion industry that is prioritising solutions that are scalable and specialised, which unfortunately are prone to supply-chain disruption risks.
In the face of recent market instability and macroeconomic disruptions, however, resilience has become a necessity that must be balanced with the usual demand for efficient operations.
To overcome these challenges, the semiconductor industry is expanding its supply sources to multiple vendors across diverse regions. This reduces over-reliance on single-source vendors, who could be compromised due to unforeseen factors, leading to breaks in the supply chain.
There is also a strong emphasis on leveraging domestic manufacturing, which is being aided by the Indian government’s initiatives to strengthen the country’s manufacturing capabilities. This greatly reduces the risk of disruption by reducing the time and distance involved in transporting semiconductor-related goods.
Lastly, modern developments in technology, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and the Internet of Things (IoT), are allowing the industry to harness predictive analysis and proactive maintenance. This reduces the chance of disruption by addressing issues before it can even arise. These strategies, applied in tandem with a collaborative approach, are helping us balance efficiency with resilience.
Could you detail the specific technical and operational challenges faced in sub-3nm chip production, particularly regarding yield management and thermal control?
Although 3nm chips come with much-improved area efficiency and improved performance along with reduced power consumption and heat generation, the production challenges are significant.
The smaller the feature size, the lower the margin for error, and 3nm manufacturing cannot afford even the slightest imperfections. This calls for additional control and meticulous inspection during and after the production process.
Modern innovations are streamlining the process though, especially with multi-pattern etching solutions and doping control. Other key elements, such as the procurement of EUV equipment capable of extreme precision in building 3-D transistors, need to be planned and installed in a timely manner to ensure maximum utilization. This makes cost and investment management one of the main obstacles to enabling widespread production.
How is the industry measuring and reducing the environmental impact of semiconductor manufacturing, especially regarding water usage and energy efficiency? Can you highlight the industry’s sustainability and ESG goals and emphasize responsible business practices?
At Quest Global, we believe that we have a moral responsibility to manage the environmental impact of our operations. Internally, we have set a company-wide, all-encompassing ESG policy that evolves the social, ethical, and environmental standards. Additionally, we carefully adhere to regulations and guidelines laid out by regional and industrial governing bodies.
Across the semiconductor industry, several proactive measures are being taken to improve carbon footprints, minimize emission rates, and cut down on e-waste generation. Manufacturing processes are being streamlined to reduce the consumption of resources. For instance, fabrication units are now equipped with modern filtration systems to recycle and reuse water.
Low-power semiconductors and other energy-efficient hardware are being deployed to reduce electricity and fossil fuel use while the industry moves towards the adoption of renewable energy.
Looking ahead to 2025–26, which emerging technologies, such as chiplets or advanced packaging, are expected to reshape the semiconductor industry?
Driven by modern technological developments, the semiconductor industry is witnessing a large-scale transformation that is also evolving quickly. Orthodox scaling is now reaching its ceiling, and its limitations prevent it from meeting today’s higher physical and economic demands. Many of the newer use cases are AI-driven, which require high-speed data transfer at less than a picojoule per bit.
Hence, silicon photonics has become a central piece of emerging technology to help improve the power efficiency of systems that AI algorithms use. The flexibility and scalability of custom solutions enabled by chiplets and modular architecture are also on the rise. Apart from improved yields, chiplets connected on a 2.5D/3D package are also reducing costs, and we expect to see widespread adoption of chiplet-based solutions in the future.
Therefore, advanced packaging is being leveraged by leading organisations to deliver improved performance at lower costs and lower time to market. This involves stacking memory chips, accelerators, GPU and Compute die with enhanced interconnect that delivers vastly superior value to traditional monolithic chip design.
What infrastructure investments and policy measures are crucial for strengthening domestic semiconductor capabilities and expanding the local supplier ecosystem in India?
The increased investment in India by global semiconductor giants in 2024 speaks for itself, and we are confident that momentum will continue this year. Traditionally, industry leaders have established R&D centres here although manufacturing facilities have remained elusive. Now, bolstered by the Government of India’s new policies, this situation is likely to change as dependency on external sources reduces.
The national government is also pushing for larger investments through schemes such as the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM). Another key area where progress is being made is infrastructure in potential semiconductor hub regions – states like Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Gujarat, for example.
The next step is to establish robust and resilient supply chains that are backed up by homegrown regional suppliers.
In recent times, raw materials have been procured from overseas and now there is a focused effort to increase domestic production.
Overall, the initiatives and partnerships currently in place are very encouraging, and I believe India is firmly on track to achieve its goal of becoming a pivotal figure in the global semiconductor industry by 2030.
