A semiconductor chip is primarily composed of transistors, which are made from a specially selected material, typically silicon.
The main function of a transistor is to encode information as 0s and 1s and manipulate them to generate new information.
Transistors consist of three parts: the source, the gate, and the drain (or sink).
The flow of current between the source and drain points is controlled by the voltage applied to the gate, acting as a "gate" in computing, operating with electrical means.
Semiconductor nodes historically named based on gate length and distance between adjacent metal strips (pitch).
Smaller transistors allow more to fit on a chip, increasing data storage and computing power.
Discrepancy arose as metal pitch and gate length reduced, leading to the shift away from physical parameters in node names.
Node names hold no significance in terms of physical dimensions; used by marketers to denote improvements over previous iterations.
India's current focus on 28 nm or higher nodes;
legacy nodes offer advantages for cost-effective applications like robotics, defense, and automobiles.
Demand for legacy nodes increasing in areas like electric cars, infotainment, and Internet of Things, making it sensible for India to start with legacy nodes and improve over time.
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