Much of the conversation around India’s semiconductor push centres on silicon, but an important parallel effort focuses on compound semiconductors, chiefly silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN). These materials sit outside the mainstream logic-chip race yet are increasingly vital to some of the fastest-growing areas of electronics.

What makes them different

Compound semiconductors combine two or more elements rather than relying on silicon alone, and this gives them properties silicon cannot match. Silicon carbide handles high voltages, high temperatures and high power efficiently. Gallium nitride excels at high-frequency operation and fast switching with low losses. These are not replacements for silicon logic; they serve different jobs.

• SiC is central to electric-vehicle powertrains, industrial power systems and grid electronics.
• GaN is used in efficient power adapters, RF and communications, and fast chargers.
• Both enable smaller, more efficient systems that waste less energy as heat.

Why India is interested

The appeal is strategic and practical. Demand for power electronics is rising sharply with electric mobility, renewable energy and efficient charging, all priorities for India. Compound-semiconductor fabs also tend to be less capital-intensive than leading-edge silicon logic fabs, and they operate at more relaxed geometries, which lowers the barrier to entry. That makes them a realistic arena in which India can build genuine, differentiated capability rather than merely catching up.

The road ahead

Compound semiconductors bring their own difficulties: substrate quality, specialised materials and process know-how are all demanding, and the global players are experienced. But this is a field still expanding rapidly, where a well-timed entry can secure a meaningful position rather than perpetual catch-up.

For those training in VLSI, SiC and GaN are a useful reminder that the semiconductor world extends well beyond digital logic. Power and RF electronics, and the device physics behind these materials, represent growing and rewarding specialisations within India’s broadening chip ambitions.