Centre for Advanced Studies in Electronics Science &Technology (CASEST)

About the Centre

The Centre for Advanced Studies in Electronics Science and Technology (CASEST) was established in 2014. The Centre is a successor to the DoE/UGC Electronics Programme initiated in 1995-96 to carry out research and teaching in Electronics Science. The Centre is supported by the UGC’s Special Assistance under DRS-1. The Centre offers three programmes: Master of Technology in Integrated Circuits Technology [M.Tech. (ICT)], Master of Technology in Microelectronics & VLSI Design [M.Tech. (MVLSI)], and Ph.D. in Electronics Science and Engineering

The Centre has Research Interests in Design, Simulation, Fabrication and Testing of Digital and RF circuits, Functional Materials and Processes.

Vision:

It is widely recognized that Electronics is no longer the exclusive domain of engineers. With the advent of areas such as organic and molecular electronics, nanotechnology, flexible electronics etc. electronics is now a multi-disciplinary field. Clearly, therefore, it is essential that the centre is able to employ experts who are not restricted either to Electronics engineering or Physics alone. Many of these areas require expertise in fields as diverse as Mathematics, Chemistry, Life Sciences and Chemical engineering. CASEST is uniquely placed to attract multi- and interdisciplinary talent and also enable active collaboration with the electronics industry. To this end, CASEST is focusing on pursuing research and development in the core areas of design and fabrication of electronic devices as well as interdisciplinary areas. In the next phase of development, the main objective is to create skillful human resources required to meet challenges of our national electronics design and fabrication programs. New teaching and research programs will be designed to accomplish this task. Emphasis will be on 1) VLSI Design and Fabrication, 2) Synthesis of new electronic materials in different forms and phases (including thin films, epitaxial layers and nano materials), 3) Interface studies and 4) Fabrication of electronics devices (including MOS Devices, High-k Devices, Memory Devices, Microwave devices using novel materials, MEMS, NEMS, Sensors and RF ICs, 5) Design and Simulation methodologies and algorithms, 6) process development, 7) Soft Computing, wireless sensors, bio-inspired systems, photonics, smart grid and 8) promotion of active collaboration with industry.

To achieve these objectives, the Centre will embark upon the Research areas covering materials, devices, circuits and systems encompassing Flexible electronics, system-on-chip for communication and instrumentation, sensor systems and technologies, reconfigurable and smart electronics. The emphasis will be to retain focus on systems and the final product and assist students and faculty towards entrepreneurship to carry the prototypes into technology transfer and production.

Values:

To instill the importance of positive societal impact of all knowledge and encourage and enable the next generation to put these values into practice to improve quality of life. To inculcate holistic approach towards system building for effective participation in missions that involve mega projects such as space, defense and atomic energy leading to great social impact.

Goals & Milestones

Short term and long term goals :

1. Introduction of more specializations in the existing M.Tech(IC Technology) program covering Technology, Physics and Engineering so that students can be trained in emerging interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary areas.
2. Establishment of a full-fledged microfabrication / nanofabrication facility by acquiring the remaining equipment for dry etching, deposition etc.,
3. Establishing a chip design centre of excellence where chip design, modeling and simulation leading to IC prototyping, test and measurement of integrated circuits and systems is carried out by using EDA software tools such as Cadence, Synopsys, Coventor, ADS, Mentor Graphics etc.,
4. Design, assembly and testing at (i) Board/Subsystem and (ii) System Integration
5. To attract faculty (nationally and internationally) with a varied range of disciplines / specializations considering the nature of the subject.
6. To attract students from across the world with particular emphasis on the less endoed countries of the SAARC region, Middle east and Africa.
7. The main objective will be to create and develop a world class multi disciplinary research environment, supported by strong research funding and industry collaborations in the following research areas:

• Mixed Signal, Analog, Digital and RF Integrated Circuits and System Design.
• Novel Device Technologies.
• System Design/ Embedded system design.
• Sensors and Sensor Materials
• Integrated Microwave devices and circuits
• MEMS
• Bio-inspired electronic systems
• Nanodevices based on nanowires, nanotubes etc.

In summary, the centre will be a multi-disciplinary hub of excellence that aims to attract talent from a wide range of fields to enable establishment of a truly world-class centre for research in Electronics Science and Technology.

Milestones:

1. In 2 years: (A) Setting up of Design, fabrication, test-measurement laboratories: Example: Establishing a cleanroom based micro/ nanofabrication facility for the fabrication of materials and devices. (B) Establishing a chip design center of excellence for prototyping and product development.
2. In 5 years: top 500; (A) Industry ready IP for technology transfer and licensing (B) Development of sensor technologies for food security, environment, health, water quality and chemical and biological molecules of strategic importance. Initiate work on circuit and system development ready for technology transfer. (C)Patent filing on IoT 5G enabled devices
3. In 10 years: a clutch of spin-off companies (at least 5) and Startups in the areas of chip design and integrated system development
4. In 15 years : to expand and make activities more comprehensive for greater societal impact and to be a leading research group in the areas of chip design, IoT based product development among the top 25 in the world.