This photo, taken June 1, 2023, shows researchers of the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, July 25 (Korea Bizwire) — The Ministry of Science and ICT said Monday it will introduce a new service aimed at assisting university and graduate school students specializing in semiconductors, enabling them to develop and validate their chip designs effectively.
Dubbed the “My Chip” service, it allows students to produce their chip designs at public semiconductor fabrication plants (fabs) without any cost.
These students will have access to a 500 nanometer-level complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) production and packaging service.
The fabs offering this service are operated by the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, Seoul National University and the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology.
Through this initiative, students will be able to directly assess and confirm the performance of their chip designs, ensuring they work as intended.
The selection process for participants will involve expert evaluation, and those selected will receive process design kits by September 15.
Participants who complete their chip design by November 15 can expect to receive the finished chips by April of the following year.
For this year, a total of 25 teams will be selected, followed by more than 150 teams each year during the 2024-2025 period. Starting from 2026, over 300 teams will be selected across 12 rounds.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
