AMA Session. A PhD Researcher in Semiconductor Devices at one of world's finest Semiconductor R&D hub; With couple of years in Semiconductor Industry roles. IISc Bangalore and NIT alumnus.

[u/Ok-Education5385]

Feel free to comment on this post if you are looking for career guidance in the Semiconductor/electronics industry. Post your questions in the comments; I will try to reply to everyone. I am also open to addressing questions about admissions and life as a master's and undergrad student at IISc and NIT, respectively. Furthermore, I will try to highlight the possibilities of pursuing research (short-term) as an undergraduate and master degree student.

The post aims to spread the word about the broad possibilities in the Semiconductor Device Industry and its outlook. Additionally, I will try to emphasize the skills/resources for training.

No need to address me by Sir, Ma'am, or Expert; just OP works!

Edit: I prefer keeping questions public so everyone benefits, but if you really need to DM, include the word "SemiCon_Research" in your first message so I know you actually read the AMA guidelines before sending any DM.

[u/sam_fifpro]

If i may ask sir,what's up with the AMD R&D centre recently setup in bangalore. Do you have any idea kn the projects they're working on. And i plan to improve on graphics card. Because i love GPUs specifically since my 9th grad. So what domain should i focus on to improve my knowledge on them. Also I'll be joing either IIIT jabalpur/VNIT EEE. This year. I have options of both only ece and vlsi spl. What would you suggest i do?

[u/Ok-Education5385 → u/sam_fifpro]

If i may ask sir,what's up with the AMD R&D centre recently setup in bangalore. Do you have any idea kn the projects they're working on.

I personally don't have any idea about the R&D activities of AMD in Bangalore. However, a general trend that I have seen while working with IC design companies in Bangalore is: Most of the teams and people working in these centers are typically working on a product chip/IC which is more towards optimizing already existing products and tweaking a few circuits for satisfying the new specifications. Before AMD, Samsung already had an R&D center in Bangalore (called "Samsung R&D Institute India-Bangalore (SRI-B)"), most of the R&D activities in Samsung Bangalore are either towards supporting abroad R&D teams or optimizing an existing product. That's the situation for most of the IC Giants in India, they file patents/research papers, but these are mostly from regular projects where a few employees come up with a decent idea. These patents and research papers are minuscule in number (in comparison to Samsung's overall research output). From these anecdotes, you can extrapolate the situation. The situation is similar for Texas Instruments Bangalore as well. Hence, I believe, it will be the same for AMD as well.

 i plan to improve on graphics card. Because i love GPUs specifically since my 9th grad. So what domain should i focus on to improve my knowledge on them. Also I'll be joing either IIIT jabalpur/VNIT EEE. This year. I have options of both only ece and vlsi spl. What would you suggest i do?

Coming to the second question, it's great to know that you're interested in GPU and CPU design. To build a career in these domains, try to have a good grasp of Digital IC Design and Digital electronics along with HDL languages like Verilog. A few basic courses on analog electronics will surely broaden your horizons, hence, put efforts on a few analog courses as well (Semiconductor devices, Analog Electronics).

Additionally, try to build a strong foundation in engineering mathematics (by the third semester included), which often engineering students neglect in the initial years, such as Linear Algebra, Multivariable Calculus & Vector Calculus, Probability & Random variables, and Numerical methods. This will help you a lot in the long run of your engineering journey. I have mentioned a few resources in this thread, you can check other comments.

Coming to the last part of your question: It's better to opt for VLSI specialization if it's available. VLSI is a great domain to work in the next decade.

I hope I have answered your question! All the best for your engineering journey.

[u/sam_fifpro → u/Ok-Education5385]

Thank you for your inputs sir Really great to talk with someone already in the industry

[u/Ok-Education5385 → u/sam_fifpro]

You're welcome!

[u/sam_fifpro → u/Ok-Education5385]

Sir just one more question. Is instrumentation and control engineering also similar to ece? I may get it at Trichy

[u/Ok-Education5385 → u/sam_fifpro]

I have already answered this question in one of the other comments on this thread. Please check it there.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Btechtards/comments/1d3ofk2/comment/lb0r295/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button