The Semi-Conductor Laboratory (SCL) is a research institute and an integrated device manufacturing facility under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India. It is an autonomous body engaged in Research & Development (R&D) in microelectronics to meet the country's strategic needs.
The institution was originally founded as the Semiconductor Complex Limited in 1976 after the Cabinet of India approved its formation to establish a domestic semiconductor manufacturing industry. Production began in 1984 at its facility in Mohali, Punjab, initially using 5-micron complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology through a technical collaboration with American Microsystems. A devastating fire in February 1989 destroyed the facility, halting India's early progress in the sector, and production did not restart until 1997.
SCL operates India's only integrated device manufacturing facility, which includes an 8-inch CMOS and 6-inch MEMS wafer fabrication line with a 180 nm technology node. Its mechanism involves fabricating chips for strategic applications, such as the radiation-hardened semiconductors used in the Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan). In March 2005, SCL came under the administrative control of the Department of Space (DoS) and was restructured to focus on R&D, before being renamed the Semi-Conductor Laboratory in 2006.
SCL is central to the broader Semicon India Programme, which aims to build a robust semiconductor ecosystem. The government has initiated a modernization plan for SCL, which is listed as a component of the Semicon India Programme (Semicon 1.0), to upgrade its facilities and technology. Furthermore, SCL is connected to the Chips to Startup (C2S) Programme, where chips designed by students are fabricated and tested at the Mohali facility, providing practical exposure to the entire semiconductor process.