The More Visibility You Have into a Process, the Easier It Becomes to Identify Issues Early

In this conversation with Vaishali Umredkar, Editor, Semiconductor For You, Nandakumar Kalathil, Country General Manager, Agilent Technologies, India, discusses the growing role of precision measurement, contamination analysis and materials characterization in semiconductor manufacturing. He highlights how analytical technologies can turn complex data into actionable insights, enabling greater process predictability, quality and proactive optimization

Why is precision measurement critical to the success of semiconductor manufacturing?

One thing that stands out when you look at semiconductor manufacturing today is how much progress depends on controlling incredibly small variables.

As process technologies become more advanced and device architectures more complex, manufacturers need a clear understanding of what’s happening at every stage, from materials qualification and wafer fabrication to testing and validation. Even very small variations can affect yield, performance, long-term reliability and precision measurement plays the key role in ensuring that every dimension, material property, impurity level, and process step remains within extremely tight tolerances, enabling high yield, performance and reliability of advanced semiconductor devices.

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At Agilent, we work with customers who are dealing with these challenges every day. Our role is to provide analytical insights that help customers understand their materials and processes, accelerate root-cause analysis, and make decisions with confidence.

As India builds out its semiconductor capabilities, analytical and measurement science will play an important role alongside investments in manufacturing infrastructure

How does contamination control help improve semiconductor quality, yield and reliability?

One of the unique aspects of semiconductor manufacturing is that some of the most significant yield and reliability issues originate from contamination levels that are invisible to the naked eye.

Modern semiconductor devices are fabricated with features measured in nanometers and require ultra-high-purity materials, chemicals, gases, and manufacturing environments. Even minute levels of contamination from metals, particles, ions, organics, or airborne molecular contaminants can adversely affect device performance, reduce manufacturing yield, and compromise long-term reliability. What often makes contamination challenging is that by the time the effects become visible, significant time and resources may already have been invested. That’s why early detection is so important.

Across advanced manufacturing industries, we’ve consistently seen that greater visibility into materials and production environments helps companies improve both quality and reliability. Semiconductor manufacturing is no exception.

At Agilent, we help customers detect and understand potential issues at very low levels before they become larger manufacturing challenges.

What role does materials characterization play in semiconductor manufacturing?

When people talk about semiconductors, the focus is usually on the finished device. But much of the innovation happens much earlier, at the material level.

Whether it’s advanced packaging, compound semiconductors, specialty chemicals, or new substrate technologies, manufacturers need to understand how materials behave and interact under different conditions.

That’s where materials characterization becomes important. It helps researchers and engineers understand composition, structure, purity, and performance, which in turn supports everything from product development to process optimization.

Many of the next-generation advances in semiconductors will depend as much on materials innovation as on device design.

For India, this presents a significant opportunity. Building expertise in materials characterization can help strengthen the ecosystem from research and development all the way through to manufacturing.

How can analytical technologies help manufacturers improve process reliability and product quality?

Semiconductor manufacturing produces enormous amounts of data today. The real challenge is figuring out which information matters and what it’s telling you about the process.

Analytical technologies help manufacturers identify sources of variation, investigate anomalies, and better understand what’s happening inside increasingly complex production environments.

One trend we see across the industry is a growing focus on greater process predictability. Manufacturers want fewer surprises, tighter process control, and a better understanding of what drives performance and quality.

The more visibility you have into a process, the easier it becomes to identify issues early and make adjustments before they affect production.

Analytical technologies help convert complex datasets into actionable process insights related to contamination sources, process variability, material properties, and failure mechanisms, enabling manufacturers to move from reactive quality control to proactive process optimization.

How is analytical science enabling strategic sectors such as semiconductors, green hydrogen and advanced manufacturing?

Although these industries serve different markets, they all depend on a deep understanding of materials, processes, and performance.

As these technologies move from research and development toward commercial deployment, the need for accurate measurement, characterization, and validation becomes increasingly important.

One of the things these industries have in common is that they’re pushing the boundaries of innovation. As they do that, the need for accurate measurement, characterization, and validation becomes even greater.

As organizations move from research to commercialization, decisions increasingly need to be supported by rigorous data and validation.

That’s where analytical science plays an important role. It provides the insights needed to better understand performance, reduce uncertainty, and accelerate innovation.

What are the key requirements for building a strong semiconductor testing ecosystem in India?

India has made significant progress in strengthening its semiconductor ecosystem, and it’s encouraging to see momentum building across industry, academia, and government.

The next phase is about building deeper capabilities across the testing infrastructure, advanced analytical science, skilled talent, reliable supply chains, and globally benchmarked quality systems that operate together as an integrated semiconductor value chain.

Globally, the most successful semiconductor ecosystems are built on strong collaboration. They bring together manufacturers, universities, researchers, policymakers, and technology providers around common goals.

If India can strengthen those connections while continuing to invest in talent and infrastructure, it can build testing and validation capabilities that meet global benchmarks and support long-term industry growth.

How can India develop world-class analytical capabilities to support its growing semiconductor manufacturing industry?

India already has many of the foundations needed to build a strong semiconductor industry, including a deep pool of scientific talent, a vibrant innovation culture, supportive policy initiatives, and growing investment.

The focus now should be on strengthening the analytical capabilities that support semiconductor innovation across the value chain. That includes areas such as precision measurement, materials characterization, contamination analysis, trace impurity detection, failure analysis, and reliability assessment.

As manufacturing processes become more advanced, these capabilities become increasingly important. They help manufacturers understand processes more deeply, improve quality, and meet global standards.

Collaboration will be critical to sustaining long-term capability development. The most successful ecosystems are those where industry, academia, research institutions, and technology partners work together to solve shared challenges and develop expertise over time.

At Agilent, we’re proud to work with customers and researchers across India as they build those capabilities.