Vertical 4 of 10

Fab Equipment

The front-end tools that pattern and build the device layers.

The most concentrated segment of the entire chain. A handful of firms across four countries supply essentially all of it, which is what makes export controls on this vertical so effective.

What these figures mean
Import dependency
The share of Indian demand for this input that is met by imports today. A percentage is published only where we can state the basis for it, and the build rejects a figure that has none. “Not established” means no sourced figure exists yet, not that the figure is zero; for the domestic picture, read “Made in India today” instead.
Made in India today
How much of this input is actually produced in India: none, pilot scale, partial, or established. This is the field to read when import dependency is not established.
MSME entry capital
What it would plausibly cost an Indian MSME to enter this input at the smallest viable scale, in crore rupees. Plant and equipment only; it excludes working capital and the qualification cycle.
Time to qualify
How long from a working sample to a qualified first shipment, once the line exists. Qualification, not construction, is what usually decides whether an entry succeeds.
India readiness tier
Our verdict on whether an Indian founder can realistically enter this input, derived from the four figures above and stated as one of three tiers.

The three tiers

Tier A: Buildable Now
Under roughly Rs 5 crore of entry capital and 12 to 24 months to a qualified first shipment. A founder can start here.
Tier B: Partnership or Distribution
There is real money here, but not in manufacturing the thing. The opening is in stocking, distribution, purity uplift or a licensed partnership.
Tier C: Not Yet
Requires a joint venture, a technology licence, or a multinational’s balance sheet. Worth understanding, not worth starting.

Made in India today

None
No Indian production we can identify. Demand is met entirely from abroad.
Pilot scale
Made in India at laboratory, pilot-line or single-customer scale only.
Partial
Real Indian production exists, but it covers part of the range or part of the demand.
Established
Indian production is routine and qualified, at commercial volume.

12 entries

EUV Lithography Systems

The single-supplier machine that patterns every leading-edge chip, using 13.5nm light generated by vaporising tin droplets with a laser.

TierC
Imported 100%
EntryNot MSME
Qualify30+ mo

DUV Lithography Scanners

Argon fluoride, krypton fluoride and i-line systems that pattern everything from 7nm down-rev layers to the mature nodes India is actually building.

TierC
Imported 100%
EntryNot MSME
Qualify30+ mo

Coater-Developer Tracks

The system that spins resist onto the wafer, bakes it, hands it to the scanner and develops it afterwards. Physically bolted to the scanner and sold as a pair.

TierC
Imported 100%
EntryNot MSME
Qualify30+ mo

Plasma Etch Equipment

Reactors that remove material with chemically reactive plasma, translating the pattern in the resist into the actual structure of the device.

TierC
Imported 100%
EntryNot MSME
Qualify30+ mo

Wafer Cleaning and Wet Process Equipment

Single-wafer and batch systems that strip particles, organics and metal contamination between every other process step. A wafer is cleaned dozens of times.

TierB
Imported 100%
Entry>Rs 15 Cr
Qualify30+ mo

Ion Implantation Equipment

Particle accelerators that fire dopant ions into the silicon lattice at controlled energy and dose, defining where the device conducts and where it does not.

TierC
Imported 100%
EntryNot MSME
Qualify30+ mo

Furnaces and Rapid Thermal Processing

Vertical batch furnaces and single-wafer rapid thermal systems that oxidise, anneal and activate dopants at temperatures up to 1,100 degrees.

TierB
Imported 100%
Entry>Rs 15 Cr
Qualify18–30 mo

CVD and ALD Deposition Equipment

Reactors that grow dielectric and metal films from gas-phase precursors: chemical vapour deposition in bulk, atomic layer deposition one monolayer at a time.

TierC
Imported 100%
EntryNot MSME
Qualify30+ mo

PVD and Sputtering Equipment

Vacuum systems that deposit metal films by knocking atoms off a solid target with plasma, how the copper, titanium and tantalum layers get onto the wafer.

TierB
Imported 100%
Entry>Rs 15 Cr
Qualify30+ mo

CMP Polishing Equipment

Tools that flatten the wafer between layers by polishing it against a pad with an abrasive slurry, the process that makes multi-layer wiring possible.

TierB
Imported 100%
EntryRs 5–15 Cr
Qualify30+ mo

Metrology and Inspection Equipment

The tools that measure whether every other tool did its job: critical dimensions, overlay, film thickness and the defects nobody intended to make.

TierC
Imported 100%
EntryNot MSME
Qualify30+ mo

Wafer Handling and Fab Automation

The robots, front-end modules, carriers and overhead transport that move wafers between tools without a human ever touching one.

TierB
Imported 100%
EntryRs 5–15 Cr
Qualify18–30 mo