Samsung-IISc partner R&D in electrostatic discharge protection

Current context: On February 8th, 2023, Samsung Semiconductor India Research (SSIR) announced a collaboration with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru, Karnataka, to further research and development in the field of on-chip Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) protection.

• The partnership will bring together IISc's expertise in advanced nanoelectronics research with SSRI’s technology and resources, with the goal of developing cutting-edge ESD solutions for ultra-high-speed serial interfaces in advanced Integrated Circuits (ICs) and system-on-chip (SoC) products.
• The research will be conducted by Professor Mayank Shrivastava's group at IISc's Department of Electronic Systems Engineering and the solutions developed will be integrated into Samsung's advanced process nodes.
• ICs and SoCs are crucial components in many systems, but they are also sensitive to ESD failures, particularly those made using advanced nanoscale technologies.
• ESD failures are a major cause of IC chip failures and field returns, making R&D in ESD protection essential to the innovation effort in the semiconductor industry.
• IISc is a leading institute in the world for ESD device research.

Question:

Q.1 IISc partnered with which company for R&D in electrostatic discharge protection?
a. Samsung

b. Flipkart

c. Wipro

d. Infosys