The startup making India self-reliant in single crystal growth for defence and photonics

This article originally appeared on YourStory.

When most people think of semiconductors, they think of chips. But before any chip is made, there is a crystal - a near-perfect single crystal ingot grown in a furnace at temperatures up to 2100°C. India imports nearly all of these crystals. Raana Semiconductors is building to change that.

The Problem

India's semiconductor ambitions under the ₹76,000 crore India Semiconductor Mission rest on a largely invisible dependency: single crystal substrates. Silicon wafers, Germanium substrates, and Nd:YAG laser rods are all grown from single crystals - and virtually none are produced domestically.

"We are building the layer that sits beneath the chip. Without this, every semiconductor programme in India still depends on imports," says the founding team at Raana.

The Czochralski Method

RSPL uses the Czochralski process - the global standard for growing semiconductor-grade single crystals. A seed crystal is dipped into molten material and slowly pulled upward, growing a cylindrical boule of perfect crystalline structure.

RSPL is the first private Indian company to commercialise this method across multiple materials:

• Silicon - for semiconductor wafers
• Nd:YAG - for defence laser systems
• Lithium Niobate - for optical communications and piezoelectric sensors

Defence-First, Then Commercial

RSPL's initial traction comes from defence: the iDEX programme, BARC incubation, and DRDO qualification work for Nd:YAG laser rods. But the commercial opportunity is large - global demand for Czochralski-grown crystals runs into billions of dollars annually.

What's Next

With a seed round closed and facility expansion underway at Hosur, Tamil Nadu, RSPL is on track to deliver its first commercial Silicon wafer shipments and DRDO-qualified Nd:YAG rods within the year.