Technology and Trends

International Women’s Day (IWD) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day is not only the centerpiece of the movement for women’s rights but a unique opportunity to recognize the contributions of women to the semiconductor industry. The first International Women’s Day took place in 1911 when more than a million people in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland marched to demand equal rights for women including the right to vote and to protest employment sex discrimination. In 1977, the United Nations General Assembly invited member states to proclaim March 8 the UN Day for women's rights and world peace. In recent years, organizations and companies worldwide have sought to use IWD to celebrate the contributions of women to our homes, families, workplaces and communities. The IWD theme for 2021 is Choose to Challenge – a call to draw attention to women’s inequality. It’s also an excellent opportunity for all SEMI members to choose to challenge deep-rooted thinking and behavior in order to grow diversity and collectively commit to increasing the representation of women and women-owned businesses in the semiconductor industry. The double-edged challenge for the chip industry is to grow the ranks of women while retaining those now in the workforce. One in four women are considering leaving their workplaces or downshifting their careers due to work-life challenges stemming from COVID-19, SEMI noted in a recent blog highlighting the Women in the Workplace 2020 study by McKinsey Company and LeanIn.org. One in four! In 2021 it’s important for us to recognize and work to reverse this trend by taking time to encourage, support and celebrate women in the face of COVID-19. A shining example of the enormous contributions to semiconductor industry by women is Dr. Suvi Haukka, a pioneer of atomic layer deposition (ALD) technology. Thirty years ago, Dr. Haukka spied a small note on a university noticeboard that led to her pursuit of a long and highly distinguished career in our industry. The note was a job opportunity with ASM International to research ALD, a role she landed. Upon joining ASM, Dr. Haukka investigated the use of ALD for catalysis applications to modify porous high-surface area materials used in oil refining and polymerization. What was initially a niche application to modify the surfaces of microporous substances and silicon solar cells evolved over time to become a critical materials technology and manufacturing method for coating semiconductor wafers. Working systematically in the lab, Dr. Haukka and her coworkers made fundamental materials and manufacturing process discoveries that advanced ALD material science and manufacturing technologies. An accomplished inventor and technical contributor, Dr. Suvi Haukka was named ASM’s very first Fellow of the Technical Staff in 2018. “Being named an ASM Fellow was a huge moment that made me very, very proud,” Dr. Haukka said. “I have spent my entire professional career working with ALD, and I have been very fortunate to work with many talented colleagues at ASM. “Together we have dedicated ourselves to introducing ALD as a standard means of manufacturing in the semiconductor industry. I believe the award is in recognition of all the valuable work we’ve done over the years.” Dr. Haukka is ASM’s most prolific inventor with more than 100 patents to her name. Her remarkable contributions to the development of ALD chemistry and semiconductor manufacturing process technologies over her three-decade career have made her a highly respected, internationally recognized researcher in the semiconductor manufacturing industry. Bill Olson is the corporate responsibility and conflict materials lead at ASM International N.V. in Phoenix, Arizona. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry. Bill has 23 U.S. patents and has published more than 40 technical articles. He can be reached via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/williamolson.

New treatments for vascular disease. Optimized agricultural production. Beefed up performance of wearable devices and flexible displays. Four students with their sights set on making the world a better place won Innovators of the Future awards at the 20th Annual FLEX Conference in late February after presenting novel ideas for advancing flexible electronics in the popular student poster event. It was clear that all of these young innovators are working on projects with the potential to impact our lives in the near future. Their work is critical to advancing products, devices and basic research in flexible electronics. Posters created by the 17 students who competed for the awards were judged by a multidisciplinary panel of industry experts. The posters reflected a broad range of applications enabled by flexible hybrid devices and covered technology for wearables, medical devices and precision agriculture. Innovators of the Future Award Winners Robert Herbert from the Georgia Institute of Technology won first place for his paper Smart and Connected Stent System with Nanomembrane Soft Sensors for Wireless Monitoring of Hemodynamics. Vascular diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for over 30% of all fatalities. Early diagnosis and monitoring blood pressure and flow rates are critical to effective treatment. Herbert’s poster introduced a less costly, less invasive and more revealing (spoiler alert) sensor system that uses a flexible, wireless biosensor system with an inductive medical stent and capacitive pressure sensors. The laser-machined stent uses multi-layered material integration to function as an inductive coil for wireless communication while maintaining mechanical properties similar to conventional vascular stents. The stent and sensor system can be easily deployed using conventional catheter procedures. Watch his presentation. Jose Waimin from Purdue University’s School of Materials Engineering was one of two second-place winners for his poster that shows how real-time monitoring of ion concentration, moisture, pH, microbial activity and other key metrics in agricultural production can optimize crop yields while reducing environmental impacts. His work presented a scalable alternative for manufacturing low-cost flexible sensors that can be used in an array of applications. Electrodes are manufactured in a Roll-to-Roll (R2R) process to enables fast production at a very low cost per device. Watch his talk. Benham Garakani from Binghamton University, Center for Advanced Microelectronics Manufacturing (CAMM) was the other second-place winner for his paper Electromechanical Behavior of Flexible Silver Paste and Highly Stretchable Liquid Metal for Wearable Electronics. Garakani explored how to improve fabrication of reliable, comfortable wearable devices to boost performance and functionality using substrates such as nonwoven high-density polyethylene fibers (HDPE) and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). Garakani also examined the electromechanical reliability of screen-printed silver trace on HDPE fibers and stencil-printed liquid metal (Ga-In-Sn alloy) on TPU during isothermal fatigue cycling. Watch his presentation. Sridhar Sivapurapu from the Georgia Institute of Technology won third place for his poster Flexible and Ultra-Thin 30µm Glass Substrates for RF and mmWave Flex Applications. Sivapurapu’s poster addressed the increasing demand for maximizing the mechanical flexibility of flexible displays while maintaining or improving their electrical performance. Sivapurapu focused on both electrical and mechanical properties for determining the viability of ultra-thin glass stack-ups for flexible RF applications by benchmarking the electrical performance of the ultra-thin glass stack-up to 110 GHz. He also examined electrical characterization during bending tests using free arc bending. Watch his talk. The Innovators of the Future award was sponsored by FlexEnable, a technology provider that develops flexible organic electronics technologies and OTFT materials. All FLEX Conference 2021 presentations are available through March 26, 2021 by registering for the event. Gity Samadi is co-chair of the FLEX Conference student poster awards and program manager at SEMI FlexTech.

If you look at your clothes or shoes, there is a growing chance you will see the words Made in Vietnam printed on the tag. Since the United States lifted its trade embargo against Vietnam in 1994, the country has become the second largest exporter of apparel and shoes to the U.S. What may be less evident is the source of that new electronic gadget you received for Christmas, with its numerous parts, chips, and intricate supply chain. While light manufacturing has dominated Vietnam’s economic growth since the Đổi Mới economic reforms implemented in the 1980s, over the last decade the country has been repositioning itself to become a dominant player in the global microelectronics industry, a trend that has gained momentum in the wake of the U.S.-China trade war. In 2019, Vietnam ranked as the fourth largest exporter of electrical goods and components to the U.S. With exports doubling over the last four years and now exceeding $19 billion, surpassing Taiwan, Japan, and Korea (based on goods exported under chapter 85 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule). Vietnam’s global electronics industry now accounts for about 40% of its exports, and the country seems to be just getting started. Early Entrants Though Vietnam owes its growing success in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) in the semiconductor and microelectronics industries to the advent of China plus one – the business strategy to diversify business investments geographically – it was the few early entrants that gambled on this emerging market a decade ago that put Vietnam on the global stage. Of these early players, no other firm comes close to having the impact that Samsung has. It’s initial $670 million mobile phone manufacturing plant in the northern province of Bac Ninh in 2008 grew to a country-wide investment of $17.3 billion within a decade. Samsung is now Vietnam’s largest FDI contributor and accounts for more than 25 percent of its exports. Because of Samsung, Vietnam has become the second largest exporter of smartphones in the world. Around the same time, Intel opened its $1 billion semiconductor assembly and testing facility in Ho Chi Minh City, putting Vietnam firmly on the global technology map. More investors, like LG, Panasonic and Foxconn soon followed. Within a few years of these initial investments the industry was taking notice, illustrated by SEMI’s role in co-organizing the Vietnam Semiconductor Strategy Summits in 2013 and 2014. With SEMI SEA’s increased efforts to promote Vietnam as an important ecosystem in the electronics supply chain, more will be done to positively influence the growth and prosperity of its member companies in Vietnam. These early investors found Vietnam attractive for several reasons. Key among these are the country’s low wage rates combined with its favorable demographic structure – what the UN refers to as the golden population structure, which provides “Vietnam with a unique socio-economic development opportunity.” Companies are also attracted to the growing number of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) that Vietnam belongs to, including the ASEAN Free Trade Area, CPTPP, the EU-Vietnam FTA, and, most recently, RCEP. Though the U.S. has yet to ink a trade agreement, the Singapore AmCham’s annual regional survey has consistently identified Vietnam as the most attractive country in ASEAN for a potential bilateral FTA partner with the U.S. Leveraging the Trade War If the plus one strategy was the catalyst that started this wave of electronics manufacturing in Vietnam, then the U.S.-China trade war was the enzyme that supercharged it. A common quip in Southeast Asia is that the U.S.-China trade war is over and Vietnam is the winner, and this is apparent in both trade and investment trends. According to the Asia Development Bank (ADB), the riff between the U.S. and China has caused a redirection in trade, as U.S. imports from the PRC fell by 12% in the first six months of 2019 while U.S. imports from Vietnam increased by 33%, with electronics and machinery accounting for the bulk of this jump. The ADB further reported that in a prolonged and intensified trade conflict, the worse-case scenario would result in Vietnam, Malaysia, and Thailand being the biggest winners, “in that order.” On the investment side, a March 2020 Gartner, Inc. survey of global supply chain leaders revealed that 33% had “moved sourcing and manufacturing activities out of China or plan to do so in the next two to three years.” While this survey did not mention specific winners, the ADB reported that “newly registered FDI in Vietnam from the PRC and Hong Kong rose by 200% year on year in the first seven months of 2019,” indicating the move of Chinese suppliers to Vietnam. Additionally, a review of recent press reports indicate firms like Apple, Nintendo and Dell are encouraging suppliers to move parts of their supply chains to Vietnam. These suppliers are complying, with Compal Electronics, GoerTek, HZO, Inventec, Luxshare Precision Industry, Pegatron, USI and Wistron all reportedly announcing plans for new investments in Vietnam. Manufacturing Hubs Within Vietnam, microelectronic facilities have concentrated in a few geographic hubs. In the south, the Saigon High Tech Park in Ho Chi Minh City attracted early entrants Intel and Samsung, with firms like Nidec and Jabil soon following. The largest investment capital, however, developed in the northern provinces that ring Hanoi. Bắc Ninh, an hour’s drive from Hanoi, was the site of Samsung’s first investment and has since attracted Foxconn and Canon. More recently, firms have been drawn to the port city of Hải Phòng, the country’s third largest city, which is already home to Samsung and LG. The city’s close proximity to other manufacturing clusters, its new deep-water port, and its expressway that provides a 12-hour trucking route to China’s electronics epicenter in Shenzhen are helping make the city Vietnam’s new high-tech production center. In 2019, LG Electronics moved its entire smartphone production line from South Korea to Hải Phòng, and in 2020 Pegatron reportedly chose the city for its $1 billion investment plan. Local phone manufacturer VinSmart is also producing the country’s first 5G smartphones in Hải Phòng. In November, USI, a subsidiary of Taiwan-based ASE Holding, broke ground on its first production base in Southeast Asia, a $200 million phase-one investment in the production and assembly of chips for wearable electronic devices. USI’s investment, which is moving into the internationally managed DEEP C Industrial Zones in Hải Phòng, is “intended to move us closer to our overseas customers and accommodate their ever-increasing demand,” according to Mr. Kuei Chun Chi, the firm’s Manufacturing Service Director. “North Vietnam, with its strategic geographical position and an extended infrastructure in place, offers USI an optimal way to facilitate fast and flexible response to customers' orders.” Though the Covid-19 pandemic has dampened the pace of new investments in Vietnam’s microelectronics industry, it has also amplified the country’s attractiveness to investors. Vietnam was successful in containing the outbreak through aggressive quarantine and contact tracing measures, and as a result its economy has the brightest outlook in the region. The ADB forecasts the country will be one of the fastest-growing economies in SEA in 2021, with GDP estimated at 6.8%. The Ministry of Industry and Trade is also reporting that several of the world's largest technology corporations plan to shift their production chains to Vietnam post-Covid-19, an indication that technology firms will accelerate relocation plans in 2021. Vietnam’s successful response to the pandemic, combined with its strategic location, low wage rates and foreign trade agreements, will ensure that the region continues to benefit from the shift in supply chains in Asia, making it the new destination for electronics manufacturing. About the Author Stuart Schaag is Principal at E-Ward Trade Consulting LLC, which assists firms that are expanding their presence in the global marketplace by creating strategies combining market analysis, business development, commercial diplomacy, and relationship building. He previously spent 25 years in various domestic and overseas positions in the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration. Stuart served as the Commercial Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi from 2014-2018 and resided in Vietnam until 2020.

The SEMI Smart Manufacturing Americas Chapter, a key driver of the Global Smart Manufacturing Initiative, accelerates awareness of digital and data-driven strategies and implementations to help speed adoption of smart manufacturing. In 2021, the Chapter will focus on expanding its work across the industry to include academic and research initiatives. The semiconductor industry saw an unprecedented focus on improving digital monitoring of manufacturing activity in 2020, partially due to COVID-19. The Americas Chapter shared case studies on new tools and techniques for social distancing in fabs, aides for remote maintenance, and tips for remote workers. The Chapter also introduced its three pillars of Sensing, Connecting and Predicting and offered related programs. The Global Smart Manufacturing Conference (GSMC) highlighted the significance of universities and research institutions in the development of smart manufacturing with their focus on joint research for broad dissemination. To help drive smart manufacturing advances, at GSMC several offered non-proprietary tutorials on topic including the following: Integrating sensors for acquisition – CEA-Leti Applying new AI and ML tools and strategies to manufacturing – Binghamton University Digital tools for planning, qualifying and management and scheduling in fabs – MINES Saint-Étienne. Adding AI tools to robot work in a smart factory – KAIST Institutes By continuously highlighting the activities of these and other institutions through presentations, interviews, articles and blog posts, we will draw more attention to what is on the horizon for smart manufacturing in 2021. The SEMI Smart Manufacturing Americas Chapter also plans to elevate activities important to the Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT), Surface-Mount Technology (SMT) and Printed Circuit Board Assembly (PCBA) segments of the industry including programs on inspection, traceability and the SEMI SMT-ELS Standard for SMT automation. Thurston Taylor, marketing expert at Tokyo Electron and Vice Chair of the Americas Chapter, notes that “With increasingly more demanding requirements for bump, assembly and test, smart manufacturing and applied data science are necessary to achieve back-end goals now and in the future.” Also, many companies are implementing smart manufacturing applications and assessing various strategies to increase their smart manufacturing capabilities. Members of the Americas Chapter plan to review and develop self-assessment documents and maturity models that apply to front-end wafer fabs all the way through packaging and assembly facilities. “Moving forward it is imperative for all of us to up the intensity on specific ROI vectors such as quality, cost, productivity, sustainability and safety leveraging our smart manufacturing SEMI framework of Sensing, Connecting and Predicting,” said noted Bobby Mitra, worldwide director of Smart Manufacturing at Texas Instruments and Americas Chapter Chair. “By offering special flagship events, invited talks, ROI case-studies and ROI criteria in maturity models, we’ll bring high value to the smart manufacturing industry.” Chapter members also will begin mapping the skills needed to implement and support increasingly digital manufacturing capabilities, including any new skill sets, to help companies develop their hiring, training and management strategies. The mapping effort aims to support companies in building a strong pipeline of employees who can efficiently manage and operate smart manufacturing facilities. For its part, the Americas Chapter’s Go Green Subcommittee will focus on applying smart manufacturing technology to reducing the electronic industry’s carbon footprint by accurately tracking energy waste improving overall fab efficiency. Stay tuned for details on activities planned for our chapters in Europe, China, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia and Taiwan. To learn more about each chapter and how to get involved, please visit the SEMI Smart Manufacturing Hub and sign up for our newsletter. Ayo Kajopaiye is senior project coordinator, Collaborative Technology Platforms, at SEMI.

Nikki Zaahir joined SEMI last year as senior program administrator on the SEMI Works team after spending the last 15 years designing, coordinating and directing programs that help people develop job skills and find full-time employment. Her career includes roles at the Department of Defense, the National Security Agency, America Works and Vehicles for Change.I spoke with Nikki about her passion for workforce development as we celebrate Black History Month.Williams: What does Black History Month mean to you?Zaahir: Black History Month means to me an opportunity to highlight the overwhelming influence of the inventions that Black Americans contributed to this country. Of all the Black history shared this month, it’s the inventors that have always intrigued and excited me the most. I grew up in a home with parents that taught my siblings and me the history of our culture every day. However, each February I was allowed to research and share my own list of what we called “little known Black history facts.” A couple of my favorites from my childhood are Lonnie Johnson, who invented the Super Soaker water gun, and Alexander Miles, who developed automatic elevator doors in 1887. Frankly, Black History Month reminds me to be proud to be Black and to take a moment to pay homage to the excellence and fortitude of my people.Williams: Where are you from, and where did you go to school?Zaahir: I am from the suburbs of Maryland right outside of Washington, D.C. I grew up in a military family. My father was the first black 1st Sargent in his transportation company. His unit was responsible for transporting heavy artillery equipment around the world. I went to Meade Senior High School on the army base of Fort Meade.Williams: How did you get started in the semiconductor industry?Zaahir: While in the 11th grade, I was actively recruited by a semiconductor company that had recently won a National Security Agency government contract at Fort Meade to make semiconductors for the military.I excelled in English and Science and met the requirements for the work study, which allowed me to spend half of my day in school and the other half at a work study assignment. The company tested a couple of hundreds of students and I was one of the 34 chosen for the career development program. I worked as a technician responsible for the fabrication and processing of the semiconductor wafer. My favorite steps of this process were the spin on glass and gasses chambers in the fab. What lit a fire in me was the realization that there is a whole world of technology opportunities that people like me were unaware of.Nikki Zaahir, in her former role as National Director of Workforce Development and Training at Vehicles for Change, with interns training to be certified automotive technicians.Williams: Did you have any mentors or sponsors who were particularly meaningful as you developed your career?Zaahir: I’ve been very fortunate to be mentored and supported by many people on my professional journey. Peter Cove and Dr. Lee Bowes are a social activist couple who own America Works. They were instrumental in my understanding of workforce development by teaching me that self-sufficiency through gainful employment can change generational poverty. However, the most meaningful people to me are those whose lives I’ve had the absolute pleasure to help change. For example, at Vehicles for Change, I created a social enterprise designed to assist returning citizens (people formerly incarcerated) with training and job placement. In three years, we placed 200 men and women in the workforce with no one reoffending or returning to prison within three years. What made this group of individuals special is that I chose to focus on violent offenders that served 10 years or more in prison.Williams: What motivates you in your work?Zaahir: What drives me is helping people become aware of careers that could not only change their lives but the lives of their families, and waking up every day determined to be that conduit of information and job opportunities.Williams: What is wonderful and challenging about workforce development?Zaahir: Inspiring people to consider educations and careers that may have never been on their minds is the most rewarding aspect of workforce development. To see people who have felt left out of training and employment opportunities due to their backgrounds or lack of higher education take charge and pursue educations and careers that before were only a dream makes this work worth it. On the other side of that, convincing someone who has felt left behind or unworthy of a better life for themselves and their family can be challenging.Williams: Is there a particular story about someone you’ve worked with or helped that you’d like to tell?Zaahir: Eight-time Grammy award winning artist Lauryn Hill of the legendary hip hop group The Fugees once said “In my travels all over the world, I have come to realize that what distinguishes one child from another is not ability, but access. Access to education, access to opportunity, access to love.”I have been blessed beyond measure to work with and help so many people at this point in my career. What I’d like to share is while talent is abundant, access and opportunity are not. That is the story.Williams: What is something unusual about you that people might not know?Zaahir: I’ve studied at the Arthur Findlay College, the world’s foremost college for the Advancement of Spiritualism and Psychic Sciences. Oh! the ghost stories I could tell.Williams: What would you tell young people interested in working in the semiconductor industry?Zaahir: In this industry, you will develop transferable skills for almost any career in manufacturing or production and the ability to make a salary that will provide the opportunity to afford living in safe neighborhoods, reliable transportation and vacations! You can pursue a wide range of skills, training, education and other professional development opportunities in this industry – all while maintaining a healthy work-life balance.Michelle Williams is deputy director of the SEMI Foundation.

Ride the Wave of Smarter Manufacturing The year 2020 sparked a tremendous acceleration in the digital transformation worldwide, driving a sharp rise in demand for semiconductors and escalating pressure on chip factories to reduce manual functions on the shop floor. The mindset of the semiconductor industry saw a remarkable shift as it recognized with heightened urgency the need to deploy data-driven visualization, analysis, scheduling and dispatching solutions to increase automation to improve production speed and efficiency. Amidst the new excitement around Industry 4.0, chip manufacturers are rapidly deploying new technologies including IIoT, big data, machine learning and Autonomous Intelligent Vehicles (AIVs). Yet for many chip manufacturers, the path to building a smart factory is far from clear because they lack an overall digital transformation strategy. Smart manufacturing is a broad concept covering an array of technologies and solutions, making a holistic, mid- to long-term digitalization strategy rooted in the overall business strategy crucial. There are no shortcuts that can move a manufacturer instantly to Industry 4.0. Instead, this transformation is a step-by-step undertaking with a natural evolution. Some Factory Tasks Must Remain Manual – For Now The semiconductor industry has reached a point where manual processes are no longer efficient enough to support mass chip customization and remote operations. The many technological and standardization advances behind automation can help streamline some of a factory’s most labor-intensive tasks including the loading or unloading of machines or lot tracking and data collection while reducing operational costs. Still, some tasks remain very difficult to automate. For example, handling errors and exceptions presents the greatest challenge since some errors are hard to anticipate. What’s more, the cost of automating error handling can be prohibitive. Eliminating Gaps in Connectivity Often, critical data sources aren’t available due to lack of equipment integration, incomplete product quality monitoring or gaps in material tracking. Closing these gaps in connectivity enables the collection of data and provides rich, reliable information for analysis and reporting that can drive continuous operational improvements, optimizations and efficiencies throughout a factory. But keep in mind that data integration alone can be a challenging task. The selection and proper enrichment of relevant data is, in many cases, not just a technical problem but requires a detailed and in-depth knowledge of the manufacturing steps to be analyzed and optimized. Even when data is available, it might be still difficult to make decisions or implement improvements if it is in siloed systems that require manual processes to integrate and translate into useful information. Problem solving at this level is possible but extremely time-consuming. Manual integration is not only ineffective but costly, draining time, human resources and money from the factory. The right contextual information for the data is vital to unleash its potential and make improvements possible. Dispersed solutions cannot control processes because they span functional areas and people, physical and business entities. Backbone software for shop-floor operations that controls all other applications is central to smart manufacturing. Data-Driven Manufacturing The semiconductor industry is expert in data collection and leads many other industries in this area. The problem is often that chip companies use only a fraction of the information they collect for the analysis and insights needed to improve operational efficiency. By comprehensively integrating all distributed data into a single version of truth – in one location where it is always available – companies can make data analysis and problem solving almost frictionless. Keep in mind that data platforms and edge solutions, within the context of manufacturing, will not be adopted as part of a greenfield initiative. Building a solid automation architecture is only feasible and beneficial by deploying new technologies such as machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI). Analysis of historical data provides important context and reveals deviations such as unexpected process time, uncommon material accumulations or issues with material transport. By integrating swift control actions for new data point collected, manufacturing operations can shift from reactive problem-solving to proactive analysis and operational improvements. The tremendous increase in interest and investment in AI for manufacturing automation only became possible with the availability of low-cost sensors that generate huge volumes of data and solutions for storing and processing that at low cost. AI and other leading-edge technologies transform the tedious but critical process of extracting insights from data, making it instantaneous, streamlined and achievable for every manufacturer. The maturity of smart manufacturing hinges on the extent to which a factory is data-driven. This requires foundational investments to improve traceability, connectivity and real-time operations – and finally making sure that data helps us what to do and when to do it. Ricco WALTER is managing director of SYSTEMA Automation in Singapore.

SEMI spoke with Andreas C. Zimmer, Executive Search and Selection Consultant at ZIAN Co industrial consulting and recruitment, about strategies for attracting and retaining talent and promoting careers in semiconductor industry. Zimmer shared his views ahead of his presentation at the SEMI Fab Management Forum, 17 February, as part of the SEMI Technology Unites Global Summit, 15-19 February 2021, an online event. Join us to meet experts from ZIAN Co. and other key industry influencers. Registration is open. SEMI: What makes the semiconductor industry such a great career destination? Zimmer: The semiconductor industry is an interesting world for anyone involved in or just fascinated by high-end technology. But if we think about our mobile phones, personal computers or cars, we should all ask ourselves what technology is behind these devices we use in our daily life. The classical Newtonian physics does not reveal the source of the pixels in our mobile phones or why a navigation system knows where I currently am and how I’m supposed to drive to avoid the traffic jam ahead. The semiconductor industry truly is the technological pacesetter. The technologies and applications developed by SEMI and its members are the multipliers directly impacting our daily life. Moore's law not only affects the development of chips themselves, but also how we use the applications and devices they enable. Think about the size-performance ratio of modern smartphones compared to the first- and second-generation devices in the 1970s and 1980s, or compare today's BMW with one from the 1960s. The problem is that the industry is too hermetic. We perceive a lack of willingness to go out and tell in a generally understandable way what this industry is all about! Everyone knows Apple, Samsung, Nokia, but who, besides the specialists, knows NXP, Infineon, TSMC or LFoundry? Many companies are largely unknown to the general public! So why should a graduate from a technical university choose a company such as Applied Materials, TEL or ASML? During their studies students will inevitably have come in touch with IC or MEMS companies, but do they also know what is behind them? Do they really know the value chain that leads to the end product? SEMI: What can the chip industry do to better attract talent? Zimmer: Our industry is extremely attractive for anyone who is interested in technology and would like to push things ahead, but unfortunately access to this industry is almost reserved to the initiated who, in whatever way, came in touch with the industry at some point. Let me get this straight: This is not a conscious, willful attitude. It is just the result of our industry’s hermetic attitude. In my opinion, there is no overarching, uniform strategy in marketing, communications or advertising to promote the potential of the semiconductor industry to a wider audience. That’s why SEMI and the cooperation of its members in attracting talent is essential. SEMI: What concrete actions do you suggest for attracting and retaining talent? Zimmer: In German there is the saying “Do good and talk about it!” – and this is exactly what should be implemented. It is not enough to place an ad when necessary, to promote something here and there, perhaps to sponsor a chair or to provide a device free of charge. These are certainly all reasonable actions, but rather random and not long-term or strategic. Furthermore, these actions will reach only a relatively small group of people. The industry should organize structured recruitment activities under a long-term plan, over 10 years or even extending to the next generation. This shouldn't be a rigid corset, but rather a guideline closely informed by the chip industry’s technology roadmap and companies across the supply chain. If it is the task of an organization’s board and the management to define the strategic direction and to set specific goals, it should be the task of technical management to ensure that these goals can and will be achieved. However, this will only succeed if human resources is involved from the very beginning and can plan appropriate personnel resources accordingly. Employees retire, quit and change employers. New materials, technologies, applications and processes are being developed and require new, specific knowledge. Market requirements change. All of these components need to be recognized and considered in early planning. SEMI: What is your experience as a consultant? Zimmer: As consultants, we experience how organizations literally fall out of the clouds when the situation within the organization itself drastically changes, because a strategically important colleague is retiring or suddenly leaving the team for whatever reason. Then, quite surprisingly, the question “Where and how quickly can we find the suitable replacement?” arises. Instead, that departure should be considered as a possible development up front in overall talent planning – a plan B to keep in the drawer. Developing and implementing a long-term HR development roadmap, aligned with the technology roadmap, enables a company to anticipate when specific resources are needed, identify the right people and get them onboard without gaps. It is also important to keep your team informed and involved in all decisions and process changes, and to make sure they get the respect and appreciation they deserve. Employer-employee cooperation over the long term only works when the relationship is a win-win for both parties. If an organization sees the relationship as one-sided to its exclusive benefit, sooner or later the worker will be terminated or quit at the expense of the organization. Truly live the statement “Our people are our best and most valuable resources!” SEMI: When should organizations start attracting young talent? Zimmer: The sooner, the better! Communications aimed at attracting future employees should be designed to reach people of all ages and levels of education. For many years, the tobacco industry targeted young people by demographic, considering their age, education and cultural mindset to ensure they perceived cigarettes as cool. The result? Many people became addicted, mostly for life, just because some clever communications expert touched the right spot! Our industry will not attract teenagers like tobacco corporations did, but the strategy is basically the same: arouse the curiosity of your target group and speak their language. A possible scenario: A company starts and establishes a relationship with neighboring technical, middle and high schools by providing equipment, documentation, and employees who serve as teachers or coaches, and organizing guided tours, seminars and workshops in coordination with the school management. The cooperation continues with the university, where the respective chairs are supported and financed. With a little creativity there are endless possibilities! In our day-to-day business, we observe that large, well-known companies such as Bosch and Daimler are practically sitting on the lap of students in key universities and institutes, yet are unable to identify talent very early and bind them to their company. SEMI: How can organizations capitalize on shifting retirement patterns to help narrow their talent gap? Zimmer: The answer to this arises from considerations related to personnel planning in connection with a company’s technology roadmap. If the roadmap is linked to HR plans, you automatically have an overview of the time-critical moments when personnel gaps might arise. Then you can easily close these gaps, for example by arranging the onboarding of a successor for a specific position long before the job holder leaves. Considering notice periods and approval processes, a period of at least two years should be planned in order to be prepared for personnel changes. Of course, much of this varies depending on the importance of the position to the organization and the size of the talent pool. For example, it will probably be easier and faster to hire and train a sales engineer than the successor for a development manager, when you know there are maybe only 10 people worldwide who are, professionally speaking, at his level. And this is equally true for internal promotions: Always keep an eye on your own people and try to discover their greatest talent! Senior people tend to look outside the organization rather than just around the corner. Maybe the right talent is sitting next to you. Stay tuned and talk to your people to implement a strategic knowledge transfer as part of your organizational culture. Another aspect that is often overlooked is the deputy function: We often find functions in organizations that literally have a unique selling proposition. But there is no deputy, no one who can step in case of an emergency, because no other colleague possesses the knowledge and information to take over if necessary. Usually this is not a problem during a vacation or illness, but what do you do if a key job holder suddenly cannot work from one day to the other? SEMI: What is the role played by artificial intelligence? Zimmer: AI is both a risk and an opportunity. A new technology can always mean danger if it is used incorrectly, and I am not talking about job losses! This has always proven to be a mistake in the past. On the contrary, new technologies create new jobs! New technology accelerates communication, creates new platforms for interaction, shortens decision-making processes, and turns the world into a small village. In your interview with David Meyer CEO of Lynceus, he hits the nail on the head: The great advantage of AI in our industry is likely to be the management, handling, analysis and drawing of conclusions from an incredible amount of information at an unbelievable speed. Without AI, information cannot be controlled to this extent, not to mention accurately evaluated in real time. The mastery of these processes and the learning curve that results from them – for example for the determination of quality levels – should set completely new manufacturing standards. SEMI: How can technology unite us? What do you expect from your participation at SEMI Technology Unites Global Summit? SONAR GmbH has been in this industry as a personnel and business consultant firm for 25 years now. We have experienced many pig cycles since 1995 and accompanied our customers through all the ups and downs, only to have learned one thing in the end: The semiconductor industry is unfortunately still too fixated on technology and overlooks the fact that this technology is made by people for people. The EU's latest Pact for Skills, which was presented at end of November 2020 by Commissioners Schmidt and Breton, foresees 2 billion € investment to generate 250,000 new jobs in the electronics industry throughout Europe! In 2013, we aimed to sensitize semi industry executives, managers and CEOs to the importance of human resources to the well-being and success of organizations. It’s vitally important to invest in day-to-day relationships with your employees to foster their careers and address their needs. The SEMI Fab Management Forum will feature leading game changers of semiconductor operations to highlight best practices for achieving sustainable operations beyond 2020 and exploring the latest solutions for smarter tools and smarter processes. Andreas C. Zimmer is executive search and selection consultant at ZIAN Co industrial consulting and recruitment, specializing in recruiting talent for high-end technologies in areas such as LED, PV, semiconductors, electronics, and test and measurement. A personnel and industrial consultant with more than 20 years of experience, Andreas is active throughout Europe, the United States and Asia. For more insights about workforce and skills strategies, please see SEMI Workforce Development activities and the European METIS project. Serena Brischetto is senior manager of Marketing and Communications at SEMI Europe.

Materials science – a field that includes elements of applied physics, chemistry, and mulit-disciplinary engineering applied to magnetics, metallurgy, ceramics, polymers and silicon – serves as the foundation for technologies that have driven much of the tech sector’s economic growth for the past 50 years. As our devices grow smaller, faster and smarter – while also requiring higher performance and greater energy efficiency – we’re reaching the limits of what can be accomplished with these fundamentals. The technology sector needs renewed research and investment in new materials to help address the challenges we face in a rapidly changing world. Leading TDK Ventures, the investment arm of TDK Corporation, I’m happy to report that a number of young companies have stepped up to the challenge of innovating materials science for the 21st century. In the past 18 months, we invested in multiple startups dedicated to reimagining the basic building blocks of materials science and identifying new ways to push technology forward – in fact, three of them have successfully gone public or been acquired over the last year. This demonstrates not just a renewed interest in materials science research but also highlights the momentum for healthy returns on materials science investments. Or, as I like to say, it’s the return of materials science returns. Materials science at the atom level For high-tech investors, materials science went out of favor the past 10 or 15 years, because investment in software development companies began to deliver very healthy returns in relatively short time frames – often in as little as two or three years. Product development in materials science traditionally requires much more capital and takes a lot longer to generate returns than software startups. Today’s hardware innovators are making it clear that we’ve only begun to scratch the surface of what’s possible in the materials sciences. Unlike 20 years ago, we can develop products like graphene, which consists of a single layer of carbon atoms that is about 200 times stronger than steel and an excellent conductor of both heat and electricity. Nanometer-scale materials like this enable the design of ultra-low power, high-performance components that can integrate multiple functionalities onto very small devices and create opportunities that were impossible only a few years ago. With advances like this, the future of materials science is regaining its luster. Investors welcome materials science startups Three materials science startups with successful exits: GenCell, which went public in 2020, develops fuel cell solutions that offer clean backup power for a variety of commercial, industrial and healthcare operations and can be used for off-grid power and rural electrification in a wide range of temperature and humidity conditions. GenCell’s revolutionary process creates hydrogen-on-demand from anhydrous ammonia (NH3) at 10 times the efficiency of other solutions, without any outside electrical power.GenCell fuel cells enable hydrogen and oxygen to react in an emissions-free chemical process that produces electricity and heat, with pure water as the only by-product. Origin, acquired by Stratasys in 2020, creates 3D printer platforms that offer an additive manufacturing approach to mass manufacturing, with the freedom of open materials. Using Origin 3D printers, customers can print products of their own design from a range of materials, or from their own proprietary materials. Origin maintains strategic partnerships with the largest materials science companies in the world and print products for leading companies in the dental, medical, and industrial sectors. SLD Laser, acquired by KYOCERA in 2020, produced the world's first high-luminance, fully integrated white laser light emitter. The emitter is based on a gallium nitride solid-state laser projected through a high-performance phosphor element that converts the blue laser to broad-spectrum, incoherent white light that eliminates eye safety risks. The resulting light source emits 100x more luminance, projects 10 times the distance than an LED, and is being incorporated into a range of specialty, display and automotive lighting applications. Materials matter Many of the fundamental technological innovations of the last century, including advances in semiconductors, biotechnology, and server technology, were based on breakthroughs in materials science. At TDK Ventures, we believe the only way to advance further is to return to materials research to identify new ways to expand the horizons of science and technology. For some established companies, this may require a pivot from traditional ways of getting things done and embracing fresh ways of thinking. It means thinking more like a startup and welcoming the challenges of change and new opportunities. We also believe that these innovations should not just push the boundaries of existing disciplines but contribute to preserving our environment and improving the lives of people. This is one of the founding principles of TDK Ventures: Our investments must contribute to digital and energy transformation and help lead to a more sustainable world. Our goal is to help every startup we invest in achieve their full potential for positive world impact. For instance, GenCell fuel cells bring emissions-free electrical power to rural communities far from traditional electrical grids, helping raise living standards without reliance on polluting diesel generators. Laser lights from SLD Laser are more power-efficient than traditional LED lamps, as lights last over 10,000 hours longer than equivalent HID (high-density discharge) lamps. Origin 3D printer platforms enable safe, localized manufacturing, and are geared toward minimizing energy waste in the supply chain. We’re just scratching the surface of what’s possible with materials science. At TDK Ventures, we’re dedicated to delivering meaningful financial results while exploring the potential of new and transformative technologies to bring positive change to our society and environment. Nicolas Sauvage is managing director at TDK Ventures, the corporate venture capital (CVC) arm of Japan-headquartered electronics manufacturer TDK Corporation. TDK Ventures is a technology-focused venture fund, investing globally in early-stage startups that leverage fundamental materials science to bolster innovations in Digital Transformation (DX), Energy Environmental Transformation (EX), unlocking an attractive and sustainable future for the world.