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News Article

Benefits of participation

Getting the components of any industry to work together requires standards. SEMI is the leading body developing standards for the semiconductor production industry. SEMI Europe's Standards Manager, Carlos Lee, explains why you should get involved in the process.

Getting the components of any industry to work together requires standards. SEMI is the leading body developing standards for the semiconductor production industry. SEMI Europe's Standards Manager, Carlos Lee, explains why you should get involved in the process.

"Standards" is a perplexing topic. On the one hand they are often criticised for being developed too late or for being too diverse, but on the other they are indispensable for the efficient functioning of an industry. Some industry players want standards and ensure they are developed; some are reluctant to see standards being developed and try to hinder their development. Those who do not want to get involved are usually concerned about IP transfer or prefer the non-standard world to respect their competitive advantage. Some of those who are in favour of standards do not contribute to their development. Those who are not in favour want to get involved in case one is developed. How can we make sense of these kinds of behaviour?

These standards, which are vital for an industry such as ours, are left for 'volunteers' to develop! Volunteers work on them as they have time, during and even outside of working hours. It is more common in Japan that employees are formally assigned to the task of developing standards than in North America and Europe. The costs of participating in the development of a standard can be directly accounted for (salary, travel expense, . . .) while the benefits are less tangible. "Why should we get involved and bear the expense, let someone else do it and we will comply with the standard" is what some company executives think.

But there are certain critical benefits to being involved in the development of a standard. First of all it ensures that the standard is actually developed! Other typical benefits are:

* A greater understanding of the standards and the underlying designs, tradeoffs and compromises made during their development, and the operating conditions and environments they are intended to serve. Through their participation in the design and research of the standard, participants strengthen their ability to identify future trends and are in a position to influence the resulting standard.

* The building of relationships and contacts made at the various task force meetings may develop into technical resources. The opportunity to work with leaders in the field and to witness standards development processes that maximise co-operation and consensus building contributes to the individuals' personal development. Since knowledge and experience are shared among participants, commercial risks are reduced through lower design and development costs.

* The enhancement of the corporate image as an industry leader by assigning employees to get involved. Companies may end up participating in the promotion of the standard and their name may appear in press releases, including quotes and announcements of product dependencies.

These benefits are the result of active participation in the development process. But there are also deferred benefits that come after the standard is published and accepted by the industry at large. While it is true that all users of the standard experience these benefits (whether they participated in the development or not) the companies that contribute to the standard development get a jump-start on the implementation of the standard.

"Standards help us to provide suitable economic solutions to our customers, and also foster to open up new markets" says Gerd Limmer, Director Siemens Semiconductor Division and leader of the Functional Safety task force. Siemens Semiconductor provides automation solutions to IC manufacturers.

Bert Planting, member of the Functional Safety task force explains the benefit from participating in the task force: "It was for me an opportunity to work closely to another committee other than that for Environment Health & Safety (EHS) of which I am a co-chair. As a product safety designer I had direct contact with people that built safety control systems which was beneficial for my day-to-day design work within ASML."

When the task force completed its work, it decided to promote the standard through STEPs (Standards Technical Education Programs) that were held in conjunction with SEMICON Japan, Europa and West. Participating in a STEP is also beneficial, "The STEP was for me an opportunity to express some considerations I have before implementing functional safety. I could also explain to a lot of people the ASML way of working on selection of an interlock system. The three-way approach of human safety, machine damage and product damage. A lot of time these three are mixed up and called 'safety'," comments Bert Planting.

Once the standard is broadly implemented, the cost of the products will decrease due to reduced cycle time in product design and development. Sales volume reduces production costs of commonly used components that support standards. Standards also provide guidance to designers, reducing research and development costs and eliminating costly errors.

SEMI's role

Since 1973 the SEMI organisation has been providing the platform for the development of standards for equipment and materials used in semiconductors, flat panel displays and more recently micro-electro-mechanical systems. The program is co-ordinated by 22 SEMI staff in Europe, North America, Japan and Asia-Pacific. More than 700 Standards and Guidelines have been developed in several areas including equipment hardware and software, materials, facilities, micropatterning, packaging and EHS. Today more than 2300 SEMI members worldwide participate in the SEMI International Standards Program representing more than 950 small and large companies.








SIFEC task force kick-off meeting hosted by Siemens in Nuremberg, November 9, 2001. Subsequently renamed Functional Safety task force, it developed Related Information 14 to SEMI S2 Safety Guideline.

 









Silicon Wafer Standards Workshop at SEMICON Europa 2004.

 







 







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