SEMI® Global Update - January 2013 IN THIS ISSUE   SEMI Member Satisfaction Hits New Highs Tightening the Purse Strings: Fab Equipment Spending Shrinking What is Europe's Industry Strategic Direction? Debate Coming Up Soon at ISS Europe LED Manufacturing Investment Declines as Industry Contemplates Future Directions First SEMI HB-LED Standard Published Silicon Photonics Webinar on January 17 Introducing the Conflict-Free Gold Standard: A Guide for the Electronics Industry Top 100 Global Innovators: Many are SEMI Members Obama Signs Off on Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) for Russia Silver Pastes: Extending the Limit "Call for Presenters" for SEMICON West 2013: Deadline March 1 Event Calendar WEBINAR January 17 Silicon Photonics: Disruptive Technologies Offer Long Term Potential EUROPE January 22-23 European 3D TSV Summit February 24-26 ISS Europe March 10-12 7th PV Fab Managers Forum 2013 March 12-13 Europe PV Standards Meetings at PV Fab Managers Forum ASIA Jan 30-Feb 1 SEMICON Korea 2013 Jan 30-Feb 1 LED Korea 2013 March 19-21 SEMICON China 2013 March 19-21 FPD China 2013 March 19-21 SOLARCON China 2013 NORTH AMERICA January 13-16 Industry Strategy Symposium (ISS) US March 20 SEMI Northeast Forum March 31-April 4 North America Standards Spring Meetings Course -- Fund of Prod Mktg -- Acct Support Boot Camp FROM THE PRESIDENT & CEO OF SEMI SEMI Member Satisfaction Hits New Highs I am pleased to report that the annual SEMI Customer Satisfaction Survey shows that member satisfaction reached its highest level since the annual rating system was instituted eight years ago. Overall, 94 percent of the respondents rated satisfaction with SEMI as "Acceptable" or "Above Acceptable," improving in nearly all regions. Member satisfaction was almost identical among companies of different revenue levels and industry segments. The survey was conducted in English, Japanese, Korean, and both simplified and traditional Chinese. Feedback was collected from nearly 1,000 members and provides a 2.7 percent margin or error with 95 percent confidence. (more) Denny McGuirk www.semi.org Advertisement Tightening the Purse Strings 2013, Fab Equipment Spending for Front-End Fabs to Shrink Back to 0% Growth By Christian Gregor Dieseldorff, SEMI When forecasting fab spending, capacity ramps, and related technology node transitions, analysts must examine the semiconductor industry, but also track and consider economic factors such as GDP, political events, oil prices, unemployment rates, and consumer sentiments. What is Europe's Industry Strategic Direction? Debate Coming Up Soon at ISS Europe By Heinz Kundert, SEMI Europe Semiconductor executives from leading device, equipment and materials manufacturer as well as representatives from the EU will debate the issues at ISS Europe (Feb 24-26) near Milan. Advertisement Sign up today for Solid State Technology Semiconductors - Advanced Packaging - MEMS - LEDs - Displays Ring in 2013 with free subscriptions to SST magazine and email newsletters; get expert decision-making guidance and manufacturing news all year long. LED Manufacturing Investment Declines as Industry Contemplates Future Directions By Tom Morrow, SEMI Spending on LED fab manufacturing equipment will decline 9.2% in 2013 as the industry faces weak long-term demand and consolidates manufacturing capacity. First SEMI HB-LED Standard Published SEMI approved its first standard, SEMI HB1: Specifications for Sapphire Wafers Intended for Use for Manufacturing HB-LED Devices. Silicon Photonics Webinar on January 17 Register now. Topic: "Disruptive Technologies Offer Long-term Potential" Features E. Mounier, Yole; C. Bergey, Luxtera; and M. Hochberg, OpSIS Introducing the Conflict-Free Gold Standard: A Guide for the Electronics Industry By Terry Heymann, World Gold Council Gold is indispensable to the technology-related sectors-- with the electronics sector accounting for more than 75% of the 460 ton demand. But gold's high value and portability make it lucrative for illegal armed groups engaged in civil wars and insurgencies. Top 100 Global Innovators: 23 are SEMI Members Thomson Reuters "2012 Top 100 Global Innovators" list includes 23 SEMI member companies, including European-headquartered companies Arkema, Saint-Gobain, Solvay, and STMicroelectronics. Obama Signs Off on Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) for Russia The Russia and Moldova Jackson-Vanik Repeal Act (H.R. 6156) was recently approved by President Obama. Silver Pastes: Extending the Limit Silver and aluminum pastes are significant cost drivers in the PV cell manufacturing process. SEMI members Suntech, Heraeus, Dupont, Ritech, Ferro, Tianwei New Energy, and Yingli Solar are working together to reduce costs. SEMICON West "Call for Presenters" SEMICON West 2013 (July 9-11) "Call for Presenters" closes March 1. Thank you for reading this newsletter. We hope that you find SEMI Global Update informative and relevant. Let us know if we can improve the content and quality of SEMI Global Update. Please send your ideas, comments and suggestions to: Beat Mueller Content Manager, SEMI Europe 14, Rue de la Science, 1040 Brussels, Belgium Tel: 32.2.609.5334; Fax: 32.2.416.6448; Email: semieurope@semi.org Website: www.semi.org/europe Subscribe ¦ Unsubscribe Copyright © 2012 SEMI. All rights reserved.