TEL

The semiconductor industry continues to push the envelope to meet demands of key applications such as advanced computing, consumer electronics, and defense, as well as environmental sustainability. There remain several critical challenges that our industry is working diligently to address, but how can these issues be tackled more effectively and at a pace that can keep up with this ever-evolving landscape?SEMI sat down with Supika Mashiro, Advisor at Tokyo Electron, where she shares her perspective on the importance of strengthening industry collaboration and what SEMI is doing through its first-ever SEMI Global Standards Summit – “Innovating Tomorrow: Standards for Future Factories” – of which she chairs the Planning Committee responsible for organizing this Summit.Trio: What is the SEMI Global Standards Summit and why is this event timely?Mashiro-san: Topics such as advanced packaging, cybersecurity, as well as supply chain and materials innovation (and their impact to the environment) are considered strategic areas requiring more industry collaboration. Many of these areas also greatly benefit from standards, and the next generation specifications and guidelines will need to be engineered to meet the technical challenges we face today and in the future. The magnitude of these standardization efforts will require engagement from all stakeholders in the design-to-manufacturing value chain as well as multiple Standards Developing Organizations (SDOs) coordinating and collaborating with each other.This is the driving force behind the Summit, and the need to bring together industry stakeholders to identify standards-critical areas and align on developing an industry standardization strategy for the next 3- and 7-year time horizons. We are excited to host this inaugural event on December 12, 2024, in conjunction with SEMICON Japan 2024. Trio: What is the focus of the Summit?Mashiro-san: The Global Standards Summit will cover three main themes: Smart Manufacturing for Future Factories, Packaging Architectures Materials, Environmental Sustainability.Factories are increasing their use of digital twins, predictive maintenance, and AI/ML to improve productivity and yield across the entire manufacturing environment. To take full advantage of these approaches, factories must reduce cybersecurity risks and secure the transfer of “smart” data across the entire supply chain while protecting IP. There is a need for standards to address these risk areas, as well as help diverse advanced analytics systems interoperate to assist personnel in increasing factory productivity. In the Smart Manufacturing for Future Factories session, we will be focusing on autonomous fabs, cybersecurity, and flow-oriented manufacturing.Similarly, packaging technologies have been progressing since the early stages of semiconductor device development more than 70 years ago. More recently, where packaging occurs in the semiconductor process has evolved, and some of the packaging processes are now done as an extension of front-end manufacturing. Moving forward, packaging architecture and materials are becoming increasingly important, driven by the adoption of heterogenous integration to address demands for more complex functionality and reduced power consumption as well as enabling chiplet integration. In the Packaging Architecture Materials session, we will discuss what kind of standardization our industry requires for copper-copper (Cu-Cu) direct interconnection, hybrid bonding, and panel-level packaging. We will also explore glass substrates as well as standards needed to enable semiconductor assembly and test automation.Our third session recognizes that the semiconductor industry is heading into an era of NetZero, in which quantification of environmental performance can have meaningful financial impact. The methods of measuring and accounting the environmental impact such as carbon emissions and the presence of substances of concern in manufacturing and products are not uniformly consistent across the industry. In order for the semiconductor industry to better navigate and make a positive impact in this arena, a consistent set of standards will be crucial. In the Environmental Sustainability session, thought leaders will present on communicating substance of concern (SOC), reporting of process emissions from factories, as well as lifecycle assessment of materials and substances used in semiconductor manufacturing, including equipment.Last but not the least, we will feature a panel session where we will explore all of these topics in a discussion with our panelists.Trio: Who should attend the Summit and why?Mashiro-san: The Summit is intended for leaders who are interested in these standardization topics to come and engage. Attendees will hear and learn about the issues critical to the future advancements of semiconductor manufacturing, what’s happening to address them, as well as new standards development. Attendee engagement is critical as we want our participants to influence and be able to contribute to the direction of standards development by providing valuable insights to help optimize future factories. To facilitate industry collaboration, we have organized networking events with other stakeholders from suppliers and solutions providers to end customers. The Summit is just one of many compelling reasons for industry stakeholders and thought leaders to come to SEMICON Japan. There are several sessions on many related topics that we are covering in the Global Standards Summit. Ultimately, at the conclusion of the Summit, we expect to have identified lists of critical standards areas, and we would like for those leaders to be able to assign and dedicate resources to these standardization efforts.For more information about the inaugural SEMI Global Standards Summit, please visit the SEMICON Japan 2024 site and register today!Supika Mashiro works as an Advisor for Strategic Planning of Industry Initiative Group at Tokyo Electron Limited.She has been involved in Factory Integration (FI) IFT of IRDS since its inauguration in 2016 and a co-chair since 2017. Her area of interest and involvement encompasses “smart” technology applications in manufacturing equipment, its co-optimization with Fab operation as well as ESH/S (Environment, Safety, and Health/ Sustainability) road-mapping and related industry standard development. For the latter, she has taken a couple of leadership roles in SEMI Standards Program as well as IEC TC/44.Paul Trio is Director of the SEMI Standards program.

Tokyo Electron has implemented various programs and initiatives aimed at helping veterans find meaningful employment opportunities and providing them with a supportive and inclusive work environment. TEL is a founding member of the SEMI Foundation’s VetWorks working group.

At SEMICON West 2023, experts discussed the growing legal and regulatory risks facing the semiconductor industry and how to navigate those risks through the pursuit of sustainability strategies and broader industry collaboration on policy development.

SEMI Korea provides the latest updates on the economy, COVID-19, semiconductor industry Investments, government and university Initiatives, workforce development, SEMI events and SEMI Members Day.

The theme of the 6th annual Women in Semiconductors (WiS) program, held in conjunction with ASMC 2022, was inclusion, mentorship, and networking. The presentations at this year’s program were authentic and personal, prompting honest dialogue and responses from attendees.

In 2021, SEMI member companies joined forces to partner with the world’s top startups to bring new sustainability technologies to semiconductor operations. The initiative, called Startups for Semiconductor Sustainability, covers three areas: Energy efficiency, water technologies, & material usage.

The semiconductor industry – recognizing its own fabs can do much more to reduce their carbon footprint – is in a position to help turn the tide on rising temperatures worldwide and more chip companies are launching sustainability initiatives to contribute to the cause.

Today, AI algorithms are primarily run at large data centers-- in the cloud. For this intelligence to be used at the edge, data must be transmitted to the cloud, analyzed there, and the results transmitted back to the field of operation, such as a mobile phone, medical implant or autonomous vehicle.

Like TEL, many SEMI member companies have a long history of hiring veterans. We all have done a good job of hiring military personnel who possess the obvious semiconductor industry-related job skills and experience (e.g., avionics, hydraulics, mechanics, and radio frequency (RF)). But as an industry, are we doing enough? Are we missing out on the next employee of the year because we aren’t thinking broadly enough about our workforce? Five years ago, I met a young soldier at a military job fair. The interaction with him was a defining moment for me personally and it inspired me to commit to do more to translate military experience to the civilian workforce. Soldier: “What does TEL do?” Me: (Industry has a bright future, chips are in essentially everything including your military gear, etc.) Soldier: With disappointment, “Well, I don’t suppose I’m qualified to work at your company – since its technology.” Me: “Please stay for another moment, tell me your MOS (Military Occupation Specialty code) and job duties.” Soldier: “Ma’am, I’m a bomb specialist. I disable bombs.” Me: “Okay, let’s see if I get this right. You work with electrical schematics. It’s a given you follow instructions and guidelines, consider safety a p-r-e-t-t-y big deal, work under pressure, and you work with a team. Right?” Soldier: With excitement, “Yes, ma’am. And we have a squadron motto: “We have NO bad days!” Me: “Well then, you have the PERFECT background!” This conversation changed this soldier’s outlook on his career possibilities after exiting the military. He never imagined that the specialized training and experience he received as a bomb specialist would lead him to a role in the high-tech industry. He honestly believed he possessed no value to a civilian employer. It was moving to experience this gap of understanding face-to-face. Yet, this is a typical conversation between recruiters and hiring managers and military members. I could have easily let him walk away. Instead, I chose to invest 10 more minutes to learn more about what this soldier had to offer TEL. What is the key challenge around hiring military veterans? Disconnect. 90% of veterans surveyed faced challenges seeking civilian employment. According to Pew Research Center, only 1% of the entire U.S. population is qualified to join the U.S. military, and .5% (yes, that’s ½ of 1%) serve. This means 99.5% of the U.S. population has no direct working experience with the military. Civilian employers (recruiters, hiring managers, or employees) do not understand what the military does, the technical nature and responsibility of each role, or the extensive training each military member receives. And, veterans do not understand the civilian workspace. We truly have a gap translating military experiences and skills to the civilian workforce and vice versa. What are the benefits hiring military veterans? There are numerous benefits to hiring military veterans. Veterans are well-versed in cutting-edge technology. Today’s military is high-tech, state-of-the-art, and computer-based. Veterans are uniquely matched to our industry. Their jobs are highly technical and soldiers are extremely safety-conscious; they appreciate guidelines, follow directions, and possess a strong sense of team. Veterans are global citizens. Many military veterans have lived and worked in more than one country and speak more than one language. They tend to be culturally astute. Veterans have a winner’s psychology. Military members receive hundreds of hours of professional and technical training. They focus on a higher purpose and win as a team. Veterans practice accountability and leadership. Personal accountability is highly promoted. There is no room for excuses or acceptable reasons for mission failure. Everyone has the opportunity for a leadership role at some level and has modeling of what good leadership looks like. Hiring veterans aid diversity program issues over time. The military is a diverse group with 16% females and 44% people of color. Military personnel come from a wide variety of experiences – from across all 50 U.S. states with a variety of cultural and economic backgrounds. How can SEMI member companies truly effect change? Considering over 200,000 men and women exit the military annually, we have a significant opportunity to effect change by offering careers to those who serve while expanding our industry’s talent pool. Here are some initial ideas to get your company moving towards a more robust military outreach: Participate in the SEMI Foundation’s VetWorks Program: The Foundation is creating a toolkit to help member companies engage, hire, train, and retain veterans. This includes support for veteran-friendly messaging and recruiting, internships, training programs, and job fairs. This work will launch in Q2 of 2021 – contact Margaret Kindling at SEMI for details ([email protected]). Have a smart plan – Determine what positions make sense to focus on for veteran hiring. Start simple and grow your efforts over time. Set metrics for what percentage of your hires will be veterans. Recruiters can use simple key word searches to pull veteran resumes. Your company can attend military job fairs (in person or virtual) either at military installations or hiring events by organizations like Hiring Our Heroes, RecruitMilitary, etc. Offer diversity training related to hiring military veterans that focus on military vs. corporate cultures. Additionally, Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) Foundation offers a Veterans at Work Certification Program available for all interested participants. Soldier For Life – This is an official U.S. Army program created to help connect current soldiers, retired soldiers, veterans, and their families with education, employment, and health and wellness resources and opportunities. If you are near a military installation, get to know the transition assistance program (TAP) officer or the base commander. You have to be persistent – the relationship will be worth it. Ask your network, including SEMI member companies, if they would share their military installation contacts. This is not a closed talent competition amongst our industry partners. Many companies who have a robust military outreach program are eager to share their stories to help you get started. It is simply the right thing to do to help each other make a difference for those who served. Internships/Mentorships/Fellowships. Ask your local military installation if they offer direct mentorships or internships. A great way to get started with internships is partnering with NAM’S Manufacturing Institute – Heroes MAKE America. Hiring Our Heroes is another great resource for fellowships. Let’s do more for those who served. Interested in starting an industry veteran network to share best practices? Please contact [email protected]. We can do this! Kathy Garner is Manager, Talent Acquisition, Global Mobility, and Contingent Worker Management at TEL. References Bradbard, D. (Institute for Veterans and Military Families, Syracuse University) Schmeling, J. (Student Veterans of America). The Recruitment, Hiring, Retention Engagement of Military Veterans. Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org/foundation/ourwork/initiatives/engaging-and-integrating-military-veterans/pages/veteransguidebook.aspx Parker, K., Cilluffo, A., Stepler, R. 6 Facts about the U.S. Military Changing Demographics. Pew Research Center. Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/04/13/6-facts-about-the-u-s-military-and-its-changing-demographics/ Reynolds, G. Shendruk, A. (2020, July 13). Demographics of the U.S. Military. Council of Foreign Relations. Retrieved from https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/demographics-us-military Shifting Forward Consulting. Shift to the Civilian SUIT: How Veterans Can Successfully Navigate 3 Job Interview Challenges. (10/17/18). Retrieved from https://cherriedavis.com/veterans-successfully-navigate-3-job-interview-challenges/ SHRM Veteran Panel 2018. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/rgDUAALxTRg SHRM Veteran Panel 2018 Resources Bureau of Labor Statistics https://www.bls.gov/home.htm Heroes MAKE America http://www.themanufacturinginstitute.org/Initiatives/Military-and-Veterans/Heroes-MAKE-America/Heroes-MAKE-America.aspx Hiring Our Heroes https://www.uschamberfoundation.org/hiring-our-heroes Soldier For Life https://soldierforlife.army.mil US Department of Defense https://www.defense.gov/Our-Story/Our-Forces/ USO https://www.uso.org/

As the world combats climate change, the chip industry continues to build momentum in becoming a better steward of the environment. In July, Taiwan chip giant TSMC became the world’s first semiconductor company to join RE100, the global initiative to move away from a widespread reliance on fossil fuels and toward 100% renewable electricity. Applied Materials soon followed with a commitment to expand its renewable energy capacity. For the past four years, ASE Group, the largest outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) provider, was named an industry leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI), making clear its commitment to protecting the environment. For its part, TEL was selected to be part of the FTSE4Good, a series of ethical investment stock market indices, and FTSE Blossom Japan, an index that gauges the performance of Japanese companies demonstrating strong Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices.SEMI bolsters commitment to green energySEMI has also strengthened its commitment to promoting renewable energy in the semiconductor industry by adding the Green Power Pavilion at this year’s SEMICON Taiwan and continues to support the green energy movement as a co-organizer of Energy Taiwan. The largest renewable energy event in Taiwan, Energy Taiwan features international exhibitions, forums, policy initiatives and business matching events. This year the event attracted more than 12,000 visitors from 50 countries to highlight renewable energy breakthroughs and new products. The SEMI events complement RE100, which works across a wide range of industries that include financial services and retail. The initiative connects more than 260 members that count among them the world’s most influential businesses such as Apple, Google and Facebook and their suppliers through educational events.In many respects, TSMC is becoming a beacon of green energy in the chip industry. In July, the company committed to 20-year agreement to buy offshore wind power gear made by energy firm Ørsted in Taiwan, the global leader in the wind power industry. According to the purchase agreement, TSMC will offtake full production from 920-megawatt wind farms off the coast of Changhua County in western Taiwan expected to start operations in 2025 or 2026. The agreement will by far mark the world’s largest corporate green energy order in the semiconductor manufacturing and renewable energy industries and demonstrates TSMC’s long-term commitment to environmental sustainability.In addition to sourcing renewable energy, TSMC has been working closely with its downstream and upstream suppliers to help drive supply chain improvements geared toward a greener industry by offering on-site coaching, energy audits and educational resources. But the company's focus on energy efficiency is nothing new. For years, its Supply Chain Management forum has promoted industry sustainability and corporate responsibility. Moreover, TSMC worked with SEMI at this year’s SEMICON Taiwan to generate greater awareness of the importance of green energy to the industry and encourage SEMI members to become more involved in the movement.Supply chains expand eco-friendly practicesThe drive toward greener semiconductor manufacturing is also expanding to encompass entire supply chains. One notable initiative is Green Supply Chain Management (GrSCM), an effort to integrate environmental thinking into every level of the supply chain, from product concept to distribution. GrSCM involves the retooling of product design, materials sourcing, manufacturing and processes to reduce the ecological footprint of factories. So far, the results are encouraging. More companies are factoring environmental sustainability into their purchasing decisions to urge suppliers to better manage their power usage and join the green energy movement – an important step in curbing the unavoidable consequences of climate change. Terry Tsao is Global Chief Marketing Officer at SEMI and President of SEMI Taiwan.