SEMI Honors 2025 Europe Standards Award Winners at the 50th SEMICON Europa
By Kevin Nguyen, SEMI
The Merit Award
The 2025 Merit Award was presented to four individuals who made significant contributions to the semiconductor industry through the SEMI Standards Program, leading projects to successful completion at the task force level.
Christian Kranert of Fraunhofer IISB undertook the enormous task of building industry consensus and successfully completing the publication of SEMI M91 and SEMI M93. He is currently leading the SiC Epi Defects Task Force and is driving the standardization of SEMI Draft Document 7160, Guide for Defects found in Homoepitaxial Layers of Silicon Carbide — a much-needed guideline in an area where the industry has long lacked uniform direction.
Enrica Cela of SOITEC established the task force and successfully led the development and completion of SEMI M94, the specification for silicon carbide engineered substrates.
Hans-Christian Alt of the Munich University of Applied Sciences has driven the challenging effort of updating SEMI M54 and SEMI M87 to align with current industry standards on a five-year cycle.
Ulrich Kretzer of Freiberger Compound Materials GmbH has been responsible for maintaining SEMI M83. He led the recent revision and successfully drove it to completion this year.
The Leadership Award
The Leadership Award is earned by those who have strengthened the SEMI Standards program through member recruitment, training, and mentoring. These individuals have been essential in transforming new volunteers into positive committee contributors by guiding them through the standardization process flow.
Frank Riedel of Siltronic has been a crucial leader within the Silicon Wafer Europe Technical Committee. Until last year, he chaired both the International Automated Advanced Surface Inspection Task Force and the International Polished Wafers Task Force. He is currently leading the International Advanced Wafer Geometry Task Force, working closely with leaders from Japan and North America to drive key activities to completion, including the revisions of SEMI M49 and SEMI M73.
Judith Wittmann of Siltronic supports the International Automated Advanced Surface Inspection Task Force. She also chairs the Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) Working Group, conducting monthly meetings to define standards for roughness measurement on silicon wafer surfaces.
Cristina Sanna of GlobalWafers leads the International Polished Wafers Task Force. She also supported the Japan Task Force in completing the revision of SEMI M1, which removed the 450 mm wafer specification.
Jochen Ruth of Pall Corporation serves as co-chair of both the Gases and Liquid Chemicals Europe TC Chapters. He has been actively organizing meetings and keeping the European members informed of activities and developments occurring in other regions. His steadfast commitment sustains the region’s competitive advantage and upholds continuity.
These leaders have the ability to build consensus among stakeholders with differing perspectives demonstrating their exceptional leadership, patience, and commitment to advancing the SEMI Standards program.
(From left: Judith Wittmann, Cristina Sanna, Peter Wagner, Friedrich Passek, Frank Riedel)
The Honor Award
The Honor Award is presented to individuals who have demonstrated long-term dedication to advancing SEMI Standards. The following industry leaders have served the program consistently over several years.
Peter Wagner has participated in the SEMI Standards Program for more than 25 years. He has provided long-standing service to the Silicon Wafer TC Chapters and has authored several standards for silicon wafers, 3D-IC, equipment automation as well as numerous standards for the photovoltaic (PV) industry.
Fritz Passek of Siltronic has contributed to standards development for more than 15 years, serving the Europe Silicon Wafer TC Chapter. He has also recruited several key members to actively participate in SEMI Standards activities. His profound influence has helped many of these members become leaders of multiple task forces and committees.
Arnd Weber of SiCrystal GmbH has long served the compound semiconductor materials community, contributing to standards such as SEMI M55 and currently reviewing SEMI M81. He has actively held the co-chair position for more than 15 years.
Frank Petzold of trustsec has been involved with the European SEMI activities for over 20 years. He serves as the ERSC leader and has consistently attended meetings throughout his tenure.
Get Involved
SEMI Standards development activities take place throughout the year in all major manufacturing regions. To get involved, join the SEMI International Standards Program at: www.semi.org/standardsmembership.
For more information, please visit our main Web site and current events page. If you have any questions regarding SEMI Standards activities, please contact your local SEMI Standards staff.
Standards Watch
SEMI
www.semi.org
December 8, 2025