SEMI standards leaders honoured at SEMICON West 2023

The SEMI Standards awards were announced July 11^th at the SEMI International Standards reception at SEMICON West 2023 at the Moscone Centre in San Francisco.

SEMI International Standards Excellence Award

Presented since 1992, the Excellence Award this year honoured the leadership teams of the Taiwan Fab & Equipment Information Security Task Force and the North America Fab & Equipment Computer and Device Security (CDS) Task Force developed SEMI E187 - Specification for Cybersecurity of Fab Equipment and SEMI E188 - Specification for Malware Free Equipment Integration, respectively. These complementary standards address major fab and semiconductor manufacturing equipment security issues. 

SEMI honoured the following award recipients:

• Richard Howard of Cimetrix by PDF Solutions
• Ryan Bond of Intel
• Ares Cho of ITRI
• Leon Chang of TSMC

SEMI E187 significantly improves information security across the supply chain including semiconductor manufacturers, customers, and suppliers. SEMI E188 mitigates the spread of malware to manufacturing facilities during capital equipment delivery and helps both device manufacturers and equipment suppliers improve equipment reliability and uptime.

Corporate Device Manufacture Award

The North American SEMI International Standards Corporate Device Member Award recognises a representative from a device manufacturer for outstanding contributions to the development of SEMI Standards.

• Emily Liew of X-FAB Silicon Foundries SE was instrumental in revising wafer marking standards SEMI M12 and M13. Liew worked with key members of the Silicon Wafer Global Technical Committee to create additional specifications for laser marking on the back surface of 200mm wafers while clarifying the scope of both standards. She oversees the Traceability 5-Year Review Task Force and is an active participant in many other SEMI Global Technical Committees.

Merit Award

The North American SEMI International Standards Merit Award recognises major contributions to the SEMI International Standards Program in solving complex problems at the task-force level and driving projects to completion.

• Alexander Tregub of ATCP Consulting Services formed and leads the Chemical Mechanical Planarisation Consumables (CMP-C) Task Force under the SEMI Liquid Chemicals North America Global Technical Committee. Tregub helped drive the publication of four new CMP-C standards for pads hardness, density and porosity, disks, and windows (SEMI C100, C102, C103, C104) with two more in development (rings and PSA). Together, Tregub and the CMP-C Task Force, demonstrates tremendous effort, dedication, and support to advance the technology and fulfill the needs of semiconductor manufacturers.

Leadership Award

The North American SEMI International Standards Leadership Award recognises individuals who have strengthened the SEMI Standards Program through member training, mentoring, and new member recruitment. Leaders play a critical role in preparing new volunteers to become productive committee contributors, efficiently guiding them through the standardisation process.

• Andrew Petraszak of Tokyo Electron guided the S1 (Safety Labels) Revision Task Force through consensus building to improve its industry relevance of SEMI S1 and alignment with best practices. He rallied his peers as well as his competitors to complete the revision of SEMI S1. Petraszak not only leads the S2 Mechanical Design Task Force, working to improve lifting equipment (§ 18.6) and hinged loads (§ 18.7) of the prominent SEMI S2, Safety Guideline for Manufacturing Equipment, he is also spearheading the improvements to SEMI S3 (heating systems).

Honour Award

The North American SEMI International Standards Honour Award recognises individuals with a longstanding dedication to advancing SEMI Standards.

• Dr. Mohamed Saleem of Brooks Instrument/ITW has been an active participant in the SEMI Standards Program as a volunteer industry expert for more than 25 years. Saleem's extensive experience in the SEMI Standards Program is critical in driving results to completion and he remains a key force in pushing topics through the SEMI Standards process. Saleem is a member of the North America Regional Standards Committee and chairs the Gases North America Global Technical Committee. He also leads three other Gases task forces and has authored many widely used standards such as SEMI F20 (316 SS distribution systems), F58 (test method for moisture dry-down in gas delivery systems),  F70 (particle contribution), F105 (guide for metallic material compatibility), and SEMI E186 (EtherCAT ports in MFCs).
• Koh Murai of KESG/MEGA has been an active participant in the SEMI Standards Program as a volunteer industry expert for over 12 years and is a member of the North America Regional Standards Committee. Murai chairs the Liquid Chemicals North America Global Technical Committee, leads the High Purity Task Force and provides support in many other Liquid Chemicals task forces. Murai has been instrumental in authoring and revising many known standards such as SEMI F31 (bulk chemical distribution systems), F39 (chemical blending systems), F41 (qualification of a bulk chemical distribution system), the E49 series (E49.2, E49.4, E49.5, E49.7 - Guide for High Purity and Ultrahigh Purity Piping Performance, Subassemblies, and Final Assemblies), other various chemical standards, and several new slurry standards.