SEMATECH Litho Forum to focus on affordable innovation in chip industry

ALBANY, USA: Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY) and ranking leaders in the semiconductor industry – including Jim Clifford, senior vice president and general manager of operations at Qualcomm, and Dr. Jack Sun, vice president of research and development at TSMC – will focus on economic challenges in advanced lithography during the fourth biannual SEMATECH Litho Forum May 10-12 at the Marriott Marquis in New York, NY.

The Litho Forum is the chip industry’s only global conference where business leaders and technology experts can discuss the status and direction of advanced and next-generation lithography. This year’s conference will focus on “turning innovation into value,” the conscious development of litho technology solutions that incorporate economic feasibility to provide true value and allow the chip industry to grow.

“Lithography is the linchpin of success in the semiconductor industry,” said Dan Armbrust, president and CEO of SEMATECH. “It has enabled productivity in the information technology industry for the past 45 years, and has sustained the semiconductor industry’s underlying business model. Now, for the semiconductor industry to continue to grow, lithography must remain profitable in the face of current technical and economic challenges.”

At the opening plenary session on May 11, Congressman Tonko will join with Pushkar Apte, vice president of technology programs at the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), and Andreas Wild, executive director at Europe’s ENIAC Joint Undertaking, to examine government-industry alliances that support innovation, collaborations to control costs, and technology solutions rooted in economic feasibility.

That afternoon, a panel of senior industry executives will describe how their companies and consortia have adapted to stay profitable while maintaining the lithography roadmap in a down economy. In addition to Dan Armbrust, the panel addressing “Keeping the Roadmap Profitable” will include:

* Jim Clifford, senior VP and general manager of operations, Qualcomm
* Dr. Jack Sun, vice president, research and development at TSMC
* Sean Doyle of Intel Capital
* Luc Van den hove, president and CEO of IMEC

The following day, an impressive lineup of academic leaders and equipment and materials suppliers will share progress and prospects for current, new and alternative technologies, and will discuss economic challenges for litho equipment makers in areas such as the supply chain, industry consolidation, and other cost pressures.

“This year, more than any other, the EUV community must work collaboratively to address capital cost challenges to set global industry direction, accelerate technology solutions in infrastructure, and bring innovative products to market,” said John Warlaumont, vice president of advanced technologies for SEMATECH.

“The information and guidance on lithography trends from this year’s Litho Forum will provide attendees with an assessment of the industry’s perceptions and intentions toward litho development, and will clarify the technology gaps that must be closed to meet the roadmap.”