Standards Industry Leaders Honored at SEMICON West 2017

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SEMI honored four industry leaders for their outstanding accomplishments in developing Standards for the electronics and related industries. The SEMI Standards awards were announced at the SEMI International Standards reception held during SEMICON West 2017.                                            

Pictured from left to right:  James Amano (Director, SEMI International Standards); Yanli "Joyce" Chen (UCT); Bert Planting (ASML); John Visty (Salus Engineering International); Brian Rubow (Cimetrix)

The SEMI International Standards Excellence Award, inspired by Karel Urbanek, is the most prestigious award in the SEMI International Standards Program. The 2017 recipient is Bert Planting (ASML) who has been active in SEMI Standards for more than a decade, without interruption, in numerous international safety standardization projects, including:

• S10 (Safety Guideline for Risk Assessment and Risk Evaluation Process) since 2005
• S27 (Safety Guideline for the Contents of Environmental, Safety, and Health (ESH) Evaluation Reports) since 2010
• S2 (Environmental, Health, and Safety Guideline for Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment)
• S25 (Safety Guideline for Hydrogen Peroxide Storage and Handling Systems) since 2012

Planting has co-chaired the North American (NA) chapter of the EHS Technical Committee since 2013, and also currently leads the S10 Revision Task Force and the S2 Interlock Reliability Task Force. As leader of the S10 Revision Task Force, he significantly improved S10’s usefulness and practicality. Under his strong direction, the risk assessment methodology of S10 (and by reference, S2) is now more objective, easier to implement, and better harmonized with major international Standards for safety risk assessment. As co-chair of the European EHS Technical Committee from 2005–2013, he successfully led a major S10 revision as well as development of a new Safety Guideline.

The North American SEMI International Standards Merit Award recognizes major contributions to the SEMI International Standards Program.  Award winners typically take on a very complex problem at the task force level, gain industry support, and drive the project to completion. This year two people received the award:

Yanli “Joyce” Chen (UCT) reactivated the Pressure Measurements Task Force during the SEMICON West 2014 Standards Meetings. This task force was chartered to develop a series of standardized performance definitions and test methods related to pressure measurement devices used in the semiconductor industry. Previous attempts to develop a standard test method for pressure transducers in gas delivery systems were not successful, but Chen reenergized the Task Force, putting tremendous effort into test apparatus development, test procedure optimization, data collection, and test results analysis, and conducting an extensive pressure transducer side-by-side evaluation project. This provided a solid base for the development of the new Standard, and SEMI F113, Test Method for Pressure Transducers Used in Gas Delivery Systems was approved and published. Chen has also been instrumental in updating several test methods for mass flow controllers and other components with benefits to the entire semiconductor industry.

John Visty (Salus Engineering International) has been the leader of the S2 Chemical Exposure Task Force since 2008; he is also the Task Force leader for the S2 Non-ionization and the S6 (Exhaust Ventilation) Revision. Leading these Task Forces resulted in revisions of SEMI S2, the most recognizable SEMI standard. The industrial hygiene section (regarding chemical exposure) in SEMI S2 was in need of clarification to ensure consistent technical interpretation by equipment suppliers, end-users and third-party evaluators.  Visty drove development through multiple ballot attempts, incorporating feedback from unfavorable ballots to reach industry consensus. In March 2017, revisions to SEMI S2 related to chemical exposure were approved and incorporated into SEMI S2. This clarification benefits the semiconductor industry by providing consistent chemical conformance criteria.

The North American SEMI International Standards Leadership Award recognizes outstanding leadership in guiding the SEMI International Standards Program. Brian Rubow (Cimetrix) has been an important contributor to SEMI Standards for many years and has demonstrated ongoing and increasing leadership.  Rubow became leader of the North American Diagnostic Data Acquisition (DDA) Task Force in 2008, leader of the NA GEM300 Task Force in 2010, co-chair of the NA Chapter of the Information and Control Committee in 2013, and vice-chair of the NA Regional Standards Committee in 2014. He continues to serve in all four of these positions. Among other accomplishments, Rubow drove the development of two important advances to bring semiconductor factory automation into the world of modern networks:

• SEMI E172, SECS Equipment Data Dictionary (SEDD), which allows factory automation systems to adapt to the individual capabilities of each equipment type
• SEMI E173, SECS Message Notation (SMN), which allows the content of factory messages to be specified in modern XML notation.

Rubow's technical knowledge of factory connectivity solutions and outstanding leadership skills make a major contribution to SEMI International Standards.

About SEMI

SEMI connects nearly 2,000 member companies and 250,000 professionals worldwide annually to advance the technology and business of electronics manufacturing. SEMI members are responsible for the innovations in materials, design, equipment, software, and services that enable smarter, faster, more powerful, and more affordable electronic products. Since 1970, SEMI has built connections that have helped its members grow, create new markets, and address common industry challenges together. SEMI maintains offices in Bangalore, Beijing, Berlin, Brussels, Grenoble, Hsinchu, Seoul, Shanghai, Silicon Valley (Milpitas, Calif.), Singapore, Tokyo, and Washington, D.C. 

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