SEMATECH News

ISMI's 20th Annual AEC/APC Symposium to Focus on Manufacturing Solutions for Factory Productivity Improvement

Austin, TX (September 8, 2008) — International SEMATECH Manufacturing Initiative (ISMI) announced today that its 20th annual Advanced Equipment Control / Advanced Process Control (AEC/APC) Symposium – one of SEMATECH’s longest running meetings – will be held October 4-8 at the Cliff Lodge at Snowbird in Salt Lake City, Utah. 

Chip manufacturing productivity experts and suppliers will attend the symposium to discuss recent technical advancements in advanced equipment and process control, as well as to review SEMI standards and consistency with the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors.

“IC manufacturers are constantly working to improve the reliability and efficiency of their factory operations,” said Brad Van Eck, symposium chair. “Reaching the milestone of our 20th successive annual symposium demonstrates the significant value of bringing chip makers and suppliers together to discuss industry trends, share experiences and obtain the latest information about how solutions are being applied around the world.”

Key elements of the AEC/APC Symposium include:

  • Keynote speeches from James Moyne of Applied Materials,; Alan Weber of Alan Weber & Associates, Inc., and Thomas Mueller of PEER Group GmbH, three of the industry's foremost experts on advanced equipment and process control
  • Anthony Toprac, a widely recognized expert in the area of advanced equipment control, will lead the symposium short course on October 4, entitled “Introduction to Advanced Run-to-Run and Fault Detection Control in Semiconductor Manufacturing”
  • Two half-day tutorials, entitled “Practical Aspects of Batch Process Monitoring” and “Multivariate Analysis for Microelectronics Manufacturing: the Right Tools for the Job,” to take place on October 5
  • In-depth technical papers, presented by IC manufacturers, suppliers, and universities, covering fault detection and classification, run-to-run and model-based control, metrology and sensors, standards and strategies and applications in high-volume manufacturing
  • A product exhibition, with informative displays from suppliers of software, parts, and factory equipment for automation, processing, metrology and control
  • A robust set of poster sessions on topics augmenting the conference sessions

The AEC/APC Symposium remains open to sponsors, which to date include Applied Materials, Adventa, Inficon, itemic AG, PeerGroup, Tokyo Electron, Verity Instruments, Inc., and Integrated Measurement Association.  For more information or to register, please visit www.aecapcsymposium.org.

About ISMI

ISMI is a global alliance of the world’s major semiconductor manufacturers, dedicated to reducing cost per wafer, and ultimately cost per die, through cooperative programs focused on manufacturing effectiveness. The consortium conducts programs in manufacturing infrastructure, methods, standards, and productivity, with the aim of reducing the costs of producing finished wafers and chips and driving solutions to major productivity challenges. ISMI is a wholly owned subsidiary of SEMATECH of Austin, TX. For more information, please visit http://ismi.sematech.org