Litho Forum to Focus on Economic Challenges in Industry

SEMATECH, an international consortium of leading semiconductor manufacturers, announced that the fourth biannual SEMATECH (News - Alert) Litho Forum May 10-12 at the Marriott Marquis in New York will focus on economic challenges in advanced lithography.

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, officials at SEMATECH said.

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, they added.

Dan Armbrust, president and CEO of SEMATECH, said lithography is the linchpin of success in the semiconductor industry. "It has enabled productivity in the information technology industry for the past 45 years, and has sustained the semiconductor industry's underlying business model."

Armbrust thinks that for the semiconductor industry to continue to grow, lithography must remain profitable in the face of current technical and economic challenges.'

On May 11, U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY) will join with Pushkar Apte, vice president of technology programs at the Semiconductor Industry Association or "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.

In the 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.

The panel consists of Jim Clifford, senior vice president and general manager of operations at Qualcomm (News - Alert), and Jack Sun, vice president of research and development at TSMC, Sean Doyle of Intel Capital, and Luc Van den hove, president and CEO of IMEC.

The following day, a team 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.

According to John Warlaumont, vice president of advanced technologies for SEMATECH, this year 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.

"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," Warlaumont added.