SEMI Standards Leaders Honored at SEMICON West 2024

SEMI announced honors awarded to industry leaders for their outstanding accomplishments in developing standards for the electronics and related industries. The North America SEMI Standards International Awards were presented on July 9 at the SEMI International Standards reception at SEMICON West 2024 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

The SEMI Standards Excellence Award is the most prestigious honor for participants in the SEMI International Standards program. The award is inspired by the leadership of Karel Urbanek, who led the program through the early years of internationalization. The Excellence Award this year honored Brian Rubow of Cimetrix by PDF Solutions.

Rubow played a crucial role in the development of software products that implement SEMI communications and control standards in a general-purpose fashion, allowing them to be used by a variety of manufacturing equipment suppliers serving all process areas. His work has significantly advanced industry needs by adapting smart manufacturing and other related automation technology.

He has worked with other industry colleagues to define an open, common approach for logging and documenting GEM interface capabilities and messages, resulting in numerous new and revised standards. Specifically, Rubow was instrumental in the development of the full suite of GEM300 and Equipment Data Acquisition standards, and he continues to help guide their evolution.

The Corporate Device Member Award

The Corporate Device Member Award recognizes representatives from a device manufacturer for outstanding contributions to the development of SEMI Standards. The recipient, Paul Kerr of Intel, co-leads the Water Management Task Force under the Liquid Chemicals North America Chapter. He plays a pivotal role in both the International Roadmap for Devices and Systems (IRDS) and SEMI Standards relating to water reuse, providing significant contributions and expertise to both initiatives.

Kerr demonstrated leadership in driving the development of SEMI F116, Guide for Drain Segregation for Semiconductor Manufacturing Tools to Support Site Water Reuse. He continues to refine this standard, as well as SEMI F98, Guide for Treatment of Reuse Water in Semiconductor Processing, as the industry evolves.

Merit Award

The Merit Award recognizes individuals making major contributions to the semiconductor industry through the SEMI International Standards Program by tackling complex problems at the task force level and driving projects to successful completion. The award’s two recipients are:
• Bert Planting of ASML has been exceptionally active in EHS standards for over 20 years. In early 2022, he led the Pressure Guidelines Task Force in an effort to revise SEMI S2, Environmental, Health, and Safety Guideline for Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment, leading to the publication of the critical updates in 2023. Planting subsequently led the Flammable Gas Task Force which further revised SEMI S2 to provide crucial guidance for mitigating risk of fire when dealing with equipment systems in an ignitable atmosphere.
• Gerd Pfeiffer of SOITEC established the SOI Wafers Task Force to update SEMI M41, Specification of Silicon-on-Insulator (SOI) for Power Device/ICs, primarily to include specifications for 300mm wafers. Pfeiffer’s efforts in collaborating with stakeholders, including suppliers and end users from around the world, led to the successful completion and publication of the new M41 version. Pfeiffer is now leading another effort to develop a specification for SOI wafers for RF device applications.

Leadership Award

The Leadership Award recognizes individuals who have strengthened the SEMI Standards Program through member training, mentoring, and new member recruitment. Leaders play a critical role in transforming new volunteers into productive committee contributors, effectively guiding them through the standardization process. This year’s two recipients are:
• Gary Van Schooneveld of CT Associates, Inc., co-leads the Ultra Pure Water (UPW) Task Force under the Liquid Chemicals North America Chapter. He plays an important role in the industry, particularly in the development of standards for particle and particle precursors, including SEMI C79 and C93.
• Bonnie Marion of FTD Solutions, co-led the UPW Task Force alongside Van Schooneveld. Marion has been instrumental in leading and revising numerous well-known standards such as SEMI F61, F63, F75, maintaining a strict review cadence of 2-3 years. These UPW standards, unlike many others, are rigorously updated in line with the IRDS direction on industry priorities.

More recently, Marion and Van Schooneveld helped drive the completion of the newly published standard, SEMI F121, Guide for Evaluating Metrology for Particle Precursors in Ultrapure Water, with a systematic approach that advanced UPW technology in the semiconductor manufacturing community.

Honor Award

The Honor Award recognizes individuals with a longstanding dedication to consistently and effectively advancing SEMI Standards. This year’s three recipients are:
• Jack Ghiselli of Ghiselli Consulting is concluding a remarkable 45-year involvement in the SEMI Standards Program. In 1979, as a member of the SEMI Communications Subcommittee, he helped develop the first communication standard, SEMI E4 (SECS-I). He subsequently contributed to the development of numerous other standards, including SEMI E5 (SECS-II), E30 (GEM), E37 (HSMS), and the GEM300 suite of standards. Over several decades, Ghiselli presented a series of technical seminars worldwide to foster the industry’s understanding and acceptance of SEMI communication standards. He also played a key role in organizing a demonstration of SEMI E13 (SMS), now E37, implementing SECS messages on the General Motors manufacturing automation protocol (MAP).
• Larry Hartsough of UA Associates has been an active participant in the SEMI Standards Program for over 30 years. Hartsough co-chairs the International Standards Committee (ISC) Audits and Review Subcommittee, where he helps oversee the ballot review process. He is also an active member of the ISC Regulations Subcommittee and co-leads the Global PIC Maintenance Task Force under the Physical Interfaces & Carriers (PIC) North America Chapter. Hartsough mentors and supports the PIC and other standards committees, while continuing to maintain the value that Standards bring to the semiconductor manufacturing community.
• Steve Lewis of Gilbane Building Company has been a dedicated member of the SEMI Standards Program for nearly 40 years. Lewis serves on the ISC, co-chairs the North America Regional Standards Committee (NARSC), and provides support to various Facilities and Gases task forces. His extensive experience, commitment and collaborative approach are pivotal for attracting new members to the program and driving key topics through the SEMI Standards process.