by Ed Korczynski, Senior Technical Editor
It’s hard to feel upbeat about the future of mainstream semiconductor manufacturing after attending last week’s SEMI Strategic Business Conference in Napa, CA, where presentations detailed the end of the good times. With the IC business now mature and just another part of the global electronics industry supporting future value-added technologies, the simplified message may well be this: ‘Keep up the good work, and maybe you might even get paid some day.’