How the semiconductor industry can create the next generations of nanoscale computing technology will be one of the themes of the 2013 International Conference on Frontiers of Characterization and Metrology for Nanoelectronics, to be held at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), March 25-28, 2013, at its campus in Gaithersburg, Md.

As the devices lying at the heart of computing shrink ever closer to fundamental limits, the semiconductor industry must confront the problem of what to do when conventional microprocessors simply cannot shrink any further. The bi-yearly conference, which will be attended by international representatives from industry, government and academia, should be of interest to anyone concerned about the future of semiconductor manufacturing—a $300 billion industry and a linchpin of the U.S. economy.

Highlights include the three successive keynote addresses beginning at 9 a.m., Tuesday, March 26, by Mike Mayberry, V.P. and Director of Component Research at Intel; Naga Chandrasekaran, V.P. of Process R&D at Micron; and Gyeong-Su Park, Leader of the Analytical Science Group at Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology. Also, at 8:30 a.m., Thursday, March 28, invited speaker Tom Theis of the Nanoelectronics Research Initiative will deliver an address on long-term strategies to replace today’s transistors.