SEMI today announced the formation of the SEMI Electronic Materials Group (EMG), a new collaborative technology community that combines the former Chemical & Gas Manufacturers Group (CGMG), the Silicon Manufacturers Group (SMG) and other SEMI member segments to better serve the interests of the electronics materials industry. The group is open to SEMI Members involved in materials manufacture, distribution and services throughout the microelectronics industry.
“Materials companies are the linchpin of innovation – enabling advances in technology across the microelectronics value chain – from sand to smartphones,” said Bart Pitcock, vice president and general manager, North America for KMG Electronic Chemicals and chair of the EMG Americas Chapter. “We are pleased to build out this SEMI platform to drive program collaboration, information exchange, issues management and communication to materials industry stakeholders including customers and policymakers.”
Electronic materials have played an increasingly important role in technology innovation as electronics move from IT-centric to ubiquitous computing across consumer, industrial and data management markets. The market size for wafer fabrication materials (US$ 28 billion), semiconductor packaging materials (US$ 19 billion), and electronics assembly materials (US$ 20 billion) reflects the critical importance of materials to the growth and expansion of the worldwide electronic manufacturing ecosystem.
To help manage growing interdependencies across the microelectronics supply chain, the EMG now represents all materials makers, aligning with the SEMI mission to serve members across the microelectronics design and manufacturing industries.
As the first SEMI technology community, the Silicon Manufacturers’ Group was instrumental in the evolution of SEMI and the industry, defining standards for silicon wafers, the substrate on which semiconductors are built.
“Members of the former Silicon Manufacturers’ Group are pleased to join forces with other companies that provide the critical materials that enable the worldwide electronics manufacturing industries,” said Neil Weaver, director, Product Development and Applications Engineering of Shin-Etsu Handotai America. “We see great value and mutual purpose in working with others in the electronics materials community to advance our common interests.”
The EMG will continue its mission to facilitate collective efforts on issues related to the microelectronics materials industry that are more effectively addressed by an industry association than by individual companies.
“We are pleased with the unanimous affirmation of the new community by SEMI regions and member segments worldwide,” said Tom Salmon, vice president of Collaborative Technology Platforms at SEMI.