Industry News, Trends and Technology, and Standards Updates

Today’s blog posting highlights the latest and most recent activity with the Cimetrix Book Club. Our employees constantly strive to develop their skills, share information, and keep up to date with the industry. Part of this effort includes an employee book club that involves many of our team members each month, and from time to time we cover some of their favorites here on our blog!

Today's book is titled "The Art of Unit Testing" by Roy Osherove. The book review is by Westley Kirkham, a Quality Engineer based in Salt Lake City, UT, USA.

“The Art of Unit Testing” guides the reader step by step from writing the first simple tests to developing robust test sets that are trustworthy, maintainable and readable.

In the first section, Osherove explains what a unit test is, the properties of good unit tests, and why they are so important. The lion's share is dedicated to the nitty-gritty of writing and maintaining unit tests specifically, and testing suites generally. The first part of the section goes in depth to show how Mocks, Stubs and Isolation frameworks are used to test your code. The last section discusses how to deal with resistance to change from co-workers and management if you're trying to introduce Test-Driven Development or Agile methodologies, as well as how to deal with legacy code. Osherove also shares his insights on what tools he believes are the best aids in unit testing. ReSharper is one of his favorites, but he also reviews Nsubstitute, Moq, CodeRush and others.

One section that stood out to our team was Osherove's three pillars of a good unit test—trustworthiness, maintainability, and readability.

Trustworthy tests are up-to-date, simple and correct. There are no duplicate tests, and they do not test any old functionality or functionality that has been removed. The unit test only tests one item and doesn't conflict with other tests. The bugs the test finds are actual bugs in the code, and not bugs in the test.

Maintainable tests are flexible, and don't break with each minor change to the product. The tests are isolated. They are not over-specified and they are parameterized.

Readable tests are easy to understand and do not require the developer or tester who comes after you to spend extra time understanding what you've written. The test names are descriptive, and the asserts are meaningful. Any failures or issues caught will lead the developer in the right direction.

These three pillars should apply to all that we write, not just tests.

At Cimetrix, much of what Osherove teaches is already integrated into our engineering culture. As part of our implementation of Agile, developers write unit tests to verify that the functionality they have coded is correct. It is then reviewed by another developer and a member of the QE team to ensure that common use cases and important edge cases are covered and that the functionality is complete. All code must follow naming conventions and styles verified through ReSharper. For all of our products, unit tests are run on each build, and integration tests are run nightly.

Osherove's lessons on unit testing implementation, testing suite organization, and test-driven development integration are simple and practical. This book would benefit any team looking to improve the fidelity of its software products and the efficiency of its engineers.

Background

Previous blog posting in this series have discussed the rationale for using SEMI’s GEM, GEM 300, and related automation standards in semiconductor backend factories, and pointed out that the specific adaptations required for the various backend equipment types are one of the focus areas for the SEMI Advanced Backend Factory Integration (ABFI) Task Force. In this posting, I will deal specifically with the benefits that can be realized by using the E157 Process Module Tracking standard in a backend factory context.

Since none of the backend material transformations are implemented in what front end experts would consider a “process chamber,” this may seem like an unlikely fit. Moreover, the velocity of backend processes seems contrary with the typical front end recipe execution paradigm. Finally, the lack of distinct substrate locations for some of the processes makes it difficult to know precisely when the process begins and ends for the affected material in some cases.

Regardless of these challenges, the requirements for single device traceability that include knowing the exact process conditions that a device was exposed to at every moment in its manufacturing life cycle (including the backend) argue for use of this standard wherever possible.Since none of the backend material transformations are implemented in what front end experts would consider a “process chamber,” this may seem like an unlikely fit. Moreover, the velocity of backend processes seems contrary with the typical front end recipe execution paradigm. Finally, the lack of distinct substrate locations for some of the processes makes it difficult to know precisely when the process begins and ends for the affected material.

SEMI E157 – Process Module Tracking

The purpose of SEMI E157 is “to define a standard equipment capability to report process-related data to the factory system… the activities of a processing location (i.e., process module) that are related to the execution of a recipe.” The standard further states that “the collection of process data during recipe execution is important to today’s semiconductor factories to support various applications that help optimize equipment processes, finished product quality, yield, and overall factory performance.”

These requirements are now every bit as important for backend factories as they are for the front end, so it is useful to understand how E157 can be effectively applied.

First of all, the E157 Module Process State Model is fairly simple, having only 4 states (three of which are “base states” with no sub-states) and 7 state transition events, shown in the diagram below.

This model represents the state of that portion (or portions) of a unit of equipment that executes a recipe to transform whatever material is present in that part of the equipment. In front end equipment, the chambers are relatively distinct, and usually process a small number of substrates (often one) at a time. By contrast, backend processes cover a broad spectrum of material types, from single wafers to strips (or lead frames) of multiple die to individual packages. The material flow characteristics also vary, from discrete (i.e., single workpieces) to batch to continuous. Moreover, the production rates and material volumes for these processes range from perhaps 90 wafers per hour to thousands of packages per hour… With these challenges, it is no wonder that the pace of automation for these facilities has lagged that of the front end.

How is the E157 Standard Used?

From the equipment’s perspective, every time the process module changes state according to the model above, the equipment sends the corresponding state transition event to the factory host computer. This is done using the SECS-II S6, F11 Event Report message with an event name exactly prescribed by the E157 standard.

The event report should also include whatever “context information” from the equipment that the factory applications need to analyze the equipment’s performance and behavior. For some backend processes, this might be lot ID, process job ID, recipe name, control settings, and current parameter values for important process variables. For others, it might be cumulative usage counts for fixtures with limited lifetimes, current levels of consumables used in the process, or configuration parameters for equipment with a range of setup possibilities. To further complicate matters, some of this information is common across most processes, some of it is process-specific, but some of it may actually be vendor-specific. It all depends on how the factory operates.

Finally, when used in conjunction with event timing information from other required standards (e.g., E90 Substrate Management), E157 data can help identify potential productivity issues, say, when there is an unexpected delay between material arrival (from E90) and recipe start (E157).

How Might E157 be Adapted for Backend Equipment?

As noted above, some equipment types process a stream of material continuously. In these situations, for a given lot, multiple substrates may be processed at the same time in a continuous flow (say, on a conveyor through an oven) until the lot is complete. For these types of equipment, E157 cannot be directly applied because it is chamber oriented, and you don’t get much useful information if you use the entire lot as the execution starting and completing events.

However, if you apply the same state model to the material (substrate, strip/lead frame, carrier, etc.) being processed rather than the equipment component, the collection events defined by E157 can be implemented when a unit of that material changes state. Specifically, the equipment can report the same collection events (ExecutionStarted, StepStarted, StepCompleted, ExecutionCompleted, StepFailed and ExecutionFailed) when execution on a substrate changes state, including when a step is started and completed. The meaning of a “step” would still be interpreted and designed by the equipment supplier. Associating these E157 collection events with a new “substrateID” data variable rather than a chamber enables the factory user to track the material state for each substrate going through the equipment.

Which Backend Equipment Types Should Implement E157?

Even though backend metrology, inspection, and test equipment may run recipes to perform their tasks, since no material transformation takes place, the state transition events and related context are far less important than the measurement and inspection results that these equipment types generate.
For the rest of the backend processes, the relative priorities for implementing E157 are the following:

High – die attach, wire bonding, dicing/sawing/singulation

Medium – backside grinding, polishing, plating, annealing molding, trim and form

Low – wafer mounting, die glue curing, deflashing, laser marking, tie bar cut, baking, burn-in

One category of equipment we have not mentioned is custom assembly equipment that can vary greatly by the end product form factor. The use of E157 in this equipment will depend entirely on the process complexity and sources of variability that must be tracked. However, it is safe to assume that for all but the simplest of processes, E157 will likely play a useful role.

Conclusion

E157 is a prime example of an exceptionally simple and well-written standard built on top of GEM technology that is easy to implement and provides a lot of end user value. The SEMI ABFI task force is now evaluating the specific adaptation of E157 for various backend equipment types and welcomes your contribution to that process.

We are once again gearing up for a virtual show next week! SMTA International is going to be held virtually 28-30 September, 2020. We are excited to be exhibiting at this show for the first time! SMTA International (or Surface Mount Technology Association International) was established in 1984 and is a non-profit international association of companies and individuals involved in all aspects of the electronics industry. The association brings together a professional network of process engineers, executives, project managers, designers and technologists who are shaping the future of the electronics assembly industry.

For the first virtual SMTAi Conference, anyone can register for a free expo pass that also includes the Live Electronics Expo, (Mon-Wed 9/28 – 9/30), the Student and Young Professionals Program (Tues PM 9/29), the Women’s Leadership Program (Wed PM 9/20) and much more.

Cimetrix will have a virtual booth that will me manned by product experts throughout the 3-day expo. We will have live demo times available by reservation (you can sign up now or during the show!). We will also have videos and documentation that features our products and services.

Cimetrix Sapience® will be showcased at SMTAi. Sapience is a smart factory platform to seamlessly connect varying factory equipment within a single event-driven framework. The Sapience platform provides rapid-deployment tools for factories to mine the treasure trove of data available from shop floor equipment, driving actionable insights for optimal decision-making.

We would love to “see” you at the virtual SMTAi Conference next week! Be sure to stop by our booth and talk to us! There will be private chat and voice/video conferencing available from 9:30 am – 4:30 pm CT during the expo and we’d love to meet up and talk about your needs!

SEMICON Taiwan 2020 is coming soon and our Taiwan team will be there! You can read about it now in Traditional Chinese or below in English

SEMICON Taiwan將是SEMI的第一個全面的實體虛擬活動。這與Cimetrix的業務完全吻合，我們將在智能製造大廳的K3068號展位展出。

我們知道今年是史無前例的，許多人將無法前往台灣。但是，我們想邀請所有能夠參加展會的人前來參觀，看看Cimetrix的新功能！ （您也可以在演出前隨時與我們安排會議）！

Cimetrix將在SEMICON Taiwan上展示我們的最新產品和尖端技術。這包括我們的設備控制平台演示，EDA產品以及GEM連接性和一致性測試產品。我們還將能夠提供有關SEMI標準和SEMI技術的一些最新更改的更新。

我們也很高興宣布今年的演講嘉賓：我們的新產品創新副總裁艾倫·韋伯（Alan Weber）和我們的台灣總經理李孟修（Michael Lee）將就“半導體智能製造：業務驅動器，技術的不斷發展的紐帶和標準”發表演講。於9月24日星期四上午11:30會見專家展位（J3146）

祝大家安全健康地進行展覽。儘管我們的許多全球團隊都會錯過此次展會，但我們的台灣團隊和合作夥伴將隨時準備回答您的所有問題。我們希望看到你在那裡！

SEMICON Taiwan will be SEMI’s first comprehensive physical-virtual event, and will take place during September 23-25 at TaiNEX 1 (Nangang Exhibition Center) in Taipei, Taiwan with the theme “Leading the Smart Future.” This is perfectly aligned with the business of Cimetrix, and we will exhibit in the Smart Manufacturing hall at booth K3068.

We know this year is unprecedented and many will not be able to travel to Taiwan. However, we would like to invite everyone who is able to attend the show to stop by and see what’s new with Cimetrix! (You can also schedule a meeting with us at any time before the show)!

Cimetrix will showcase our latest products and cutting-edge technologies during SEMICON Taiwan. This includes our equipment control platform demonstrations, EDA products and GEM connectivity and compliance testing products. We will also be able to give updates on some of the latest changes to the SEMI Standards and SEMI technologies.

We are also excited to announce our speaker this year: Alan Weber, our VP of New Product Innovations, and Michael Lee, our General Manager in Taiwan, will speak on the topic of “Semiconductor Smart Manufacturing: An Evolving Nexus of Business Drivers, Technologies, and Standards” at the SEMI Meet the Experts Booth (J3146) on Thursday, September 24 at 11:30 a.m.

We wish everyone a safe and healthy exhibition. While many of our worldwide team will miss being at the show, our Taiwan team and our partners will be available and ready to answer all your questions. We hope to see you there!

Read the Post-show report of the SEMICON China 2019 show today. Read it now in Chinese or below in English.

  一年一度为期3天的半导体盛会SEMICON China 2020于6月27-29在上海新国际博览中心顺利举行并落下帷幕。展会汇集了业内八百余展商，一起交流探讨，共享半导体行业技术和市场动向。此次盛会是后疫情期电子半导体行业的首展。由于疫情，暴雨和端午佳节诸多因素影响， 参加人数比往年有所减少，但是在如此艰难的情况下，半导体人还能克服困难，聚集在此举办盛会，已经算是非常成功！2020年恰巧是SEMI国际半导体产业协会的50岁生日，这也给此次聚会赋予了特殊的意义！
作为SEMI国际半导体产业协会最紧密并且历史最悠久的合作方之一，矽美科一如既往的参加了此次展会。在中国区技术负责人刘波和黄玉峰的主持下，我们展示了矽美科行业领先的符合SECS/GEM, GEM300, EDA/Interface A等SEMI标准的互联软件产品。 我们不仅见到了一批老朋友，也相识了 一批新朋友，大家一起交流市场和技术信息，畅谈合作共赢机会！

展会期间，我们也预定了SEMICON CHINA 2021的展位。我们将和SEMI及所有半导体人一起长期坚持不懈的耕耘在这个伟大的行业，希望能为中国乃至全球电子半导体行业做出力所能及的贡献！我们明年再会！

要了解更多关于Cimetrix产品和服务的信息，您可以随时安排会议。

The annual three-day SEMICON China 2020 event, originally scheduled for March, was successfully held at the Shanghai New International Expo Center June 27-29, 2020. Despite the lack of international travelers, the exhibition brought together more than 800 exhibitors who exchanged, discussed, and shared semiconductor industry technology and market trends. This event was the first exhibition of the electronic and semiconductor industries in the COVID-19 period. Due not only to the pandemic but also other factors such as bad weather and the Dragon Boat Festival, there were fewer participants than in previous years. However, given these circumstances, our industry in China overcame the difficulties and gathered in Shanghai to celebrate the 50th birthday of the SEMI organization—this gave the show an extra special meaning!

As a longstanding member and collaborative partner of SEMI, Cimetrix has now participated in this exhibition for several years. With the support of Clare Liu and Yufeng Huang, the company’s principal technologists in China, Cimetrix showed its industry-leading connectivity software products that meet GEM, GEM300, EDA/Interface A and other SEMI standards. We not only spent time with old friends, clients and colleagues, but also met many new people that represent an opportunity to learn and grow. 

Finally, during the exhibition, we booked the booth space for SEMICON CHINA 2021. We are excited to support and participate in the Chinese semiconductor manufacturing industry, to anticipate where the industry is headed, and to work together in meeting the future challenges head on.

To learn more about Cimetrix products and services, you can schedule a meeting any time.

Cimetrix is proud to announce that Ranjan Chatterjee, Executive Vice President of Smart Factory Solutions at Cimetrix, has been newly elected to the iNEMI Board of Directors. 

iNEMI, The International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative is a not-for-profit, highly efficient R&D consortium of approximately 90 leading electronics manufacturers, suppliers, associations, government agencies and universities.

iNEMI roadmaps the future technology requirements of the global electronics industry, identifies and prioritizes technology and infrastructure gaps, and helps eliminate those gaps through timely, high-impact deployment projects. These projects support their members' businesses by accelerating deployment of new technologies, developing industry infrastructure, stimulating standards development, and disseminating efficient business practices. They also sponsor proactive forums on key industry issues and publish position papers to focus industry direction.

In the official press release from iNEMI, they explain “The iNEMI Board plays an integral role in the governance of our organization,” said Marc Benowitz, CEO. “They provide oversight for our operations, including decisions regarding policy, strategy and direction of the consortium. These recently elected individuals bring a high caliber of leadership, as well as supply chain diversity, to our Board. We welcome the new and returning Directors and look forward to working with them.”

In addition to being elected to the Board of Directors, Mr. Chatterjee has also had the opportunity to Co-Chair the Smart Manufacturing Roadmap with Dan Gamota from Jabil.

Cimetrix is excited to play a role in the ongoing mission of iNEMI.

Read now in Chinese or below in English

矽美科很高兴地宣布和欢迎刘立聪先生加入矽美科并担任中国区总经理。刘先生将领导一支由中国软件技术专家组成的团队，负责本地区市场销售和客户服务，确保我们在中国半导体设备制造和智能制造工厂领域里领先的并不断增长的客户群的成功，为矽美科在中国市场长期成功发展制定战略方向。

刘先生拥有工商管理硕士学位和机电一体化工程学士学位。他在半导体和电子行业拥有超过20年的经验，其中包括中国本土公司和国际公司的经历。他担任过销售管理、客户管理和渠道管理等多方面的职责。他深刻理解半导体行业面临的诸多挑战，他将通过矽美科产品的价值和定位给我们的客户带来贡献，帮助客户发展业务。

矽美科中国，即矽美科 软件（上海）有限公司，成立于2019年，是一家在中国本土注册的企业，目的是更方便地为中国企业提供智能制造软件产品，并提供行业内最强的技术支持。

矽美科从五年前开始服务于中国市场和客户。最初，我们的中国市场策略侧重于与部分选择性的半导体300毫米设备制造商密切合作，通过为他们提供卓越的本地技术支持，确保他们成功使用矽美科产品。现在，这些最初阶段的客户已经向领先的中国半导体300毫米晶圆工厂批量提供设备，为矽美科赢得了高质量产品的声誉和证明。我们相信，现在是扩大本地团队，提高本地支持能力的正确的时机，可以让我们有能力更好地为规模庞大并不断增长的中国半导体界服务。刘先生将带领的核心技术团队是由经验丰富的软件工程师组成，他们是工厂自动化、设备控制和矽美科SEMI GEM、GEM300和设备数据采集（EDA）等方面产品的专家。我们过去一段时间一直在寻找一位高素质的国家总经理来补充我们的技术团队，也包括面试许多候选人。我们很高兴最终找到刘先生加入矽美科团队。”

Bob Reback，矽美科总裁兼首席执行官

矽美科在世界各地建立国际团队，为我们的客户提供在当地时区工作、讲本国语言和了解其独特文化的技术专家。在全球半导体和电子制造的主要地区，我们现在都有一位经验丰富的高级管理人员担任该地区的国家经理，能够帮助我们的客户获得最高质量的技术支持并取得成功。

欢迎刘立聪先生！

Cimetrix is pleased to announce and welcome Lewis Liu as its Country Manager for Cimetrix China. Mr. Liu will be responsible for ensuring the success of our growing customer base of leading semiconductor equipment manufacturers and smart manufacturing factories in China, providing strategic direction for Cimetrix China to have long-term success in the China market, overseeing local sales and account management, and leading an expert team of China-based software engineers.

Mr. Liu earned a Bachelor of Engineering in Mechatronics and a Master of Business Administration. He has over 20 years of experience in the semiconductor and electronics industries with both China local and international companies. He has held a variety of positions in sales management, account management and channel management. He deeply understands the many challenges of the semiconductor industry and will be an asset to our customers by demonstrating the value propositions of Cimetrix products for their businesses.

Cimetrix China (Cimetrix Software Shanghai Co., Ltd.) was formed last year as a local China company with the goal to empower China companies with smart manufacturing software, be easy to do business with and provide the strongest technical support in the industry.

“Cimetrix has been serving customers in China for the past five years. Initially, our China strategy focused on working closely with a few select manufacturers of semiconductor 300mm equipment to ensure their success using Cimetrix products by providing them with exceptional local technical support. Now that these initial customers are shipping equipment in high volume to leading China semiconductor 300mm wafer fabs and have earned Cimetrix a reputation for very high-quality products, we believe it is time to grow our local capabilities to better serve the large and growing China semiconductor community. Mr. Liu will lead our core technical staff of very experienced software engineers who are experts in factory automation, equipment control and the full portfolio of Cimetrix products for SEMI GEM, GEM300 and Equipment Data Acquisition (EDA) capabilities. We conducted an extensive search for a high-quality Country Manager to complement our technical team, which included interviewing many candidates. We were very pleased to find Mr. Liu and are excited to have him join the Cimetrix team.”

Bob Reback, President and CEO, Cimetrix

Cimetrix has been building international teams throughout the world to provide our clients with technical experts who work in their local time zones, speak their native languages, and understand their unique cultures. In all of the major regions for semiconductor and electronics manufacturing, we now have an experienced executive who serves as that region’s Country Manager and is able to help our customers be successful and receive the highest levels of technical support.

Welcome Lewis Liu!

오늘 1월 31일 SEMI 협회는 코로나바이러스가 확산됨에 따라서, 2/5일부터 개최 예정이였던 SEMICON Korea 2020을 전면 취소할 수 밖에 없음을 알려 왔습니다. 궁금한 점이 있으시면 연락주시기를 바라며, 건강에 더욱 유념하시기를 부탁드립니다.

The SEMI Association has announced that, due to recent health concerns, they feel they have no choice but to cancel SEMICON Korea 2020. Please let us know if you have any questions, and feel free to reach out to us at any time.

Read now in Korean or below in English.

세미콘 코리아 2020이 2월 5일부터 7일까지 코엑스에서 개최될 예정입니다. 씨메트릭스는 한국 파트너사인 링크제니시스와 부스 #C818에서 여러분들을 맞을 준비를 하고 있습니다. “Design the Future”라는 주제로 반도체 제조, AI등 첨단 주제를 30여개의 프로그램이 진행될 예정이면, 저희 씨메트릭스와 링크제니시스는 다음과 같은 내용을 준비하였습니다.

• 빅데이터/AI/머신러닝에서의EDA/Interface A의 역할 (고객사와의 공동 연구 제안 중)
• 최근 한국과 중국에서 씨메트릭스가 주최한 EDA 세미나에서 많은 관심을 받은 Freeze III에 관한 안내 – 큰 주목을 받고 있는 이유는 데이터 처리 속도의 괄목한 만한 향상에 대한 기대감
• EDA 개발시 혹은 검수시 오는 효율적이고 철저한 테스트의 어려움과 복잡함을 자동화를 통하여 해결
• 많은 장비회사가 미래 성장을 위해서 준비하고 있는 소프트웨어의 고도화를 위한 로드맵 제시

부디 방문해 주시기를 바라며 미팅을 원하실 경우 아래의 버튼을 통하여 신청해 주시기 바랍니다.

SEMICON Korea 2020 is almost here and Cimetrix is headed to the show! We will be co-exhibiting with our partner Linkgenesis at booth #C818. The show will be at COEX in Seoul on February 5-7. We look forward to the show and hope to see you there!

This year’s SEMICON Korea theme is: Design the Future and will feature more than 30 technology programs offering leading insights into semiconductor manufacturing, AI and more. Cimetrix recently held a seminar, in partnership with SEMI, around the topic EDA/Interface A, and this seems to be a major talking point both for SEMICON Korea, and around the world at this time.

If you want to find out more about EDA/Interface A, and how it can help with your Smart Factory goals, be sure to stop by our booth #C818. Some of the things you might learn are:

• How EDA/Interface A leads the Big Data/AI/Machine Learning initiatives in the semiconductor world.
• Hear recent news on the Freeze III that ensures a huge performance gain with existing EDA.
• EDA acceptance testing can be difficult due to its complexity. Find out an easy way of testing the EDA interface .
• Good equipment needs good software inside. Find out how to prepare competitive software with a good software roadmap.

We hope to see you at our booth, or you can request a meeting any time by clicking the button below.

IPC APEX 2020 is almost here, and we are excited to be exhibiting for the fourth year in a row! This year, you can find us at booth #1521 and we hope to see you during the show!

IPC APEX is the largest event for electronics manufacturing in North America. You’ll find exhibitors and attendees from around the world come not only for the exhibition, but also to participate in standards development, a technical conference and professional development.

We are happy to announce that Ranjan Chatterjee, the Cimetrix VP & GM of the Smart Factory Business Unit will be speaking, along with Dan Gamota from Jabil, on Wednesday between 10:30 – 12 Noon.

One unified platform to run your entire factory

The IPC APEX Show runs Tuesday, February 4 – Thursday, February 6 at the San Diego Convention Center, San Diego, CA, USA.

If you would like to learn more about how Cimetrix software products can help with your Smart Factory goals, please stop by our booth #1521 during the show. You can also request a meeting any time on the events page of our website by clicking the Schedule a Meeting button below. We look forward to seeing you in San Diego!

As a young boy, I liked to work on the family car with my dad. He taught me how to change the oil, check the spark plugs, replace the shock absorbers, adjust the timing and lots of other tasks that were common on older cars. I remember the first time he let me use the socket wrench. I thought it was the greatest tool ever invented. I could loosen bolts, then moving a small switch into a different position, the same wrench could now tighten bolts. It is a very versatile tool, one I still make sure to have handy to this day. 

I appreciate having well-designed tools available that can be used in a variety of situations. In my career, these tools have sometimes been software tools. I have spent a lot of my career working with equipment connectivity standards and seeing the benefits of having process equipment connected to a factory control system. Whether it is for full equipment control, or just to monitor and gather data from the equipment, having a robust connection to equipment is valuable.  

When I first started connecting equipment to factory control systems, the GEM standard had not been finalized. There was a lot of variability in the SECS message implementations available from the different equipment vendors. I was almost always able to get the equipment connected to the factory system, but generally each connection was custom to that equipment vendor and equipment type. This meant that each connection took far too much time to complete and made supporting different equipment very difficult. 

Once the GEM standards were finalized and adopted, there was now a versatile way to provide consistency and reusability across equipment types and across equipment vendors. Connecting to different types of equipment was principally a configuration task instead of a custom coding task.  

In addition, industry standard compliance test tools were developed to ensure compliance with the GEM standards and harden the implementations for reliable production use. This increased reliability helped drive the adoption and implementation of GEM in the global semiconductor front-end manufacturing industry. As a result, GEM has become a well-established reliable communication standard that is widely used and accepted.  

As other segments of the semiconductor and related electronics manufacturing markets have looked to connect equipment to their factory control systems, many have evaluated GEM and other communication standards to provide this functionality. In some cases, GEM was considered too old, too complex, or not a good fit. But, like the versatile socket wrench, many industry segments have seen the value of the stability and proven nature of GEM. They found that the socket wrench (GEM) was the right tool—they just needed a different sized socket (industry-specific guidance) to fit their needs. Let’s look at a few examples.  

SEMI PV2 

In 2007, when the photovoltaic industry wanted to increase manufacturing efficiencies and reduce costs, they looked to implement industry-wide standards. They formed the Photovoltaic Equipment Interface Specification Task Force to define the interface between the factory control system and the equipment. 

The task force created two working sub-teams to evaluate existing solutions and the requirements of the industry. Several existing solutions such as SECS/GEM, EDA, OPC-UA, and XML were evaluated based on functionality, reliability, extendibility, and the ability to be integrated into different environments. The conclusion of both teams was to build on the SEMI GEM (E30) standard.  

The socket wrench (GEM) was the right tool, and a new socket (SEMI PV2) provided the required fit for their equipment and industry. 

HB-LED 

In 2010, when the high-brightness light-emitting diode (HB-LED) industry started their search for connectivity standards. They needed something that would allow low-cost, common hardware and software interfaces, and other means to enable HB-LED factories to effectively utilize multiple equipment types from multiple vendors in a highly automated manufacturing environment. 

This search found that the best course was to leverage the functionality, reliability, and extendibility of GEM. The SEMI HB4: Specification of Communication Interfaces for High-Brightness LED Manufacturing Equipment (HB-LED ECI) defines the behavior of HB-LED equipment and is based on the SEMI E30 (GEM) standard.  

Again, the socket wrench (GEM) was the right tool. What they needed was a socket (HB4) that would meet the needs of their industry. 

PCBECI 

In February 2019, the Taiwan Printed Circuit Association (TPCA) initiated an activity seeking to boost network connectivity of PCB equipment and help PCB makers implement smart manufacturing practices in the industry.  

The result of this effort was the publication in August of 2019 of the SEMI A3: Specification for Printed Circuit Board Equipment Communication Interfaces (PCBECI). This is a robust and comprehensive shop-floor communication standard that specifies the detailed, bidirectional communications needed to improve productivity and reduce the costs to develop equipment interfaces for PCB manufacturing. The SEMI A3 (PCBECI) standard is based on the SEMI E30 (GEM) standard. 

Yet again, the socket wrench (GEM) was the right tool and all that was needed was a socket for their specific needs (PCBECI).  

It is understandable to think of GEM as an old and complex standard. It has been around for years and can be difficult to understand. However, it has continued to be reviewed and updated as manufacturing needs have changed. As different market segments have looked for equipment communication standards to meet their specific needs, several have found that the functionality, reliability, extendibility and the ability to be integrated into different environments provided by GEM was the right tool. All that was needed were some companion specifications related to GEM to provide a better fit for their requirements.