edfas.org 25 ELECTRONIC DEVICE FAILURE ANALYSIS | VOLUME 27 NO. 1 Daniela Zahn holds a Ph.D. from the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society (FHI). She is a senior researcher at Fraunhofer EMFT, specializing in quantum sensing and quantum computing applications. She is engaged in collaborative projects within the Munich Quantum Valley network, with a particular focus on the development of high-resolution microscopes for semiconductor analysis and the optimization of superconducting qubits. Fleming Bruckmaier holds a Ph.D. in quantum technologies from the Technical University of Munich and has over seven years of experience working in quantum sensing and imaging. His research has resulted in numerous high-ranking publications, particularly in the field of magnetic field imaging using quantum technologies, with applications in both the semiconductor and medical sectors. He serves as CTO of QuantumDiamonds, spearheading the technical development of NV-based semiconductor EFA. GUEST EDITORIAL CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2 strength including design and simulation tools, manufacturing equipment (used to implement many wafer-based fab processes necessary for advanced packaging), and R&D capabilities in relevant areas to advanced packaging including novel materials, wide-bandgap and ultra-widebandgap semiconductors, novel memory, and photonics (used along with heterogeneous integration to build advanced, highly functional systems). METROLOGY NEEDS RECOGNIZED Metrology has received considerable attention from the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) with much of the global industry recognizing the critical need to address quality and reliability in packaging and assembly with real-time feedback. Challenges in measuring submicron features, nondestructive testing, and high-resolution surface dimensions have been called out by industry representatives in the recent IEEE Electronic Components and Technology Conference (ECTC). The importance of characterizing materials and inline process monitoring is recognized as essential. A need for more offline metrology tools has also been called out as important to the production of more complex packages. Employing machine learning and artificial intelligence to make use of the collected data is key to providing real-time feedback and process improvement. GLOBAL FUNDING While the U.S. may have started the ball rolling, the rest of the global electronics industry is also receiving government stimulus. Europe has its EU Chips Act tar- geting 43 billion euros for the industry. And China has announced its Big Fund Phase 3 program with spending of US $47.5 billion to achieve self-sufficiency in semiconductor production with targets including materials and equipment. Nikkei reported in April that Japan plans to spend 3.9 trillion yen (US $25.7 billion) over the next three years. Some of the funding is for Rapidus to construct a 2 nm semiconductor fab in Hokkaido that will use single wafer processing instead of batch to obtain faster feedback. South Korea plans to spend US $450 billion over the next 10 years on its industry. India has a mission to establish semiconductor manufacturing and the ecosystem to support it with plans to spend US $10 billion. Australia is targeting A $1.5 billion. CONCLUSION Regardless of whether all the goals are achieved under the significant amount of funding to our industry, the acknowledgment of the importance of the semiconductor industry and its ecosystem is a critical step in moving the industry forward to meet future global needs. Metrics to measure the success of these investments may be debated, but the recognition of the importance of the industry is long overdue.
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