IBM Executive Armbrust Named Sematech CEO
Sematech named Daniel Armbrust as its president and CEO, succeeding Michael Polcari, who becomes chairman. Armbrust most recently managed IBM's East Fishkill fab.
David Lammers, News Editor -- Semiconductor International, 11/16/2009
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Dan Armbrust, CEO, Sematech |
Sematech named IBM semiconductor executive Daniel Armbrust as its president and CEO, replacing Michael Polcari, who becomes chairman of the board.
Armbrust most recently was in charge of IBM's 300 mm fab in East Fishkill, N.Y. He began his career at IBM in 1983, working in process development and manufacturing, including interfacing with members of the Fishkill process development alliance.
Armbrust, 47, studied ceramic science and engineering at Pennsylvania State University and holds a master of science degree in manufacturing systems engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Polcari, who also worked as an IBM semiconductor manager before taking on the Sematech job in 2003, succeeds O.B. Bilous as chairman.
Armbrust spent four years running the Fishkill fab, a job that included interfacing with the eight Fishkill Alliance partners as they developed process technology at the fab. He worked earlier stints in manufacturing at Fishkill and at IBM's Burlington, Vt., fab, and for a time was IBM's interface to internal and foundry customers that relied on the Fishkill fab. At IBM headquarters, he worked on intellectual property issues, which brought him into close contact with the semiconductor alliance partners as well.
His appointment as Sematech CEO comes at a time when chip companies, as well as equipment and materials suppliers, are looking to Sematech to carry more of the R&D load on a growing list of expensive technology projects. In today's cautious business environment, few companies are increasing their own R&D budgets, even as they face the need for EUV lithography, 3-D interconnects, high-mobility channels, 300 mm wafer fab productivity improvements, and 450 mm wafers.
"Caution is the buzzword right now," Armbrust said. "The financial constraint in today's business environment is our biggest challenge. In the face of that, how do we keep the roadmap alive?"
Lithography traditionally has consumed the biggest chunk of Sematech's budget. Armbrust said EUV lithography is working, and has great potential to advance the roadmap. "EUV is very close to commercialization, but we need to develop the mask infrastructure. Companies are looking to Sematech to make sure that the full complement of technologies is ready, and that is going to cost more money. We need to pull the industry together on the mask infrastructure."
Sematech has added 11 associate members — equipment and materials vendors — to programs including the EUV program and the 3-D interconnect program, both based in Albany, N.Y. In recent years the ISMI subsidiary, based in Austin, Texas, has grown to 15 members. "The core membership is stable, though we know the industry is facing continuing consolidation. There is an opportunity to bring in more companies, especially at the associate level. All that said, I think we are under-resourced for the challenges ahead of us."
Several years ago Sematech added Samsung Electronics Co. (Seoul, South Korea) as a core member, and Micron Technology Inc. (Boise, Idaho) is an ISMI member. "Our members who make logic devices have active programs in embedded memory to integrate with logic. There are synergies in the materials set between memory and logic. And we are investigating charge trapping devices and other memory technologies," he said, adding, "EUV is likely to be used in memory first."
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