SEMICON Europa '98 Offers Expanded Show

Twenty-three years ago in Zurich, Switzerland, SEMICON Europa welcomed its visitors for the first time. This year, participants will travel to Geneva's Palexpo March 30-April 3 to experience the largest international exposition and conference specific to European semiconductor equipment, materials and services.

More than 900 exhibitors from 21 countries will be occupying 1600 booths at the Palexpo, all under one roof. Exhibition hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 31, and Wednesday, April 1, and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, April 2. Exhibitors from the following countries will be on hand: Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Russia, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States.

In addition to exhibitions, visitors can participate in a variety of meetings, programs and events. Technical programs (Table 1) and business/marketing programs (Table 2) will be held at the Palexpo, unless otherwise indicated in the Tables.

The SEMI International Standards Program is an open forum for industry professionals from semiconductor equipment and materials suppliers and device manufacturers to address key global industry issues. Benefits of standards include decreased product development time, lower manufacturing costs, improved industry-wide international communications and enhanced market penetrations. Held at the Palexpo, Standards meetings are open to all interested parties at no charge (Table 3).

This Second SEMI All-Industry Forum, "Setting New Goals for Global Cooperation," will be held Monday, March 30, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Palexpo. The first SEMI All-Industry Summit, held at SEMICON Europa 94, identified areas of potential global cooperation between semiconductor manufacturers, their representative organizations and the equipment and materials industry. The goals and results of the forum have had a serious impact on the industry, including a cooperative transition to the next wafer size, increased global sharing of information and an aggressive program to deal with environmental, health and safety (EHS) issues.

New goals need to be set for cooperation that will benefit all industry participants by enabling speedier, cost-effective resolutions of the challenges ahead. At the forum, industry leaders from Europe, Japan, Asia/Pacific and the United States will assess the challenges of the future, including those technological challenges presented by the device industry's new technology roadmaps.

Through the Spouses' Program, interested parties can make "A Visit to Annecy, France." The group will depart from the Hotel Warwick Lobby at 8:45 a.m. Wednesday, April 1, and return by 5:30 p.m. After the picturesque one-hour drive to Annecy, participants can discover the town at their leisure both before and after lunch, which will be served at 12:30 p.m.

For more information on SEMICON Europa, phone 32.2.736.2058, or visit the SEMI web page at www.semi.org for show news as well as information on Geneva.