It's Time for Online, On-Time Standards

There's an old joke: "Standards are wonderful — there are so many to choose from!" There are domestic standards, regional standards, international standards, treaty standards, accredited standards and regulatory standards, just to name a few. Over and above the confusing nomenclature is the variety of ways individual standards are used. The very same document may be used, by different sets of people, as a technical specification, a purchase specification or a non-tariff trade barrier.

In the semiconductor manufacturing industry, standards are developed by dozens of organizations, including NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology), ASTM, ANSI, IEEE, ISO and, of course, SEMI (Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International).

Initially, in the 1970s, SEMI got involved with standards setting for reasons of automation. To transfer wafers from one piece of equipment to another, it was important that the equipment be of the same height, and the doors be of the same size, etc. Pretty basic stuff. Over time, hundreds of standards have been added on a wide variety of topics, including, most recently, standards for e-diagnostics equipment communication.

Several things strike me about SEMI's standards program. First, as far as I can tell, SEMI hasn't updated its standards program since its inception. Although thousands of people worldwide are involved in the standards-setting procedures, if you want to vote on a standard, you still need to show up at a standards meeting.

Second, the whole procedure is much too slow. Witness, for example, the process that International SEMATECH had to go through to get communication standards for e-diagnostics officially documented as SEMI standards. The goal, defined in 2002, was to develop three different interface standards — A, B and C — that would enable data from the equipment to be collected and shared, a prerequisite for effective equipment engineering systems (EES). So far, only two of the standards have made it through the long process. Interface A was approved in March, and Interface B was approved in July. And that's on SEMI's so-called standards "fast track."

Third, if SEMI was really interested in serving the needs of the equipment industry, it would make these standards available free of charge. That's not the case. If you're a member and would like to have unlimited access to the standards, you'll have to pay $22,440 ($33,660 for non-SEMI members).

So much more could be achieved more quickly and inexpensively with a simple solution: Internet-based balloting and voting. Other organizations already have such programs in place. The well-respected ASTM International, one of the largest voluntary standards development organizations in the world, has it down to such a science that they are outsourcing it as a service. ASTM provides Internet-based Standards Development Forums, and an electronic balloting system that provides experts with global access to electronic documents and the opportunity to provide feedback on those documents online.

Linda Goldberg, manager of technical activities at NACE International, provides an ASTM user testimonial: "NACE chose to use the ASTM Internet-based Standards Development Forums to facilitate our members' work on technical documents wherever they are and at their convenience, speeding the development process and making it easier for chairpersons to evaluate comments on various sections."

Of the dozens of organizations involved with setting standards used in the semiconductor industry, SEMI stands out as being behind the times. Either SEMI should start making some investments in developing a world-class standards-setting program, or the industry should start looking for alternative sources. One good example is ASTM.