It’s been a tradition for as long as most anyone can remember that SEMICON West was held in the Moscone Center, San Francisco, CA. That tradition has now been shattered thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, the 2020 virtualization of the conference seemed every bit as interesting and detailed as before with more than 150 semiconductor industry visionaries and government leaders gathered online for keynotes, fireside chats, and executive panels. The subject matter covered all aspects of semiconductor development and manufacturing but with a special emphasis on the energy sustainability of the manufacturing side. What follows are only a few of the many keynotes, panels, paper sessions, and other discussions.
John Blyler is a Design News senior editor, covering the electronics and advanced manufacturing spaces. With a BS in Engineering Physics and an MS in Electrical Engineering, he has years of hardware-software-network systems experience as an editor and engineer within the advanced manufacturing, IoT and semiconductor industries. John has co-authored books related to system engineering and electronics for IEEE, Wiley, and Elsevier.