BIG PICTURE

An Interview with Huei Sin EE, Keysight Technologies

Huei Sin EE, President and General Manager, General Electronics Measurement Solutions Vice President, Keysight Education

QWhat is your forecast for the semiconductor market in 2021?

We expect the strong growth in the worldwide semiconductor market to continue. The acceleration of digital transformations arising from COVID-19 has created a strong demand for semiconductors.

QWhat are Keysight’s semiconductor products and solutions?

Keysight provides a complete suite of solutions for semiconductor testing and semiconductor manufacturing process technologies. These include the latest advancements in high-speed, high-accuracy probe, and optical scanning inspection, and ranges from lab level tools (including simulation software) to production testers for high volume testing.

QWhat are your flagship products and solutions, and what are the features of your flagship products and solutions?

The P9000 series massive parallel parametric tester is our flagship solution. The P9000 is used in all advanced node logic fabs and memory fabs in the world. This solution enables faster throughput and expandability to support our customers’ demands and need to be first-to-market.

The P9000’s unique per-pin parallel measurement capabilities and functionality enable our customers to develop and manufacture their products with cutting edge technologies faster and more cost competitively. In addition, the P9000’s expandability combined with Keysight’s semiconductor expertise support our customers’ ever evolving technical challenges.

QWhat is Keysight’s competitive edge in the semiconductor field?

What makes Keysight outstanding is that we provide total solutions rather a mere set of physical products. Keysight’s solutions solve customers’ challenges and includes the world’s best hardware, software, support, services and consultation. We continue to increase our value offerings through our close engagements with key semiconductor players worldwide.

Huei Sin EE

President and General Manager, General Electronics Measurement Solutions Vice President, Keysight Technologies

QHow are the needs of the semiconductor field changing in line with the trend of Industry 4.0 or smart factory? Industry 4.0, and in fact the global advancement of the digital transformation trend driven by the deployment of 5G, high performance computing and IoT, is pushing the envelope of chipset design and fabrication process. Semiconductor technology advancements are progressing along two tracks: Moore’s Law which is about miniaturization (packing more and more transistors into ever smaller and smaller devices); and, More than Moore which is about functional diversification combining analog and digital functions within an IC package.

Demands arising from these new technologies like millimeter wave, silicon photonics and high-power devices are requiring different types of semiconductor testing and manufacturing process.

QHow is Keysight responding to those changing needs?

We are enabling semiconductor technology advancements through a combination of our design verification solutions, our nanopositioning tools used in lithographic processes, parametric testing and on-wafer test solutions. We are currently working with technology leaders on the next-generation process node, and new More than Moore devices such as silicon photonics, and millimeter wave ICs. Essentially, Keysight is responding with solutions to help address the increasing complexity of wafer fabrication.

For example, Keysight has developed a unique IoT test platform catering to the widest range of solutions (from millimeter wave to optical) with superior performance, accuracy, unique value and experience on production to meet customers’ requirements.

QHow do you plan to expand the semiconductor market this year?

We are engaging with our worldwide customers very early in the development cycle to help them to be first in the market. And, we will continue to provide high value-added solutions that will meet the needs of our customers, like new test solutions to overcome device manufacturing challenges (for example in extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV)).

As an innovator in semiconductor test and measurement solutions, Keysight will continue to be at the forefront of new semiconductor technology advancements and aligned with industry demands to ensure our customers’ success.