SEMI Korea is back on track. New confirmed COVID-19 cases in Korea now average about 50 per day – with more than half from abroad – after peaking in early March, setting the stage for the Seoul office’s first on-site program since the global coronavirus outbreak began.
For four days in late July, SEMI Korea held the Semiconductor Process Technology Tutorial (SPT Tutorial) at COEX, home to SEMICON Korea. Nearly 180 university students and chip engineers gathered for two semiconductor manufacturing courses (beginner and intermediate) taught by professors from schools including Hongik and Sungkyunkwan Universities and senior engineers from major semiconductor makers. The beginner’s course covered the end-to-end chipmaking process and the intermediate class examined key phases of semiconductor manufacturing including silicon wafer preparation, cleaning and CMP, lithography, etch, metrology and inspection, implantation and diffusion, deposition and packaging.
Social distancing, now part of daily life in Korea, and other protective measures implemented by SEMI Korea to ensure the safety and well-being of the attendees and lecturers made the event possible. SEMI Korea followed best COVID-19 practices including the following.
Step 1. Site check of COVID-19 prevention system
COEX is amply equipped with sanitizers and thermal imaging cameras, with medical staff available in case of an emergency. COEX also constantly monitors air quality at the entire facility while keeping it well-ventilated.
Step 2. Screening of registrants
- Online medical questionnaire review: After attendees completed a SEMI Korea medical questionnaire and submitted it prior to registration, SEMI Korea checked the health status of each attendee and whether they had recently traveled overseas to a high-risk COVID-19 region.
- Registrant identification: Upon each registrant’s arrival at COEX, SEMI Korea confirmed that the identification of each attendees matched the registrant who completed the questionnaire.
- Temperature measurement and sanitizer use: SEMI Korea required all attendees to apply hand sanitizer before entering the classroom and measured the body temperature of each. Anyone running a temperature would have been denied entry.
- Mask Wearing: All attendees were required to wear mask socially distance during check-in and the lectures.
Attendees line up for registration while social distancing.
Step 3. Badge Distribution and Classroom Entry: Once attendees had passed through all the safety protocols, they were given badges and admitted to the lecture room. Each classroom table was equipped with acrylic desktop social distancing shields to contain the respiratory aerosols of the students. In addition, only one-way passage was allowed through entrances and exits to minimize contact among participants.
Acrylic desktop shields helped with social distancing.
"Thanks to SEMI's thorough COVID-19 prevention plan for COVID-19, both the speakers and attendees participated in the tutorial confident that the environment was safe,” said speaker Professor Taesung Kim of Sungkyunkwan University. “I look forward to seeing SEMI continue to take these precautions to help the semiconductor industry remain connected and grow.”
SEMI Korea moves forward with nine on-site events in 2020
Webinars will continue to serve as important forums for SEMI Korea to help members connect, collaborate and innovate while preventing the spread of COVID-19. But to help the industry grow and prosper, SEMI Korea’s on-site events – which have always and will continue to make safety the top priority – will remain robust.
In 2020, SEMI Korea will host nine on-site events including the MEMS & Sensor Forum and SMC Korea. We appreciate the industry’s support and cooperation as the world continues to battle COVID-19 and look forward to connecting with members in webinars and at on-site events again soon!
Jaegwan Shim is a marketing specialist at SEMI Korea.