International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors

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The International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors is a set of documents produced by a group of semiconductor industry experts. These experts are representative of the sponsoring organisations which include the Semiconductor Industry Associations of the US, Europe, Japan, Korea and Taiwan.

The documents produced carry this disclaimer: "The ITRS is devised and intended for technology assessment only and is without regard to any commercial considerations pertaining to individual products or equipment".

The documents represent best opinion on the directions of research into the following areas of technology, including time-lines up to about 15 years into the future:

System Drivers/Design
Test & Test Equipment
Front End Processes
Photolithography
IC Interconnects
Factory Integration
Assembly & Packaging
Environment, Safety & Health
Yield Enhancement
Metrology
Modeling & Simulation
Emerging Research Devices
Emerging Research Materials

[edit] History

With the progressive externalization of production tools to the suppliers of specialized equipment, the need arose for a clear roadmap to anticipate the evolution of the market and to plan and control the technological needs of IC production. For several years, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) gave this responsibility of coordination to the USA, which led to the creation of an American style roadmap, the National Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (NTRS). In 1998, the SIA became closer to its European, Japanese, Korean and Taiwanese counterparts by creating the first global roadmap: The International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS). This international group has (as of the 2003 edition) 936 companies which were affiliated with working groups within the ITRS.^[1]