“The long-term market outlook remains strong, however, as semiconductors continue to become a larger and more important part of our digital economy.” said John Neuffer*. John Neuffer recently laid out the key principles for investing in semiconductor R&D.

One of the main principles is to ensure a strong connection between R&D and mass production. The development should be commercialized in 5-15 years. This is the period from the early stage of development to mass production. To do this, you need to create an effective ecosystem.

The second principle is rational distribution of investment in R&D. Investments should not be concentrated on one technology or in one place. It also makes no sense to make small investments. Existing competencies should be taken into account and strengthened.

Another principle is to unite efforts. Complex innovative tasks can only be solved jointly. It is necessary to unite companies to solve complex technological problems and provide a full computing stack. The benefit of collaboration lies in accelerating the development of technologies and tools.

For example, modern data centers must bring together experts from areas such as new materials, new computing architectures, packaging, software, and more.

***

The development of specialists is the last point that John Neuffer mentioned. A shortage of highly skilled R&D professionals — involved in semiconductor design, manufacturing and other value chain activities — threatens to limit the pace of innovation.

__________________________________
^* - John Neuffer is President and CEO of the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA). He has worked in technology, public policy, and trade areas. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Semiconductor Research Corporation. This is non-profit industry-government-academia microelectronics research consortium.

by Andiy Domane