Guest Editorial Special Section on the 2018 SEMI Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Conference

The 2018 SEMI Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Conference, the 29th since its conception, was held once again in Saratoga Springs, NY, USA, May 1 through May 3, 2018. Saratoga Springs provided a beautiful backdrop for discussion of the many topics central to the continued success of the semiconductor manufacturing industry in areas including Advanced Metrology, Advanced Processes and Materials, Advanced Process Control, Contamination-Free Manufacturing, Cost Reduction, Equipment Reliability and Productivity, Defect Inspection, Environmental, Health and Safety, Factory Automation and Dynamics, Human Resources Management and Development, Lithography Advances and Challenges, Yield Enhancement, and Yield Modeling. Semiconductor device manufacturers, equipment and materials suppliers, academia, and others all came together these three days, as presenters and attendees, to exchange ideas and insights. Throughout the conference, two parallel session tracks provided options to match the interests of each attendee, without being overwhelming.