Background Statement for SEMI Draft Document 4487

Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International

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San Jose, CA 95134-2127

Phone:408.943.6900 Fax: 408.943.7943

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Background Statement for SEMI Draft Document 4487

New Standard: Specification For Object Labeling To Authenticate Semiconductors And Related Products In An Open Market

Note: This background statement is not part of the balloted item. It is provided solely to assist the recipient in reaching an informed decision based on the rationale of the activity that preceded the creation of this document.

Note: Recipients of this document are invited to submit, with their comments, notification of any relevant patented technology or copyrighted items of which they are aware and to provide supporting documentation. In this context, “patented technology” is defined as technology for which a patent has issued or has been applied for. In the latter case, only publicly available information on the contents of the patent application is to be provided.

Background

The electronic component supply chain is frequently contaminated by counterfeit and tainted product. The risk of procuring contaminated goods increases when authorized (certified) distribution networks run out of product. This may occur with supply shortfalls or terminated products. Then, purchasing policy may also force procurement from non-certified distributors. The semiconductor industry currently lacks methods to validate the integrity of goods from non-certified distributors or suppliers.

SIA’s Anti-Counterfeiting Task Force has proposed solving these problems through the use of a suite of global, open, consensus-based industry standards that cover (1) overall system architecture, (2) object labeling, (3) authentication service communication, and (4) Authentication Service Body qualifications. This document addresses the object labeling aspect of this suite of standards. When approved, this specification will be appended to SEMI T20 as one of three sub-documents once the current revision of SEMI T20 is approved.

The results of this yellow ballot will be reviewed by the SEMI Anti-Counterfeiting Task Force,and adjudicated by the Traceability Committee during their meetings being held in connection with SEMICON® West in San Francisco, on Thursday, July 16, 2009.

If you need technical assistance, or have questions, please contact Elliott Grant by email at . For procedural issues, please contact Susan Turner at 408-943-7019 or e-mail: .

This is a draft document of the SEMI International Standards program. No material on this page is to be construed as an official or adopted standard. Permission is granted to reproduce and/or distribute this document, in whole or in part, only within the scope of SEMI International Standards committee (document development) activity. All other reproduction and/or distribution without the prior written consent of SEMI is prohibited.

Page 1Doc. 44874487 SEMI

Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International

3081 Zanker Road

San Jose, CA 95134-2127

Phone:408.943.6900 Fax: 408.943.7943

hb khghgh1000A4487

SEMI Draft Document 4487

New Standard: SPECIFICATION FOR OBJECT LABELING TO AUTHENTICATE SEMICONDUCTORS AND RELATED PRODUCTS IN AN OPEN MARKET

1 Purpose

1.1 Assumed Commercial Environment

1.1.1 Large quantities of semiconductor device products are distributed in the business world to be embedded into various electronics products such as television sets, computers, automobiles or their components, and so on. The electronic component supply network is frequently contaminated by counterfeit and tainted product. The risk of procuring contaminated goods increases when authorized (certified) distribution networks run out of product. This may occur with supply shortfalls or terminated products. Then, purchasing policy may also force procurement from non-certified distributors.

1.2 Authentication of Distributed Products

1.2.1 A product may be substituted by counterfeiting the item secretly anywhere in a chain of distribution. If the product has specific identification, e.g.,an unpredictable random code, on it issued by some authentication organization, it can be determined whether it is genuine or not anywhere in the distribution chain.

1.2.1.1 When authentication is practiced consistently at key points in the trade stream, and when it is left open for any party to participate, it drives unintended counterfeit purchases to a minimum in a way that can be deployed easily and relatively inexpensively in a wide variety of settings.

1.3 Availability of Standards

1.3.1 The semiconductor industry has lacked standardized methods to validate the integrity of goods from non-certified distributors or suppliers. The purpose of this specification is to describe the object labeling aspect.

1.3.2 The approach that is covered by this guide involves (1) labeling by trusted manufacturers of batches of authentic parts with Authentication Codes on the product package or device and (2) authentication service, available to anyone considering purchase of goods, using the Authentication Code for validation.

1.3.3 This specification is intended to provide a common format, syntax, and content for printed, machine-readable codes on objects to facilitate communication of data essential for authentication. These labels differ from current commercial practice in that they provide no direct information about the product.

1.3.4 This specification covers labels or package marking that contain a two-dimensional matrix bar code symbol (hereafter Data Matrix) and its associated human-readable interpretation. This symbol can accommodate substantially more information than can one-dimensional (linear) bar code symbols; it is included to provide for a smooth transition from existing traceability and labeling procedures to the comprehensive, unified system envisioned for the future in which common reading equipment can be used throughout the supply chain.

1.3.5 This specification is akey element of a suite of standards[1] aimed at enabling automated, reliable, and secure product authentication for the semiconductor industry, thereby reducing the presence of illegalcounterfeit items in the marketplace.

NOTE 1: The other aspects of the process are covered in other standards now under development within the Anti-Counterfeiting Task Force of the Traceability Committee. When approved, these standards will also be appended to SEMI T20 as subordinate standards.

2 Scope

2.1 This specification covers labels for objects used for packaging semiconductor and electronic components, including intermediate container, product package, or shipping pack, and for direct marking of the packaged device in the situation where such marking is desired and practical.

2.2 This specification does not specify the location of the security label on the package or device. The location of package identification labels is covered in CEA-624-A. The location of device marking is covered in CEA-706-A.

2.3 This specification covers the syntax and content of the code fields on the label.

2.4 This specification includes descriptions of the characteristics of the code formats to be employed.

2.5 The materials of construction and the adhesives used to apply the label are beyond the scope of this document.

2.6 The dimensions in this specification are applicable to labels printed with printers which have nominal resolution of 203 dots per inch (dpi) or better. Printers with lower resolution may be used, but in such cases, it is necessary to ensure that the label is of a size that fits the package to be employed. Note that printing the codes with a cell size smaller than approximately 40 m (0.016 in.) limits their readability by off-the-shelf barcode scanners.

2.7 The recommended 2D barcode is a Data Matrix. The format of the Data Matrix is specified in ISO/IEC 16022.

2.7.1 While alternative standard methods for encoding MH10.8.2 data, such as Code 39, PDF417, QR Code, or RFID tags, can accommodate the necessary syntax and non-printing characters required for encoding MH10.8.2 concatenated data fields, they are not within the scope of this specification.

2.7.2 The purpose of defining standardized labeling practices is to enable interoperability between trading partners. Therefore, non-standard and proprietary barcode symbologies cannot be used within the context of this standard.

3 Referenced Documents

3.1 SEMI Standards

SEMI G83 — Specification for Bar Code Marking of Product Packages

SEMI M59 — Terminology for Silicon Technology

SEMI T3 — Specification for Wafer Box Labels

3.2 ANSI Standards[2]

ANSI MH10.8.2 — Data Application Identifier Standard

ANSI MH10.8.3 — Transfer Data Syntax for High Capacity ADC Media

3.3 IEC Standards[3]

CEA-556-A — Outer Shipping Container Bar Code Label Standard

CEA-624-A — Engineering Standards Proposal - Product Package Bar Code Standard for Non-Retail Applications

3.4 ISO Standards[4]

CEA-706-A — Component Marking Standard

ISO/IEC 646— Information technology – ISO 7-bit coded character set for information interchange

ISO/IEC 15415 — Print Quality Test Specification – Two-dimensional symbols

ISO/IEC 15418 — Information Technology – EAN/UCC Application Identifiers and Fact Data Identifiers and Maintenance

ISO/IEC 15434 — Information Technology – Syntax for High Capacity Automatic Data Capture (ADC) Media

ISO/IEC 16022 — Information Technology – International symbology specification – Data Matrix

4 Terminology

4.1 General terms, acronyms, and symbols associated with silicon technology and used in this standard are listed and defined in SEMI M59.

4.2 Other Acronyms and Symbols

4.2.1 AIM — Association for Automatic Identification and Mobility

4.2.2 ANSI — American National Standards Institute.

4.2.3 ASB — Authentication Service Body.

4.2.4 DI — Data Identifier — A specified character string that defines the specific intended use of the data that immediately follows. The identifier shall be an alphabetic character or an alphabetic character preceded by up to three numeric characters as defined by ANSI MH10.8.2 and ISO/IEC 15418. A character (or set of characters) within a machine-readable symbol that defines the general category or specific use of the data that is encoded in the same machine-readable symbol.

4.2.5 IAQG — International Aerospace Quality Group

4.2.6 IEC — International Electrotechnical Commission.

4.2.7 ISO — International Standards Organization.

4.2.8 SIA — Semiconductor Industry Association[5].

4.3 Other Terminology

4.3.1 The following definitions of package levels are taken with minor modification from SEMI G83, see Figure 1:

4.3.1.1 intermediate container — container that holds one or more product packages for product/order separation in a shipping pack.

4.3.1.2 packaged device – the component.

4.3.1.3 product package — the smallest package format, made by a single material. Also called unit pack.

4.3.1.4 shipping pack — package or shipping container/final container that is strong enough for industrial use for product packaging, storage, and shipping.

Figure 1
Package Levels

4.3.2 Terms relating to the Data Matrix symbol characteristics are defined in ISO/IEC 16022

4.3.3 Definitions of terms relating to code content are as follows:

4.3.3.1 ASB Name— a globally unique identifier of an ASB.

4.3.3.2 alphanumeric characters — both numbers (0-9) and uppercase alphabetic characters (A-Z) drawn from ISO 646 (not including lower case characters, non-printing characters or punctuation marks).

4.3.3.3 authentication code—encrypted symbol generated by an ASB that is unique within that ASB.

4.3.3.4 data field— a specific portion or area of a label designated to contain a human readable interpretation, and/or a Data Matrix.

4.3.3.5 data identifier— a specified character or character string that defines the category or intended use of data that follows.

4.3.3.6 human readable interpretation (hri)— the interpretation of all or a portion of a Data Matrix presented in a type font which can be read by persons.

4.3.3.7 message character— a character that contains data, encoded into a Data Matrix.

4.3.3.8 message length— the number of message characters contained in a single encoded message.

4.3.3.9 syntax — the manner in which data are put together to form messages. Syntax also includes rules governing the use of appropriate identifiers, delimiters, separator character(s), and other non-data characters within the message. Syntax is the equivalent to grammar in spoken language.

5 Label Format

5.1 Type 1 – Authentication Code as a standalone Data Matrix printed on a label

5.2 Type 2— Authentication Code as a standalone Data Matrix among other bar codes printed on a label

5.3 Type 3 — Authentication Code concatenated into Data Matrix incorporating other data printed on a label

5.4 Type 4 – Authentication Code concatenated into Data Matrix incorporating other data marked on a packaged device

6 Syntax, Content and Characteristics of Data Fields

6.1 Barcode Structure and Error Correction

6.1.1 The message shall be encoded in a square or rectangular two-dimensional Data Matrix. The Data Matrix shall be constructed in accordance with ISO/IEC 16022, using error correction code ECC200.

6.2 The Authentication Code shall have the following message character content:

6.2.1 The first 3 characters shall be the DI: “97S”, referred to in ANSI MH10.8.2 standard as the “Encrypted Serial Number”.

6.2.2 The next 3 characters shall contain the ASB Identifier.

6.2.3 The next N characters shall contain the Authentication Code. The maximum data length in CEA-624-A is 25 characters, excluding the DI. Therefore the maximum length of the Authentication Code is 22 alphanumeric characters. Consistent with ANSI MH10.8.2, the Authentication Code shall contain only numeric and upper case alphabetic characters drawn from ISO 646 (not including lower case characters or punctuation marks).

6.3 When an Authentication Code is the only data in the Data Matrix no Message Header or Trailer is necessary (Such as Type 1 or Type 2).

6.3.1 Table 1 and Figure 2 summarize the data elements of a standalone Authentication Code.

6.4 When multiple data fields are combined (concatenated) within a Data Matrix the following message syntax is required:

6.4.1 The first seven (7) non-printing characters shall be the Message Header [)>RS06GS , and the Trailer shall be the last two (2) non-printing characters RSEoT in accordance with the ANSI MH10.8.3 standard. The trailer is necessary as the data field is of variable length.

6.4.2 The “GS” (ASCII/ISO 646 Decimal “29", Hex “1D”) character shall be used with the appropriate Data Identifier to identify each of the combined fields, in accordance with the ANSI MH10.8.3 standard.

6.4.3 Table 2 and Figure 3 illustrate the data elements of an Authentication Code concatenated with other data.

6.5 The encoding shall be as described in ISO/IEC 15434.

6.6 The Short Title “ID – SECURE#” is recommended when printed.

6.7 The example in Figure 4 shows the Authentication Code as a standalone Data Matrix with hri.

6.8 The example in Figure 5 shows a label with barcodes for each data field, and the Authentication Code represented as a standalone Data Matrix with Short Title and hri.

6.9 The example in Figure 6 shows a label with the fields including the Authentication Code concatenated into a single Data Matrix and hri.

6.10 The example in Figure 7 shows fields including the Authentication Code concatenated into a single Data Matrix and hri, such as may be used on a packaged device.

Table 1Message Character Content of Standalone Authentication Code

Character Location / Symbol Content / Notes
First 3 / Data Identifier (DI) / “97S”
Next 3 / ASB Identifier / (Vendor-assigned)
Up to Next 22 / Authentication Code / (Vendor-assigned)

Figure 2
Example Encoding of Stand alone Code

Table 2Message Character Content of Authentication Code Concatenated with Other Data

Character Location / Symbol Content / Notes
7 / Message Header (when used as a concatenated code) / [)>RS06GS
… / DI, Data, Field Separator / DI + data + GS
Next 3 / Data Identifier (DI) / “97S”
Next 3 / ASB Identifier / (Vendor-assigned)
Up to Next 22 / Authentication Code / (Vendor-assigned)
Next 2 / Trailer / RSEoT

Figure 3
Example Encoding of Combined (Concatenated) Fields

Figure 4
Label Type 1 — Stand-alone Data Matrix Encoding Only Authentication Code

Figure 5
Label Type 2 — Multiple Bar Codes

Figure 6
Label Type 3 — Single Concatenated Data Matrix

Figure 7
Label Type 4 - Direct Marking Concatenated Data Matrix on Packaged Device

7 Code Dimensions and Quality for Data Matrix

7.1 Specific applications will determine the size and element dimensions of the Data Matrix. For device marking code minimum and maximum sizes, refer to CEA-706-A

7.1.1 For direct device marking, CEA-706-A specifies that additional data (such as the Authentication Code) may be concatenated with the Traceability data on a device as long as the symbol size does not exceed 7 mm by 7 mm.

7.1.2 Square symbols are the preferred symbol type for Data Matrix.

7.1.3 Rectangular Data Matrix codes may be used if space constraints do not allow room for a square symbol.

7.1.4 ECC 200 is the only approved error correction level permitted for Data Matrix codes.

7.2 Quality Control Requirements

7.2.1 Best practice for label printing suggests a minimum AIM grade of “B” (including contrast) for all label printed symbols, regardless of barcode size.

7.2.2 Best practice for all Laser marked symbols suggests a minimum AIM grade of “C” (including contrast), regardless of barcode size.

7.2.3 Best practice for all Ink Jet symbols suggest a minimum IAQG grade quality of “Excellent”.

7.2.4 Print quality on a label shall be determined in accordance with ISO/IEC 15415 and ISO/IEC 16022.

8 Labels

8.1 Type

8.1.1 Reflective white, high contrast labels shall be used for all applications where labels are being used.

8.1.2 Surface uniformity shall be considered when making a label selection.

8.1.3 All symbol printing will be black.

8.1.4 Label substrates must be carefully selected so that the post-marking environment does not affect long-term readability.

9 Label Locations

9.1 Label location refers to the positioning of the label on the package.

9.2 Each label should be located in a position which facilitates scanning

9.3 Label placement should be in accordance with relevant IEC packaging standards.

9.4 CEA-624-A specifies label locations for a wide range of packaging types, including: reel, bulk case, ammo box, intermediate bag, tube and tray.

NOTICE: SEMI makes no warranties or representations as to the suitability of the standards set forth herein for any particular application. The determination of the suitability of the standard is solely the responsibility of the user. Users are cautioned to refer to manufacturer's instructions, product labels, product data sheets, and other relevant literature, respecting any materials or equipment mentioned herein. These standards are subject to change without notice.

By publication of this standard, Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) takes no position respecting the validity of any patent rights or copyrights asserted in connection with any items mentioned in this standard. Users of this standard are expressly advised that determination of any such patent rights or copyrights, and the risk of infringement of such rights are entirely their own responsibility.