What the future of semiconductor manufacturing means for measurement science

3 minute read

The development of advanced semiconductors is gaining momentum across the globe, particularly in the UK, where demand continues to increase. The last few years have seen rapid enhancements across the manufacturing pipeline in materials, device design and performance, and there was no better place to appreciate the sheer scale of recent progress in the sector than at SEMICON Taiwan 2026. The exhibition attracts attendees from all over the world and NPL was part of a sizeable UK Pavilion of specialists in the field.  

My colleague, Professor Fernando Castro, was invited to deliver a presentation at the Semiconductor Advanced Inspection and Metrology Forum, where he described NPL’s world-leading capabilities that can enable greater precision and efficiency in semiconductor metrology. Taking a wider view, we were also keen to highlight how international collaboration can serve a collective ambition for establishing and sustaining trusted, traceable standards in the industry.  

A focal point of the discussions taking place at SEMICON were opportunities for international partnerships – and how metrology will continue to serve a powerful role in connecting the research and development of promising new products with the global value chain. Reflecting on the event, three themes stood out for what they could mean for the future of semiconductor manufacturing and measurement science. 

Metrology and inspection can unlock innovation.  

The semiconductor industry represents a global race for innovation, but as technology develops more complexity, the challenges of measurement become more apparent. The ability to measure a product’s characteristics is a critical aspect of the manufacturing process. The earliest semiconductor technologies were able to use measurement techniques from other, more established fields, but as requirements have evolved over time, semiconductor chips are now by far the most complex structures manufactured by humans. The semiconductor sector is leading the way in many areas of applied metrology, and in the UK, instrument and tool manufacturers can translate the best of UK metrology research into industrial tools. 

Taiwan is a good fit for UK semiconductor specialists. 

While UK semiconductor manufacturing has many innovative small and medium enterprises (SMEs), they tend to face challenges entering the supply chain for much larger companies. The Taiwanese semiconductor industry is characterised by its horizontally specialised structure, famously exemplified by the pure-play foundry model of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), which manufactures chips designed externally. Companies can operate at different stages of the supply chain, creating clearer routes for innovative start-ups to enter the market and sell to receptive customers. The result is a highly competitive but accessible industry, in which standardisation is essential to assuring product quality and consistency. 

The difficulty for innovators lies in the lack of ‘connective tissue’ provided by standardisation, as new products do not yet have standards in place. This is where the national metrology institutes come in, including the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) in Taiwan and NPL in the UK, both key players in the development of standards for new devices entering the supply chain.  

“Metrology is no longer just a quality control method; it is a critical enabler of innovation and technology advancement.”  

Zhihua Zou, Director of Operations, TSMC 

AI hardware is no longer just about EUV lithography.  

Since the emergence of generative AI as a mainstream technology in 2022, the conversation around AI hardware has largely focused on the highly advanced technology of Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography (EUV) as the essential technique for making advanced node silicon chips. However, as AI systems become larger and more sophisticated, there is an additional need for transferring data more quickly and efficiently between processors and memory. 

One solution is optical interconnects, a hot topic at SEMICON, which use light rather than electrical signals for data transfer. Silicon, traditionally the main material for semiconductor chips, does not produce light effectively and therefore needs to be combined with other materials better suited to optical functions, in a process known as heterogenous integration.  

If different materials and components are going to be combined reliably and manufactured at scale, industry needs ways of measuring their performance consistently and agreeing common standards. Herein lies the opportunity for UK research strengths to deliver value to AI hardware, particularly organisations working in metrology and standardisation. 

As the semiconductor landscape continues to evolve, the need for accurate, trusted measurement and standards remains constant. SEMICON Taiwan demonstrated both the pace of innovation across the sector and the value of international collaboration in supporting it. By working with partners across the UK and internationally, NPL continues to contribute to the measurement capabilities and standards leadership needed for the next generation of semiconductors. A collaborative approach can accelerate the transition of emerging semiconductor technologies into reliable products for successful adoption in global markets. 

Read more about our work in semiconductor metrology here

22 Oct 2026