We sat down with John Robinson, Ph.D., senior principal scientist at KLA and SPIE fellow, to share some insights on AI from the 2025 SPIE Advanced Lithography + Patterning Symposium.
Q: You’re in the second year as co-chair of the symposium and its six parallel conferences. Overall, what are some key takeaways, and what was your role at this year’s event?
I wore several hats at the SPIE Advanced Lithography and Patterning symposium. I’m happy to report that we’re back to pre-COVID numbers in terms of paper submissions (more than 526) and attendees (over 2,200). We had four plenary talks by top industry speakers and 15 short courses from leading experts. I’m also in my 16th year as a program committee member for the Metrology, Inspection and Process Control conference.
Q: What can you tell us about this year’s submitted papers?
The metrology conference continues to draw the largest number of submitted papers (more than 150) from among the six conferences, and it also generates large crowds. Additionally, I was attending as a member of the technical community, taking the opportunity to learn about the latest advancements, to network with industry experts, and to visit with long-term friends based on many years of participation.
Q: AI continues to be a dominant theme and driver for our industry. Can you highlight a few takeaways from the conference?
I would venture the majority the papers referenced AI. It’s clear that advanced lithography and patterning enables advancements in AI and AI enables further developments of advanced lithography and patterning as well. While AI has been a part of our industry for many years, the intensity and extensions such as generative AI have only increased.
John Robinson
Q: Each year, you help select the Karel Urbánek Best Student Paper Award. Can you share some thoughts on this year’s recipient?
Top talent is key to the continued success of advanced lithography and patterning. As such we are dedicating significant effort into attracting and retaining top students. Through initiatives such as the student grant program (which KLA is a sponsor) and student paper awards, we encourage student participation. The Karel Urbánek Best Student Paper Award, sponsored by KLA, is awarded annually by the Metrology, Inspection and Process Control program committee. A record 17 candidate student papers met the eligibility criterion. There were many excellent student presentations. Tim Houben of the Technische University of Eindhoven, for his paper “Optimizing surface reconstruction using a segmented scanning electron microscope detector and deep learning,” had the winning entry. He showed an in-depth understanding of both the SEM technology and of machine learning.
Q: New fellows were named to the organization – can you share some insights on the selection process/criteria as well as the inductees?
Each year, SPIE promotes select members to become fellows of the society. They are honored for both technical achievement as well as service to the technical community and SPIE in particular. The fellow program is celebrating its 70th year in 2025. The Advanced Lithography and Patterning symposium was honored to have four of this year’s awardees on hand for recognition.
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