Suss MicroTec, a supplier of test solutions for the semiconductor industry located in Munich, Germany, and Sematech, an Austin, Texas-based consortium of chipmakers, announced that Suss will join the Front End Processes (FEP) program of Sematech. As a member of the program, Suss will collaborate with Sematech’s FEP device and reliability team to investigate complex semiconductor probing and measurement solutions for next-generation semiconductor and emerging technologies. To enable advances in conventional and emerging semiconductor devices, Sematech’s FEP program is researching cutting-edge new materials and device structures. The collaborative work between Suss MicroTec’s and Sematech’s FEP research teams will aim to develop new characterization techniques to enable both CMOS scaling and emerging technologies beyond CMOS. Additionally, as a part of this joint effort, advanced emerging memory and MEMS/NEMS technology characterization methods will also be addressed, according to Sematech. The company will use Suss’ probe system and control software to characterize new device processes and designs.