Abstract: Europe’s semiconductor ecosystem faces a deployment gap. RTOs and pilot lines are essential for developing new technologies, but many security-, safety- and long-lifecycle applications require something different: stable, auditable and repeatable manufacturing capacity at mature nodes, combined with advanced packaging, test and traceability. This contribution presents the European Reference Fab concept as a non-commercial manufacturing blueprint to close that gap: a cloneable 300-mm infrastructure model for 130 nm with an optional evolution path to 65 nm, integrating front-end manufacturing, packaging, chiplet integration, test, open design enablement and auditable process and data flows.The news is not another pilot line or a single national flagship fab. The proposed Reference Fab is an industrial deployment architecture. It defines how mature process modules, open PDKs/ADKs, documented tool flows, traceability mechanisms, MPW and small-series access, and packaging/test capabilities can be combined into a governed manufacturing environment. Clone sites could be implemented as front-end lines, assembly/test hubs or combined facilities, depending on regional and sectoral needs.The concept addresses several bottlenecks in semiconductor adoption. First, it provides a trusted manufacturing route for defence, critical infrastructure, automotive, industrial, med-tech and aerospace applications that do not necessarily require leading-edge nodes but do require long-term availability, provenance and auditability. Second, it creates an industrial endpoint for RTO and pilot-line results, helping promising technologies move from readiness to deployment. Third, it lowers access barriers for SMEs, start-ups and system integrators through open design kits, harmonised design interfaces and fair MPW/small-series schemes. Fourth, it embeds smart-manufacturing principles such as MES-based traceability, inline metrology, SPC/ML-assisted control, documented audit trails and secure data flows from design through manufacturing and final test.The presentation will outline the core architecture of the Reference Fab, the rationale for the 130 nm to 65 nm pathway, the role of packaging-first system integration, and the mechanisms by which open design enablement, auditable manufacturing and workforce development can support trusted electronics, supply-chain resilience and European semiconductor competitiveness.
Biography: Dr.-Ing. Norbert Herfurth is a research group leader, programme coordinator and semiconductor technologist with more than ten years of experience at the interface of microelectronics research, collaborative R&D programmes, open-source chip design, failure analysis and semiconductor strategy. He currently leads the Diagnostics, Sensors & Emerging Modules group at IHP – Leibniz Institute for High Performance Microelectronics in Frankfurt (Oder), Germany, where he is responsible for building and managing a newly established interdisciplinary unit with activities in diagnostics, sensors, photonic and emerging module technologies.His work combines technical depth in semiconductor devices and failure analysis with strategic programme leadership. Before taking on his current group-leader role, he initiated, structured and coordinated several publicly funded collaborative R&D projects in the field of open-source microelectronics, open PDKs and trusted electronics. He has contributed to the development and positioning of Europe’s open-source chip-design ecosystem, including work around IHP’s open 130 nm PDK activities and European discussions on open-source EDA, design access and semiconductor sovereignty. Norbert Herfurth earned his doctorate in electrical engineering from Technische Universität Berlin, where his research focused on semiconductor devices and silicon-level failure analysis. During his academic work, he operated and developed advanced diagnostic and failure-analysis methods, including photon-emission microscopy, thermal and optical techniques, probing methods and cleanroom-based experimental workflows. Since 2024, he has also been a lecturer at Technische Universität Berlin for the course “Debug of Integrated Circuits on Silicon Level”, which combines IC debug, failure analysis and hands-on diagnostic methods. In addition to his technical work, he has extensive experience in consortium building, project governance and strategic technology communication. He has led or coordinated multiple BMBF-funded collaborative projects, developed R&D work programmes, managed milestone- and review-driven project structures and worked with partners from research organisations, SMEs, industry, funding bodies and public-sector stakeholders. His current activities include the development of strategic concepts for open and trustworthy semiconductor ecosystems, especially where design enablement, manufacturing access, packaging, test, traceability and trusted electronics intersect. Norbert Herfurth is one of the contributors to the European Reference Fab / Transparent Reference Fab concept, a proposed open, cloneable manufacturing blueprint for trustworthy mature-node semiconductor production in Europe. In this context, he focuses on the connection between open design enablement, auditable manufacturing, trusted electronics, chiplet-aware system integration and the transition from pilot-line readiness to industrial deployment. He is also a founding member of the VDE ITG expert group on trustworthy electronics. His professional interest lies in translating complex semiconductor technology topics into actionable strategies for research, industry and policy stakeholders. This includes open PDKs and open EDA, trusted manufacturing, semiconductor resilience, system-level integration, failure analysis, photonic and electronic diagnostics, and the role of public-interest infrastructure in strengthening Europe’s semiconductor ecosystem.
