SEMICON Europa 2026 will bring semiconductor researchers, engineers and executives to Munich this November, with a program built around the pressures facing Europe's chip industry. The event, held at the Messe München from November 10 to 13, is organized around the theme “Europe’s next era: navigating the perfect storm,” a framing that links technological innovation to a shifting geopolitical landscape.
The organizers expect about 25,000 semiconductor professionals and presentations from more than 200 speakers. The CxO Summit will bring together industry leaders to discuss the strategies and global partnerships they see as necessary for navigating the challenges shaping Europe’s microelectronics sector. Alongside the conference program, a large exhibition spread across three halls will host more than 500 exhibitors from around the world.
Among the companies previewing products is SmarAct, which plans to present two demonstrators focused on precision positioning and optical metrology. The first is a wafer stage platform intended for semiconductor and photonics equipment. Its compact mechanical design and configurable positioning capabilities are built on standardized interfaces, shared core functions and application-specific options, which the company says can reduce development and integration effort for equipment makers. The platform is aimed at processes such as wafer inspection and metrology, advanced packaging, hybrid bonding, lithography and electron-beam inspection, all of which demand high positioning accuracy and stable system integration.
SmarAct’s second demonstrator is a phase-shifting interferometer, a modular instrument for high-precision 3D surface characterization. Wafer shape metrology of this kind helps identify deviations in wafer geometry and surface characteristics that can affect later processing steps, giving manufacturers feedback to improve production consistency and reduce defect rates. According to the company, the instrument can capture larger areas in a single measurement or combine several smaller regions through image stitching. When paired with its wafer stages, including configurations with a central aperture, it can also measure both sides of a wafer. The system is designed to operate in environments where vibrations may be present.
The show also features other exhibitors in areas such as vacuum measurement, where Thyracont is presenting a transducer approach for loadlock cycles that run from atmospheric pressure down to 10⁻⁴ mbar and back. Reliable measurement across that range is central to fast pump-down, reproducible transfer conditions and safe pressure equalization before a door opens. Visitors interested in the full exhibitor list and product details can find SmarAct at Hall C1, Booth 852.
Source: physicsworld.com
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