Information for Authors

The IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING publishes the latest advances related to the manufacture of microelectronic and photonic components and integrated systems, including photovoltaic devices and micro-electro-mechanical systems. Its principal aim is to continually enhance the knowledge base and improve manufacturing practice across the entire supply chain from fabrication to delivery of these devices. Areas of interest include process integration, manufacturing equipment performance and modeling, yield analysis and enhancement, metrology, process control, material handling, factory systems and all areas of factory and supply chain management related to the semiconductor industry including materials synthesis, equipment manufacturing, and mask making. Papers submitted to this journal should have a clear relevance to manufacturing practice, as opposed to device design and device characterization.

Particularly sought for these TRANSACTIONS are original papers describing practical engineering techniques for solving problems involving interactions among facility, equipment, process, product, and people issues in the context of manufacturing. The TRANSACTIONS’ spectrum of coverage will range from fundamental to applied. Whenever possible papers should include appropriate results from manufacturing experience. Submission of a manuscript manifests the fact that it has been neither copyrighted, published, nor submitted or accepted for publication elsewhere, unless otherwise so stated by the author.

The articles in this journal are peer reviewed in accordance with the requirements set forth in the IEEE PSPB Operations Manual (sections 8.2.1.C & 8.2.2.A) (https://pspb.ieee.org/images/files/files/opsmanual.pdf). Each published article is reviewed by a minimum of two independent reviewers using a single-anonymous peer review process, where the identities of the reviewers are not known to the authors, but the reviewers know the identities of the authors. Articles will be screened for plagiarism before acceptance. Corresponding authors from low-income countries are eligible for waived or reduced open access APCs (https://open.ieee.org/index.php/about-ieee-open-access/faqs/#waivers).

LENGTH

The standard length for regular papers is eight published pages. Longer manuscripts may be considered, but page charges of $220.00 per page will be assessed for each page beyond 8 pages. The Transactions also publishes short communications in the form of Letters, at most three pages in length, which present specific technical contributions of limited scope that may be of interest to the readership but are not sufficient to merit publication as a full paper. Hence, author(s) are encouraged to provide the most value per page by presenting their work as compactly as possible without being telegraphic or incomplete. Each paper must include an abstract of no more than 200 words. Author biographies and photos should not be included.

STYLE FOR MANUSCRIPTS

Authors should submit their manuscripts in the two column format using the IEEE template style. The font sizes and line spacing must not be altered when using the template. The template and further guidelines on the preparation of manuscripts can be obtained from the IEEE Tools for Authors web site at https://journals.ieeeauthorcenter.ieee.org/. In addition, guidelines on how to write for technical periodicals can be found at https://www.ieee.org/content/ieee-org/en/publications/. A cover letter stating explicitly that the manuscript is being submitted for publication in the IEEE Transactions on Semiconductor Manufacturing and is not under consideration by another journal must accompany the manuscript. T-SM will no longer publish photos and bios, please do not include them in your submission.

STYLE FOR ILLUSTRATIONS

1. Originals of drawings and glossy print photographs should be sharp and of good contrast. Line drawings should be in high contrast black ink on a white background. Template lettering is recommended; typing on figures is not acceptable. Lettering must be large enough to permit legible reduction of the figure to column width, perhaps as much as 4:1.
2. Identify each illustration at the bottom of the front with the figure number and name of author(s). Captions lettered on figures will be blocked out in reproduction in favor of typeset captions.
3. For more information on submitting electronic graphics, please visit the URL: https://ieeeauthorcenter.ieee.org/create-your-ieee-article/create-graphics- for-your-article/.

REVIEW PROCESS

An article is considered in review if it passes the prescreening process described in the IEEE Publication Services and Products Board Operations Manual, which is available at http://www.ieee.org/documents/opsmanual.pdf and is forwarded to referees. If the editor assesses that a submission has met prescreening criteria 3.a through 3.d, but has not met criterion 3e, the editor shall consult with at least two members of the editorial board for concurrence. Rejection on the basis of criterion 3e shall require the general agreements of the editor and those consulted. IEEE PSPB (http://www.ieee.org/documents/opsmanual.pdf)

The review process will average four to six weeks. The author will be notified of the associate editor’s decision based on the reviewers’ recommendations. The reviewers’ comments are confidential and must not be reproduced, published or distributed.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

This journal accepts graphical abstracts that must be peer reviewed. For more information about graphical abstracts and their specifications, please visit the following link: https://ieeeauthorcenter.ieee.org/create-your-ieee-article/prepare-supplementary-materials-for-your-article/developing-a-graphical-abstract/#more-2827

ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENT

Authors may submit an electronic supplement containing additional material such as detailed results that are presented in an aggregate manner in the body of the paper, data files and codes or other extensive materials that may be of use to other researchers. This supplement must be explicitly cited in the paper, and carries no extra charge.

PRE-SUBMISSION EDITORIAL SERVICES

It is the authors’ responsibility to prepare a publication-quality manuscript. Manuscripts with improper use of language, symbols, or units may not be sent out for review in order to conserve limited volunteer reviewer resources needed to evaluate the technical merits of a submission. English language editing services can help refine the language of your article and reduce the risk of rejection without review. IEEE authors are eligible for discounts at several language editing services; visit the IEEE Author Center at: https://journals.ieeeauthorcenter.ieee.org/create-your-ieee-article/create-the-text-of- your-article/refining-the-use-of-english-in-your-article/ to learn more. Please note these services are fee-based and do not guarantee acceptance.

PLAGIARISM

Manuscripts that are found to have plagiarized others including self-plagiarism; copying someone else’s work without appropriate credit, that contain a significant crossover with another manuscript by the same authors or other author(s); copying or reusing of one’s own prior work without appropriate citation, or that do not specifically cite prior work, are subject to penalty under the IEEE policies governing publications. For more information on these policies please visit: https://origin.www.ieee.org/documents/ opsmanual.pdf.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENT

All IEEE journals require an Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID) for all authors. ORCID is a persistent unique identifier for researchers and functions similarly to an article’s Digital Object Identifier (DOI). ORCIDs enable accurate attribution and improved discoverability of an author’s published work. The author will need a registered ORCID in order to submit a manuscript or review a proof in this journal.

SUBMISSIONS

Authors should submit their manuscript including original illustrations online at http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/tsm-ieee.

OPEN ACCESS

This publication is a hybrid journal, allowing either Traditional manuscript submission or Open Access (author-pays OA) manuscript submission. Upon submission, if you choose to have your manuscript be an Open Access article, you commit to pay the $2,495 OA fee if your manuscript is accepted for publication in order to enable unrestricted public access. Any other application charges (such as overlength page charge and/or charge for the use of color in the print format) will be billed separately once the manuscript formatting is complete but prior to the publication. If you would like your manuscript to be a Traditional submission, your article will be available to qualified subscribers and purchasers via IEEE Xplore. No OA payment is required for Traditional submission.

NATIVE LANGUAGE AUTHOR NAMES

IEEE supports the publication of author names in the native language alongside the English versions of the names in the author list of an article. For more information, please visit the IEEE Author Digital Tool Box at the following URL: https://ieeeauthorcenter.ieee.org/create-your-ieee-article/create-the-text-of-your- article/publishing-author-names-in-native-languages/

PAGE CHARGES

After manuscript has been accepted for publication, the author’s company or institution will be requested to pay a charge of $110.00 per printed page to cover part of the cost of publication. If the page charges are not met, then for any printed paper whose length exceeds eight pages, including illustrations, there will be a mandatory charge of $220.00 per page for the additional pages. Payments of page charges (first eight only) for this IEEE TRANSACTIONS, like those for journals of other professional societies, is not obligatory nor is their payment a prerequisite for publication. Detailed instructions will accompany the page proofs.

CLEARANCE AND COPYRIGHT

It is the policy of the IEEE to own the copyright to the technical contributions it publishes on behalf of the interests of the IEEE, its authors, and their employers, and to facilitate the appropriate reuse of this material by others. To comply with the United States Copyright Law, authors are required to sign a digital version of the IEEE Copyright Form with their original submission. Authors will automatically be redirected to the eCF (electronic Copyright Form) after they have submitted the final files.