About the Authors

Michael Quirk has worked for 18 years in the semiconductor and electronics industry, including nearly 10 years with IBM in thin film technology and advanced packaging. In the latter 1990s, he spent two years teaching and developing new courses as an associate professor in semiconductor manufacturing technology at Austin Community College (ACC). His education includes a BA in Sociology and French from the University of Arkansas, a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, and a MS in Manufacturing Systems Engineering from Stanford University. He has also written another book, Manufacturing Teams and Improvement: The Human Art of Manufacturing, which is used as a textbook in manufacturing methods for quality improvement.

Mike met Julian while teaching at ACC. They recognized the need for an up-to-date textbook in semiconductor manufacturing, and they set off on a 2.5-year venture to write the SMT book. Fortunately they had many allies in the semiconductor industry and in colleges and universities to support and encourage them.

While writing the SMT book, Mike greatly enjoyed researching the past history of semiconductor technology and thrived on writing about the new innovations in manufacturing processes, equipment, and technology. He hopes that his and Julian's effort to organize the broad technical knowledge of semiconductor manufacturing into a concise textbook will be a worthwhile service to students in academia and industry.

Julian Serda has over 35 years of combined experience in public and industrial education. He has taught for over 13 years in community colleges and has been responsible directly or indirectly for the design and development of scores of training programs in the electronics and semiconductor industries. He has held positions as electronics technician, electronics instructor, curriculum coordinator, training manager, president and owner of a private training consulting business, and co-chair of the SEMATECH Technician Training Council. He founded performance-based equipment training (PBET) in 1995, which quickly became the semiconductor industry's standard of training.

Julian's philosophy of education and training is "Everyone should have the opportunity to succeed." Hopefully, the SMT book will make this possible for its many readers throughout the world.