{"id":2208,"date":"2026-03-13T12:34:03","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T16:34:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/electronics-semiconductors\/?p=2208"},"modified":"2026-04-07T10:58:52","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T14:58:52","slug":"why-traceability-matters-hidden-risks-in-every-chip-you-ship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/electronics-semiconductors\/2026\/03\/13\/why-traceability-matters-hidden-risks-in-every-chip-you-ship\/","title":{"rendered":"Why traceability matters: Hidden risks in every chip you ship\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Complexity&nbsp;demands a comprehensive solution<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Semiconductor&nbsp;fabs&nbsp;are battlegrounds of complexity. Over 1400 steps. Atomic-level precision. Thousands of interdependent processes. Every step must be traceable at&nbsp;wafer&nbsp;level. Every day generates unprecedented data volumes.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then something breaks.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A chip lot splits. A die moves. The MES gaps out. Data vanishes. Traceability disappears. Your customers demand absolute traceability for every chip and every step. But without the right approach,&nbsp;data&nbsp;recovery is impossible.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The difference between tracing and tracking&nbsp;isn&#8217;t&nbsp;just semantics\u2014it&#8217;s&nbsp;the difference between losing your data and keeping it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The&nbsp;critical difference&nbsp;between&nbsp;tracing&nbsp;and&nbsp;tracking<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Most people use these terms interchangeably.&nbsp;But&nbsp;they&#8217;re&nbsp;fundamentally different:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Tracing<\/strong>&nbsp;answers&nbsp;the past: &#8220;Where did this come from?&#8221;&nbsp;It&#8217;s&nbsp;backward-looking genealogy.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Traceability is the ability to trace a device\u2019s&nbsp;current status&nbsp;back to its point of origin, providing an audit trail.&nbsp;For example, to trace where a device comes from on the wafer, you&nbsp;must&nbsp;begin at the start of fabrication.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As the device\u2019s history is traced back to the beginning, critically&nbsp;important information&nbsp;about its lifecycle will be available:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Who supplied the device to an OEM?&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Is the device built to&nbsp;spec as&nbsp;designed?&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Is the device genuine, or has it been tampered with?&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If the data has been altered, who did it and why?&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The limitations of traceability<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Traceability answers the backward question:&nbsp;it shows customers materials,&nbsp;origins,&nbsp;processing steps, equipment, and conditions for every device.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But&nbsp;that&#8217;s&nbsp;only&nbsp;half&nbsp;the story. You also need&nbsp;tracking&nbsp;to answer the forward question: &#8220;What happens next?&#8221; Customers demand both: complete history (traceability) and real-time visibility (tracking). Together, they provide the complete picture customers&nbsp;require&nbsp;today.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What makes tracking essential<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Tracking does three critical things:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Enables flexible processing<\/strong>\u202f\u2014 Different devices can follow different paths at specific steps, while other steps&nbsp;remain&nbsp;standardized&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Captures complete history<\/strong>\u202f\u2014 Records details and metadata for every die (once cut) and every package (once assembled)&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Maps the future<\/strong>\u202f\u2014 Shows what happens next to each device, not just where it came from&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Tracking is forward-looking genealogy\u2014the operational map that keeps production moving. It enables flexible processing at specific steps, standardized processing elsewhere, and captures complete metadata for individual dies and assembled packages. As device complexity increases, tracking becomes increasingly critical.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The landscape is changing: Complex multi-chip devices are now the norm<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The semiconductor landscape is fundamentally shifting. Complex multi-chip devices are now standard, generating exponential data volumes\u2014thousands of child data points per lot when a single module&nbsp;contains&nbsp;dozens of chips. Yet most&nbsp;fabs&nbsp;still&nbsp;operate&nbsp;with tracking systems designed for simpler products.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This mismatch creates three critical failures: lot-based models collapse under complexity, sequential data processing becomes a bottleneck, and widespread confusion between traceability and tracking erodes yield and capacity. The industry&#8217;s legacy systems simply cannot keep pace.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The right solution requires technology that handles device complexity and data volume at scale\u2014and clarity on what tracing and tracking actually do.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The&nbsp;added&nbsp;challenge of multi-chip modules<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Firms making multi-chip modules (MCM), systems in packages (SIPs), central processing units (CPUs), and Insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) need to track sub-devices.&nbsp;Multi-chip module tracking&nbsp;and&nbsp;chiplet&nbsp;traceability are&nbsp;rapidly becoming&nbsp;the&nbsp;norm&nbsp;for many chipmakers.&nbsp;With varying batch sizes, tracking and&nbsp;monitoring&nbsp;each device through each step in the process is needed to provide complete traceability and genealogy.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Modern manufacturing demands both. Without tracking, traceability is incomplete. When something goes wrong,&nbsp;containment&nbsp;scope balloons. You risk being unable to answer your customers&#8217; critical questions\u2014and losing their&nbsp;trust.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Problem: Speed vs.&nbsp;accountability<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>For years,&nbsp;fabs&nbsp;have tried to&nbsp;provide&nbsp;tracing and tracking accountability with sequential data&nbsp;writes. But sequential&nbsp;writes&nbsp;are fundamentally slow. They bog down the application server, which is compounded by&nbsp;growing complexity.&nbsp;Semiconductor&nbsp;manufacturing execution system (MES)&nbsp;processing that takes seconds is unacceptable at production speed.&nbsp;As a result, most&nbsp;fabs&nbsp;respond by either accepting slower operations or building fragile homegrown workarounds. Neither is sustainable.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Solution: Single-device&nbsp;tracking<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Fortunately, you can meet customer expectations with a single-device tracking approach.&nbsp;Single-device tracking manages production and delivers complete data about every device and its processing history\u2014even when individual devices are processed differently. But&nbsp;here&#8217;s&nbsp;the challenge: most semiconductor companies cannot perform single-device tracking without slowing operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Until now.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A high-performance MES&nbsp;semiconductor&nbsp;approach now exists that solves the need for speed&nbsp;without requiring&nbsp;additional&nbsp;capital investment.&nbsp;When&nbsp;high-performance&nbsp;single&nbsp;device tracking is&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sw.siemens.com\/en-US\/solutions\/manufacturing-execution-system-mes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">integrated into MES<\/a>,&nbsp;it enables you to track every device, control how each&nbsp;moves&nbsp;through processes, and record it all\u2014at production speed.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><strong><em>Because the safety of humans can potentially ride on the performance of a single chip, it is important that we know everything we can about that chip, from where it was made and what part of the wafer it originated from, to intermediate test results as it proceeded through the fab.<sup>1<\/sup><\/em><\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right\">&#8211;&nbsp;Fram Akiki,&nbsp;President, Joun Technologies,&nbsp;Adjunct Instructor, Clarkson University&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Why Single-device tracking is non-negotiable<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The&nbsp;market demands it:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>72% of semiconductor companies<\/strong>&nbsp;report stronger customer demand for quality than even their customers expect<sup>2<\/sup>&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Complex MCM devices<\/strong>\u202f(CPUs,&nbsp;SiPs, IGBTs) can have dozens of&nbsp;chiplets\u2014each&nbsp;requiring&nbsp;its own track and trace record&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The\u00a0scale is massive:<\/strong>\u202fOne lot of 1,000 devices = 1,000 individual transactions at a single step. Multiply that across steps, equipment, and\u00a0work\u00a0shifts\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Single-device tracking&nbsp;isn&#8217;t&nbsp;optional anymore.&nbsp;It&#8217;s&nbsp;essential.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>High-performance&nbsp;tracking&nbsp;accelerates the&nbsp;process<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The key&nbsp;to high-performance tracking&nbsp;is moving beyond sequential&nbsp;writes. Instead of processing data at the application server level\u2014which creates bottlenecks\u2014a high-performance approach writes data in bulk at the database level. The result:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Milliseconds, not minutes<\/strong>\u202fof processing time per transaction&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Two-level lot starts<\/strong>\u202fthat&nbsp;initiate&nbsp;tracking at both the&nbsp;lot and individual device level&nbsp;simultaneously,&nbsp;maintaining&nbsp;data integrity without sacrificing speed&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Real production-speed&nbsp;performance<\/strong>\u202fthat&nbsp;doesn&#8217;t&nbsp;compromise traceability&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Only manufacturing execution systems (MES)&nbsp;with&nbsp;high-performance engines (HPE) can process the volume of data and transactions needed to offer trace&nbsp;and track&nbsp;at the flexible granularity&nbsp;required.&nbsp;An&nbsp;HPE is more efficient because it uses bulk, not sequential, data writing to avoid slowing down.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Additional&nbsp;benefits of&nbsp;an\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/www.plm.automation.siemens.com\/global\/en\/products\/manufacturing-operations\/production-tracking-for-semiconductor.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">MES with HPE<\/a>\u202ffor tracking and tracing include:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Grading and binning&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Modeled business rules&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>End-to-end lot genealogy and traceability&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Map storage solution with bin editing&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Die level traceability&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>High-performance MES capabilities\u2014powered by HPE\u2014enable semiconductor companies to enhance customer traceability,&nbsp;maintain&nbsp;SEMI&nbsp;compliance&nbsp;and significantly increase throughput. The result: faster time-to-market, superior quality&nbsp;and sustained competitive advantage.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Proof in&nbsp;practice<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In one documented&nbsp;use&nbsp;case, a&nbsp;fab&nbsp;reduced tester time by 80% by implementing this single-device tracking&nbsp;approach.<sup>3<\/sup>&nbsp;That&#8217;s not just faster\u2014that&#8217;s&nbsp;transformational.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Learn more<\/strong>:&nbsp;Read our comprehensive white paper,\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/resources.sw.siemens.com\/en-US\/white-paper-semiconductor-manufacturing-with-single-device-tracking\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Semiconductor Manufacturing with Single Device Tracking<\/a>,&nbsp;to see how high-performance tracking integrates with modern MES systems\u2014plus actionable insights to drive implementation at your organization.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>References:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>1.&nbsp;Digital Transformation for smart semiconductor manufacturing, Page&nbsp;12,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/static.sw.cdn.siemens.com\/siemens-disw-assets\/public\/5F8nrBJrLPywoGAWaRpUH\/en-US\/Siemens%20SW%20Digital%20transformation%20for%20smart%20semiconductor%20manufacturing%20E-Book.pdf?spr_cid=120_1856&amp;spr_ppid=648edfef9833f42208c88dcc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">sw.cdn.siemens.com\/siemens-disw-assets\/public\/-Book.pdf<\/a>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>2.&nbsp;Julie Fraser&nbsp;\u2013 Tech-Clarity, Retool&nbsp;Semiconductor&nbsp;Innovation for Profit: A Lifecycle&nbsp;Approach for Smart Products and Devices, 2021&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>3.&nbsp;Julie Fraser \u2013 Tech-Clarity,&nbsp;Semiconductor Manufacturing&nbsp;with Single Device Tracking, Page&nbsp;13,&nbsp;2022,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/resources.sw.siemens.com\/en-US\/white-paper-semiconductor-manufacturing-with-single-device-tracking\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Semiconductor Manufacturing with Single Device Tracking | Siemens<\/a>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Tracing and Tracking&nbsp;FAQs<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Process engineers ask great questions.&nbsp;Here\u2019s&nbsp;what they ask most:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Q:&nbsp;What&#8217;s&nbsp;the difference between&nbsp;semiconductor&nbsp;tracking and tracing?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Great question\u2014most people use these terms interchangeably, but they&#8217;re actually doing different jobs.&nbsp;Tracing is backward-looking. It answers: &#8220;Where did this device come from?&#8221; It follows a device&#8217;s path back to its origin, all the way to wafer-level traceability. Tracking is forward-looking. It answers: &#8220;What happens next?&#8221; It follows a device through production and enables different processing at each step.&nbsp;Here&#8217;s&nbsp;the thing: you need both. But most&nbsp;fabs&nbsp;do one well and struggle with the other.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Q: Why does single-device tracking matter for multi-chip modules?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Because MCM devices like CPUs and&nbsp;SiPs&nbsp;are complex. They can&nbsp;contain&nbsp;dozens of&nbsp;chiplets, and each one needs its own&nbsp;process&nbsp;control and complete data record.&nbsp;That&#8217;s&nbsp;where lot-level tracking breaks down. The moment you cut a die from the wafer, lot-level tracking loses the detail you need. With single-device tracking, you&nbsp;maintain&nbsp;visibility&nbsp;into&nbsp;every&nbsp;chiplet&nbsp;through the entire manufacturing process. For modern MCM devices,&nbsp;multi-chip module tracking is essential.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Q: What is the SEMI T23&nbsp;traceability&nbsp;standard?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>SEMI T23 is the industry standard for device-level traceability. It defines how you track individual device IDs through manufacturing,&nbsp;test, and assembly all the way to the customer. Think of it as the rulebook that ensures&nbsp;everyone&#8217;s&nbsp;speaking the same language when it comes to traceability.&nbsp;When everyone understands how the traceability standard works, compliance becomes a powerful competitive advantage\u2014ensuring&nbsp;you meet customer expectations and build lasting trust.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Q: Does single-device tracking really slow down production?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>It can\u2014if&nbsp;you&#8217;re&nbsp;using the wrong approach. Traditional sequential data writes process each device transaction one at a time, and that can take seconds per transaction. When&nbsp;you&#8217;re&nbsp;running thousands of devices per hour, those seconds&nbsp;add up&nbsp;fast. You hit a bottleneck that crushes your capacity. But&nbsp;here&#8217;s&nbsp;the good news: it&nbsp;doesn&#8217;t&nbsp;have to be this way.&nbsp;When&nbsp;high-performance&nbsp;single&nbsp;device tracking is&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sw.siemens.com\/en-US\/solutions\/manufacturing-execution-system-mes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">integrated into MES<\/a>,&nbsp;it enables you to track every device, control how each&nbsp;moves&nbsp;through processes, and record it all\u2014at production speed.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Learn more<\/strong>: For&nbsp;complete&nbsp;solution details,&nbsp;see&nbsp;our comprehensive white paper&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/resources.sw.siemens.com\/en-US\/white-paper-semiconductor-manufacturing-with-single-device-tracking\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Semiconductor Manufacturing with Single Device Tracking<\/a>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Semiconductor\u00a0fabs\u00a0are battlegrounds of complexity. Atomic-level precision. Every step must be traceable at\u00a0wafer\u00a0level.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":79315,"featured_media":2209,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spanish_translation":"","french_translation":"","german_translation":"","italian_translation":"","polish_translation":"","japanese_translation":"","chinese_translation":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1,7],"tags":[322],"industry":[257,260],"product":[116],"coauthors":[333],"class_list":["post-2208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-learning-resources","tag-semiconductor","industry-electronics-semiconductors","industry-semiconductor-devices","product-opcenter-execution-semiconductor"],"featured_image_url":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2026\/03\/semi-single-device-tracking_640x360_tcm27-107241.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/electronics-semiconductors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/electronics-semiconductors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/electronics-semiconductors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/electronics-semiconductors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/79315"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/electronics-semiconductors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2208"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/electronics-semiconductors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2208\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2292,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/electronics-semiconductors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2208\/revisions\/2292"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/electronics-semiconductors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2209"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/electronics-semiconductors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/electronics-semiconductors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/electronics-semiconductors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2208"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/electronics-semiconductors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=2208"},{"taxonomy":"product","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/electronics-semiconductors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product?post=2208"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/electronics-semiconductors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=2208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}