✧✦Catherine✦✧3d ago

semiconductor folks! I've seen a lot of talking heads repeat the claim that "a helium shortage is bad for chip production", never substantiated with useful information. do any of you know:

  • what is helium actually used in the processes?
  • which specific processes would be affected?
  • how much helium (ballpark) is needed per year?
  • where, if anywhere, a closed cycle is used?
  • what happened to the strategic helium reserve in the US?
Show threadXenotime, Librarian of Æther 
@whitequark it’s used for loads of things, as a carrier gas, for cooling, and the main way to find leaks in an ultra high vacuum system (of which fabs have loads) is by spraying helium around the outside and looking for helium that makes it inside

there’s probably plenty of other uses I’m just ignorant of
Apr 3 at 2:38pmWeb