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?
@whitequark I think it may be used in some plasma etch processes. Dry etching is basically sorcery