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:
from some discussion and research, it seems like one of the major uses is in ESC/BSG wafer clamp devices (https://csmantech.org/wp-content/acfrcwduploads/field_5e8cddf5ddd10/post_6573/15.3_Characterization_of_Electrostatic_Chuck.pdf) where flow of helium is less than 20 sccm per chuck.
this represents about 2 micrograms of helium per second per chuck, which i'm not too concerned about. there are of course some other applications that may consume more helium
macnamara on bsky is the first person to give a credible and comprehensive primary source for total He usage by a semiconductor facility in this report
Each advanced semiconductor facility consumes approximately 2-4 million cubic feet of helium annually for various manufacturing processes, including ion implantation, chemical vapor deposition, and plasma etching operations.
this is a range of 56000-113000 cubic meters of helium per year, or 155-310 cubic meters per day
@whitequark UHV systems will typically have a cryopump. This is a closed cycle helium system and although they do break and need to be recharged occasionally it's much less than a cylinder per year.
Sputter systems are a common place to find these
@whitequark I think a large part of the panic we periodically see over semiconductor consumables exists only because analysts and tech executives have convinced themselves that fabs are these super high tech automated facilities, when in fact they are massively labour intensive to operate
They think they're like data centers where you can staff them with like 3 security guards one tech and a few remote hands when in actuality you need a massive team of highly skilled people working in three shifts around the clock
✧✦Catherine✦✧
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