Semiconductor Fabrication

A technician in a cleanroom suit holds a silicon wafer, representing the precision and controlled environment of semiconductor manufacturing.

Digitalization ensures steady growth in semiconductor manufacturing. These electronic components are used in just about every industry and the market is expected to continue to grow by 6-8% per year until 2030.

This growth is likely to be driven most strongly by the automotive sector. Modern vehicles contain an average of about 100 components based on semiconductors. Not only the quantity demanded is steadily increasing, but the performance and size of these semiconductors must also be improved to meet growing demands. This poses a major challenge for chip manufacturers. Both the dust particles in the surrounding air and the purity of the process gases used are still limiting factors in semiconductor manufacturing.

The Purity of Process Gases Plays an Important Role

Over 30 different process gases are used in semiconductor manufacturing. No other industry uses more gases, many of which are toxic to humans. But semiconductor manufacturing also has the strictest specifications regarding purity or the allowance of foreign particles in the gases.

A technician in a cleanroom suit operates advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment in a controlled, high-tech environment.

But semiconductor manufacturing also has the strictest specifications regarding purity or the allowance of foreign particles in the gases. Depending on the gas used, foreign particles up to the order of ppm, ppb or even only up to ppt are permitted. Detecting even the slightest contamination with foreign substances requires powerful measuring instruments, such as photoacoustic spectroscopy that allows such low detection limits combined with a short measuring time. In addition, optical spectroscopy can be used to detect even the smallest traces of leakage or outgassing, thus helping to protect employees. Axetris infrared sources are used in these measurement techniques, contributing to the supply of semiconductors to our modern world.