Olin, Mitsubishi, and Sumitomo Chemical already have combined offerings of chemicals and photoresists, while Ashland has chemicals and photoresist strippers. Alliances could lead to more linkups with the gases side of fab supplies, a package already offered by Air Products and Air Liquide. There is a continuation in the trend of customers wanting to see gas companies providing more comprehensive solutions, from materials sourcing through to effluent handling. Semiconductor fabrication techniques have changed consistently during this period. Almost every area in the manufacturing process has changed.
Wafers are larger with higher and more uniform quality.
Photoresists have been improved and larger selections are offered. Almost every piece of equipment has become more sophisticated from imaging equipment to furnaces to ion implanters. Automation is fast making inroads and cluster tools dominate the equipment market. However, during the entire thirty years, chemicals have played a major role in semiconductor processing and that important role continues today. The chemicals offered today are certainly more chemically pure and contain less particulate contamination.