2020 Volume 63 Issue 8 Pages 399-403
Since the invention of transistors in 1947, semiconductors have been developing for more than 70 years following Moore's Law, thanks to the progress of surface (wet) and vacuum (dry) technologies. Semiconductor devices moved from the micron generation to the nano generation in 1991. Now in the angstrom generation, both technologies are more critical. Semiconductor vacuum technology, believed to be “free from dirt” in the 1980s, has succeeded in the dry process revolution by overcoming the challenge of being far from a true vacuum. Polishing technology, ridiculed as “in pouring rain” in the 1990s, has succeeded in the wet process revolution by Dry-in/Dry-out. What, then, will be the revolutionary technology in the angstrom generation? One might be the fusion of dry and wet technologies. This paper examines the history of semiconductor manufacturing and vacuum systems that have evolved with semiconductor devices, assesses their present state, and predicts future breakthroughs.
