Semiconductors are the unseen enablers of everyday life. They are the essential building blocks for integrated circuits used in computing devices, and we find them in everyday technology such as mobile phones, digital cameras, tablets and bank ATMs. They play an important part in all types of machinery from washing machines and refrigerators to airplanes and space vehicles.
The Semiconductor Supply Chain
In order to be used in our everyday machinery, semiconductors must be processed in a highly controlled environment with precisely maintained variables such as temperature, humidity, and air purity. This manufacturing process is powered by a sophisticated supply chain, that involves three major categories of producers.
Device Makers
Companies that process semiconductors are known as device makers. They assemble semiconductor chips for use in various electronics, and sometimes make the electronics themselves.
Equipment Manufacturers
Device makers rely on equipment manufacturers that supply the tools used to process semiconductors. These equipment manufacturers in turn work with a number of suppliers to help design and engineer specialized parts that power their tools.
Suppliers
Vacuum technology, process control, power delivery and robotics all contribute to the complexity of semiconductor manufacturing, and suppliers from each category specialize in these processes. Another important process, fluid delivery, involves the precise delivery of specialized gases and chemicals during manufacturing, and this is Ichor Systems' specialty.
Gas and Fluid Delivery Subsystems
Ichor’s gas delivery systems monitor and control precise quantities of specialized gases used in processes such as etch and deposition. Ichor’s chemical delivery systems precisely blend and dispense reactive chemistries for processes such as electroplating and cleaning. Ichor works with equipment manufacturers to supply these critical subsystems and to engineer solutions for complex tool design with fluid delivery.
Origin of the Name “Ichor”
Ichor’s critical contribution to leading manufacturing companies in the semiconductor industry inspired its name, which means “the blood of the gods.” Since fluid delivery is an essential component of semiconductor manufacturing, Ichor empowers the industry and plays a critical role in the semiconductor realm.
Enabling the modern world
From smartphones and cameras to advanced data centers and medical devices, semiconductor circuits enable everything we use. Because they play such an essential role in modern technology, it's no wonder semiconductor manufacturing is one of the most important industries today. Ichor has been an industry leader for nearly two decades due to its strong engineering relationships and critical fluid delivery systems. By playing such an important role in the supply chain, Ichor helps enable the building blocks of the modern world.
