#waferprocessing

Why Semiconductor Production Depends on High-Performance Materials

Modern chip manufacturing requires much more than advanced machinery.

Materials like polyimide tape help maintain thermal stability and process reliability throughout production.

As device geometries shrink and energy costs rise, fabs are rethinking how they structure their production floors. One of the biggest shifts happening quietly in the background is the move toward Dry Wafer Processing Islands — clusters of tools designed to minimize wet chemistry use and rely more on plasma, vapor, and dry chemical reactions. The idea is simple: reduce water dependency, cut chemical waste, and create tighter process control. These islands help fabs avoid the variability that comes with wet benches and UPW fluctuations, making the entire wafer processing chain more predictable. Dry etch, dry clean, and vapor-based resist stripping are now being grouped into these modular islands to improve flow efficiency and reduce cross-contamination between wet and dry steps.