Q3 2008 / Semicon West 2008

Semicon West 2008 was again held at Moscone Center in San Francisco in mid-July, and will be held there again in 2009 from July 14-17th.

According to preliminary statistics, total registration was up by eight percent, and visitors to the show (excluding exhibitors) were counted at over 16,000, up 18 percent over 2007.

One of the most interesting additions to the show was the inaugural inclusion of the Intersolar North America Show, which covered the top floor of the West Hall. More than 250 of the Semicon’s 1,151 exhibitors had booths showing both electronic and solar equipment. Everything from “green” autos, to huge solar panels were on display.

In addition to the exhibits were the technical papers. We had a chance to sit in on a few papers, and were in awe of the speed at which technology is moving. The current threshold of detection of impurities that were unheard of less than five years ago are now routine.

From the booths that we were able to visit, we got the impression that the quality of the attendees was superior to prior years. Those that came appeared to have a mission and were not just window shopping. Of course, our interest centered on those associated with specialty gases and equipment. The photos on these pages illustrate some that we visited and had a chance to talk with.

The accompanying table shows those exhibitors we think would be of interest to our readers, complete with their specialty info and their web address. Be sure to look for them at the show next year to see what new things they have developed.