[Epoch Times, February 13, 2022](The Epoch Times reporter Hou Junlin reported in Taipei, Taiwan) The conflict between Ukraine and Russia continues to escalate, which may affect the supply of key semiconductor raw materials. Yang Ruilin, research director of the Institute of Obstetrics and International Studies of the Taiwan Industrial Technology Research Institute, said that because TSMC and other semiconductor manufacturers have purchasing advantages, they can obtain greater support from suppliers and have a slight impact. Compared with medium-sized semiconductor manufacturers, it is the most unfavorable.
Techcet, a research institute, recently released a report pointing out that key raw materials such as palladium (Pd), neon (Ne) and hexafluorobutadiene (C4F6) used in semiconductor manufacturing in the United States are highly dependent on Russia and Ukraine. Exports may seriously impact the semiconductor industry.
In this regard, Yang Ruilin analyzed that palladium is mainly used in the production of storage-type flash memory (NAND Flash). In terms of supply, Russia and Ukraine account for about 30%. Due to the limited development of NAND Flash in Taiwan, the impact may be limited. However, neon is important for the lasers used to make chips.
He further explained that since neon is used in both deep ultraviolet (DUV) and extreme ultraviolet (EUV) exposure machines, and up to 90% of them come from Ukraine, if the supply in Ukraine is blocked, the price may soar in the short term.
Yang Ruilin said that since neon accounts for a lower overall production cost, semiconductor factories can choose alternative sources of materials, for example, Africa can also be exported, or alternative exposure schemes can be adopted to reduce the impact on production.
As for hexafluorobutadiene, which is a key raw material for the semiconductor etching process, Yang Ruilin pointed out that Air Liquide and Linde, the world‘s top two supply groups, both have joint venture subsidiaries in Taiwan, mainly to After the raw materials are purified and sold all over the world, it is estimated that Taiwanese factories have local advantages and the impact should be limited.
Yang Ruilin believes that if Russia invades Ukraine, the supply chain of key raw materials such as hexafluorobutadiene will not be disrupted, but the reduction in supply will inevitably delay the delivery of some manufacturing processes and chip products; TSMC and other major semiconductor manufacturers have purchasing advantages , which can be greatly supported by suppliers, and the impact is relatively slight, but it also compresses the supply of medium-sized semiconductor factories.
If the material supply problem becomes a long-term factor, Yang Ruilin said that the future expansion of semiconductor factories may be adjusted, including the expansion of the scale of production in various regions, which will affect the expansion progress of the overall semiconductor production capacity and make the supply of chips continue to be tight. The semiconductor industry chain will also seek new solutions to deal with it, he said.
Responsible editor: Yuzhen