Supply chain limited by Russia / US CHIPS Act a game changer

San Diego, CA, July 6, 2022: TECHCET—the electronic materials advisory firm providing business and technology information— is forecasting semiconductor manufacturing materials to top US$65 B for 2022, a healthy 8% above 2021. “Semiconductor demand has remained strong through the first part of the year and average selling prices for materials are trending upwards,” cited Lita Shon-Roy, TECHCET’s President/CEO. In anticipation of slower market conditions, semiconductor materials market growth is currently forecasted to increase just over 2% in 2023 before further improving in 2024. “This is in keeping with cycles in demand and inventory volumes,” said Shon-Roy, as “per the latest TECHCET Critical Materials Reports™,” shown in the figure below.

While demand remains strong in 2022, a number of issues are impacting materials supply and pricing. The Russia/Ukraine region is a major part of the oil and natural gas supply chain, of which energy, specialty gases and helium are dependent. It was a region expected to play a significant role in the supply of helium this year, in addition to supporting neon and fluorocarbon production used for semiconductor manufacturing. Due to the turmoil in this area, alongside related economic sanctions against Russia, supply of these and other key gases have been curtailed, straining supply-chains around the world. Additionally, energy costs have steeply risen creating cost escalation of materials production worldwide.

Semiconductor Materials Market to Hit $50B in 2020 Up 3% Winds Reverse on the Global Supply-Chain Seas

September 21, 2020: TECHCET announces that 2020 global materials revenues in semiconductor fabrication are now forecasted upward year-over-year (YoY) despite potential disruptions to manufacturing:

• Overall revenues +2.8% to hit over $50B, versus outlook in April for -3%,
• Front End Materials +5% to hit $16.4B, and
• Equipment Components +10% to hit $3.8B.

While the impact of COVID-19 on the global economy is serious, IC fabrication is steady for devices to Work From Home (WFH) and School From Home (SFH). As predicted, leading-edge ICs to build out data centers are in strong demand this year, as part of forecasted 5.4% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) for fab materials through the year 2024 (Figure below).

“TECHCET now sees Front-End Materials volumes and revenues for the year 2020 to be buoyed up by cloud computing and devices to support Work From Home and School From Home,” remarked Lita Shon-Roy, TECHCET President and CEO.

For Critical Materials Reports™ and Market Briefings: https://techcet.com/shop/

To register for 2020 CMC Conference: https://lnkd.in/eARPxRJ

 

2020 CMC Conference & Call For Papers

San Diego, CA, November 12: The Critical Materials Council (CMC) of semiconductor fabricators and TECHCET announce the CMC Conference Call For Papers (CFP) for the event happening April 23-24 in Hillsboro, Oregon. The 2020 CMC Conference (https://cmcfabs.org/cmc-conference-2020/) will explore actionable technical and supply-chain trends related to critical materials for global semiconductor fabs. Keynote address for this 5th CMC Conference will be:

"Critical Materials Pushing the Limits for Semiconductor Manufacturing"

Bruce Tufts, Vice President of Technology and Director of Fab Materials Org., Intel Corp. 

The conference committee is soliciting presentations on best practices of sourcing direct and indirect manufacturing materials for pilot lines and for high-volume manufacturing (HVM). Three sessions will cover the following themes:

I. Global Value-chain Issues of Economics and Regulations,

II. Immediate Challenges of Materials & Manufacturing, and

III. Emerging Materials in R&D and Pilot Fabrication.

CMC member companies will be attending the public CMC Conference, which follows the annual members-only CMC meeting to be sponsored by Intel and held April 21-22. Conference attendees will include industry experts handling supply-chains, business-development, R&D, and product management, as well as academics and analysts. Business drives our world, but technology enables the profitable business of manufacturing new devices in IC fabs, and new devices need new materials.

To submit a paper for consideration, please send a 1-page abstract focusing on critical materials supply dynamics by January 15, 2020 to cmcinfo@techcet.com

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For more information on CMCFabs or CMC Associate Memberships, please contact Diane Scott at dscott@techcet.com. For information on sponsoring the CMC Conference please contact Yvonne Brown at ybrown@techcet.com, +1-480-382-8336 x1.

CMC Fab members include:

CRITICAL EVENT FOR SEMI MATERIALS - April 26-27 Phoenix

The Critical Materials Council (CMC) Conference is a 2-day event, happening April 26-27 in Phoenix, AZ, providing actionable information on materials and supply-chains for current and future semiconductor manufacturing. Speakers from CMC Members such as GlobalFoundries, Intel, Samsung, and TI, along with analysts and experts from OEMs and materials-suppliers will explore issues associated with using materials such as cobalt and ruthenium in commercial fabs. Evening receptions and lunch allow for networking time with industry leaders.

Keynote speaker David Bloss, VP of Technology and Manufacturing Group, and Director of Lithography Technology Sourcing in Global Supply Management, Intel Corp., will start the three-session event exploring:

* Updates on market dynamics and government regulations,
* Trends in the profitable control of all fab materials, and
* Technology forecasts for future critical materials.

Join us in the Phoenix area: http://cmcfabs.org/cmc-events/

 

Hafnium product breakthrough consolidates Dubbo Project business case

Alkane - Hafnium product breakthrough consolidates Dubbo Project business case.

Summary

• Alkane’s wholly owned subsidiary, Australian Strategic Materials Ltd (ASM), has developed high‐purity hafnium dioxide products tailored to meet market requirements.
• Hafnium oxide exceeding 99.8% HfO2, and 99.9% (Hf+Zr)O2, has been produced using a proprietary process to separate hafnium from zirconium at the demonstration pilot plant at ANSTO.
• Over the past 12 months, ASM has consulted extensively with industry to confirm growing market demand for high‐purity hafnium, which currently depends on supply from the production of zirconium metal for specialty alloys and the nuclear industry.
• Global shortage of hafnium anticipated as demand is poised to outstrip current supply.
• Hafnium metal for super alloys is currently trading in a US$800 ‐ $900/kg range. The ASM business case assumes a conservative product price of US$500/kg for its oxide.
• ASM will initially produce 25tpa hafnium to meet projected market demand, ramping up to higher quantities as required.

Download : Download (PDF, 718KB)

Development of high‐purity hafnium dioxide

Australian Strategic Materials Ltd (ASM), a wholly owned subsidiary of Alkane Resources, has successfully developed a high‐purity hafnium dioxide (HfO2) product that will be directly marketable as a feed material for a number of downstream applications and for producing metallic hafnium. The technical specifications of this material have been tailored to meet global market requirements, following extensive industry consultation over the past 12 months. 

Metallic hafnium is the fastest growing market for hafnium and the most significant by volume, particularly due to the use of hafnium in superalloys and other aerospace alloys. The usual precursor is hafnium dioxide, which needs to be recovered from zirconium metal production streams. The high purity hafnium dioxide developed by ASM exceeds 99.8% HfO2, and 99.9% (Hf+Zr)O2, providing the ideal feedstock for the high‐purity metallic hafnium that is in demand for alloying purposes. A high purity hafnium chemical precursor has also been developed.

The new products were produced by a proprietary process at ASM’s Demonstration Pilot Plant at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) in Sydney, New South Wales. The process flowsheet for the Dubbo Project consists of a sulphuric acid leach followed by solvent extraction recovery and refining to produce several products, including zirconium, hafnium, niobium and rare earths. The process pathway to recover hafnium was developed in 2015 and proved during 2017, and allows the flexible recovery of high‐purity hafnium dioxide from the high‐purity zirconium stream.

The development of this high‐purity hafnium dioxide material demonstrates the ability of ASM to produce a highly marketable hafnium product out of the Dubbo Project. ASM will continue to work with industry to secure offtake agreements and develop further enhanced products, with the view to establishing a customer base for hafnium products ahead of plant commissioning.

 

 

 

Hafnium market and outlook for future growth

Global demand for hafnium is rising particularly for use in metallic form, which currently accounts for around 85 per cent by volume (60% superalloys, 15% plasma cutting tips, 10% nuclear control rods). Emerging aerospace applications are expected to consume further significant volumes of metallic hafnium. Hafnium dioxide is meanwhile emerging as a material of choice in semiconductors and data storage devices (ferro‐electric applications), while many future industries such as those based on its thermo‐electric properties and super high temperature ceramics for supersonic aircraft and space vehicles will also rely on materials containing hafnium.

Projected growth in demand is poised to exceed current production, which is limited to about 70tpa (83tpa HfO2), since hafnium is typically only extracted from zirconium processing streams for nuclear energy applications requiring high‐purity zirconium. Market research by ASM and independent international market consultants forecasts a 2026 base demand of 112tpa (132tpa HfO2), and an unconstrained high‐demand case of 151tpa (178tpa HfO2).

 

 

The Project represents a unique source of hafnium that is independent of all traditional markets – including China (currently accounting for at least 75% of world production of zirconium materials, and over 95% of zirconium chemicals), the nuclear zirconium industry and the zircon industry in general. To ensure a sustainable business case, the ASM processing plant will undergo staged ramp‐up in production volumes to keep pace with world demand. Start‐up volumes will be around 25tpa hafnium metal (30tpa HfO2), increasing in line with market growth; full plant capacity is conservatively estimated at 200tpa.

Hafnium product pricing remains opaque due to security issues and limited production but the metal for super alloys is currently trading in a US$800 ‐ $900/kg range. The ASM business case assumes a conservative product price of US$500/kg for its oxide. 

Hidden Gems in the IEEE IRDS Reports and Roadmaps for ALD Folks!

This is an announcement to the ALD Folks - please be informed that the hidden gem a.k.a. the good stuff or ALD precursors are reported on in the Yield Enhancement Report and the classical "ITRS Roadmap" can be found in the More Moor Report. Please carry on with the next Super High-k, GAA FETs and 2D Materials Research!

LINK:IEEE IRDS Roadmaps

Please also if you have input for the ALD precursor parts let me know and I will bring it up when some of us meet next time at the CMC Conference 11-12 May.

IRDS Reports

Below are links to the downloadable whitepapers.  Materials are to be shared among our industry friends. Thank you for citing the IRDS when using any materials!
This list will be updated as other IRDS whitepapers become available.

• Application Benchmarking (PDF, 326 KB)
• More Moore (PDF, 981 KB)
• Beyond CMOS (PDF, 335 KB)
• Outside System Connectivity (PDF, 235 KB)
• Factory Integration (PDF, 403 KB)
• Metrology (PDF, 184 KB)
• Environment, Health, and Safety (PDF, 535 KB)
• Yield (PDF, 571 KB)
• System and Architecture (Preliminary) (PDF, 206 KB)

UPDATE: REGISTER NOW FOR CRITICAL MATERIALS COUNCIL (CMC) CONFERENCE 2017

‘Braking’ Through Barriers with Materials

The Critical Materials Council (CMC) Conference is a two day event providing actionable information on materials and supply-chains for current and future semiconductor manufacturing. Business drives the world, but technology enables semiconductor business, requiring us to understand the dynamics of how materials and technologies enable the scaling of devices in IC fabs. Conference speakers provide information on critical materials used in HVM fabs and look at manufacturing integration issues associated with new materials needed for future devices. Notable speakers from leading semiconductor fabricators, materials companies, and leading market research firms will provide insights on this ever-changing area of semiconductor process materials and markets.

** Register Now! **

Join the World’s Leaders

CLICK HERE FOR AGENDA!

Location: DoubleTree by Hilton, 1981 N Central Expy, Richardson (near Dallas), TX 75080
Conference follows CMC Private meetings:
May 9-10, CMC Fabs
May 10, 1:30-6 pm, CMC Fabs & CMC Associates Joint Session

Keynote Presentation: Hans Stork, Sr. VP of Technology & CTO of ON Semiconductor

Three Powerful Sessions and the Not-So-Usual-Round-Table

I.  Global Issues & Supply-Chain Challenges
II.  Immediate Challenges of Materials & Manufacturing
III.  Emerging Materials Challenges: leading edge today

Attendees include industry experts who work with supply-chain management, business-development, R&D, and product management, as well as academics and analysts. CMC member companies will be attending this meeting, as it is an important part of their membership.

Vital Control in Fab Materials Supply-Chains – Part 2

As detailed in Part 1 of this article published last month by SemiMD, the inaugural Critical Materials Council (CMC) Conference happened May 5-6 in Hillsboro, Oregon. Held just after the yearly private CMC meeting, the public CMC Conference provides a forum for the pre-competitive exchange of information to control the supply-chain of critical materials needed to run high-volume manufacturing (HVM) in IC fabs. The next CMC Conference will happen May 11-12 in Dallas, Texas.

At the end of the 2016 conference, a panel discussion moderated by Ed Korczynski was recorded and transcribed. The following is Part 2 of the conversation between the following industry experts:

• Jean-Marc Girard, CTO and Director of R&D, Air Liquide Advanced Materials,
• Jeff Hemphill, Staff Materials R&D Engineer, Intel Corporation,
• Jonas Sundqvist, Sr. Scientist, Fraunhofer IKTS; and co-chair of ALD Conference, and
• John Smythe, Distinguished Member of Technical Staff, Micron Technology.

Full article by Ed Korczynski, Sr. Technical Editor Vital Control in Fab Materials Supply-Chains – Part 2

CMC Conference 2017 Call For Papers

Submit abstracts by February 15th for May 11-12 event in Dallas, Texas

San Diego, CA, January 09:  TECHCET CA—the advisory service firm providing electronics materials information—and the Critical Materials Council (CMC) of semiconductor fabricators announce a Call For Papers (CFP) to be presented at the next CMC Conference to be held May 11-12, 2017 in Dallas, Texas. Building on the success of the first CMC Conference held last May in Portland (http://cmcfabs.org/seminars/), the 2017 event will provide a structured framework to catalyze the flow of actionable technical and supply-chain information related to critical materials. 

Following the annual members-only CMC meeting to be held May 9-10, the 2017 CMC Conference is open to the public. Business drives our world, but technology enables the profitable business of manufacturing new devices in IC fabs, and new devices need new materials. In addition to panel discussions, presentation sessions will focus on the following topics:

•    Global Issues & the Supply Chain,

•    Immediate Challenges of Materials & Manufacturing, and

•    Emerging Materials Challenges.

To submit a paper for consideration, please send a 1-page abstract focusing on critical materials supply dynamics by February 15, 2017 to cmcinfo@techcet.com.

On behalf of the Conference Committee,

Lita Shon-Roy, Jonas Sundqvist, Ed Korczynski

ABOUT CMC:  The Critical Materials Council (CMC) of Semiconductor Fabricators (CMCFabs.org) is a membership-based organization that works to anticipate and solve critical materials issues in a pre-competitive environment. The CMC is a unit of TECHCET, an advisory service firm focused on fabrication supply-chains, electronic materials technology, and materials market analysis for the semiconductor, display, solar/PV, and LED industries.

ABOUT TECHCET:  TECHCET CA LLC is an advisory service firm focused on process materials supply chains, electronic materials technology, and materials market analysis for the semiconductor, display, solar/PV, and LED industries. Since 2000, the company has been responsible for producing the SEMATECH Critical Material Reports, covering silicon wafers, semiconductor gases, wet chemicals, CMP consumables, Photoresists, and ALD/CVD Precursors. For additional information about these reports or CMC Fabs membership please contact Diane Scott or Michel Walden at info@cmcfabs.org  +1-480-332-8336, or go to www.techcet.com or www.cmcfabs.org

UPDATE : CMC Conference Call for Papers, May 11-12 2017 Dallas, USA

CMC Conference Call for Papers The Critical Materials Council (CMC) Conference Committee has issued a call for papers for presentations to be given at the CMC Conference to be held May 11-12, 2017 in Dallas, Texas, USA. Semiconductor manufacturing industry experts from IDMs, OEMS, and materials suppliers will gather to discuss actionable information on critical materials used in HVM fabs surrounding the theme of "Critical Materials for Device Driven Scaling," while also looking at issues associated with new materials needed for future devices.   Following the annual members-only Critical Materials Council meeting to be held earlier that week, the 2017 CMC Conference is open to the public. Business drives our world, but technology enables the profitable business of manufacturing new devices in IC fabs, and new devices need new materials. In addition to panel discussions, presentation sessions will focus on the following topics: I. Global Issues & the Supply Chain II. Immediate Challenges of Materials & Manufacturing III. Emerging Materials Challenges To submit a paper for consideration, please send a 1-page abstract focusing on critical materials supply dynamics by February 10, 2017 to cmcinfo@techcet.com. Attendees will include industry experts handling supply-chains, business-development, R&D, and product management, as well as academics and analysts. The early-bird registration fee (before April 15th) for the CMC Conference is $350; the standard registration fee is $425 (after April 16th).  CMC member companies will be attending this meeting, as it is an important part of their membership.   On behalf of the CMC Conference Committee, Lita Shon-Roy, Jonas Sundqvist, Ph.D., Ed Korczynski CMC Conference 2017 Registration Registration Opens January 1, 2017 Early Bird Discount $350 (opens in January) Standard Registration $425  Event Sponsorship Opportunities It is our continued goal to provide timely, relevant information on the supply-chains of critical materials through education and collaboration. None of this is possible without the help of our sponsors! For Sponsorship Opportunities, please contact Diane Scott at dscott@techcet.com.

www.cmcfabs.org/seminars