Description
• Provides information on the dependencies of the Semiconductor industry on the Germanium and Gallium Supply Chains, especially as they relate to the US
• Provides an assessment on the overall supply risk of germanium and gallium to the western world
• Includes information on the sources of these key materials, in what form are they used for semiconductor production, and the importance of their use
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Table of Contents
1 SCOPE 6
2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 6
3 GERMANIUM 8
3.1 GERMANIUM OVERVIEW – WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? 8
3.2 GERMANIUM - WHAT KINDS OF SEMICONDUCTOR IS IT USED FOR? 8
3.3 GERMANIUM - WHERE DOES IT COME FROM? 9
3.4 HOW IS IT MADE? FROM ORE TO END USE PRODUCT 10
3.4.1 Leading North American Sources of Germanium: 10
3.4.2 How is GeH4 made? 11
3.5 SUPPLIERS OF GE END USE PRODUCTS TO THE SEMICONDUCTOR INDUSTRY 13
3.5.1 US GeH4 Producers 13
3.5.2 Germanium Sputter Targets and Substrates 14
3.5.3 Tracing the GeH4 Supply Chain 14
3.6 GERMANIUM US IMPORTS - ORIGINATING LOCATION AND MIX 16
3.7 GERMANIUM - BUILDING NEW US CAPACITY 17
3.8 GERMANIUM – WHO USES IT? SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE MANUFACTURERS 17
3.9 GERMANIUM RAW MATERIAL PRICE TRENDS 18
4 GALLIUM 20
4.1 GALLIUM OVERVIEW – WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? 20
4.2 GALLIUM – WHAT KIND OF ELECTRONIC DEVICES IS IT USED FOR? 20
4.3 GALLIUM WHERE DOES GALLIUM COME FROM? 21
4.4 HOW IS IT MADE? FROM ORE TO END USE PRODUCT 22
4.5 SUPPLIERS OF GA END USE PRODUCTS TO THE SEMICONDUCTOR INDUSTRY 24
4.5.1 Tracking the Gallium Supply Chain 25
4.6 GALLIUM US IMPORTS - ORIGINATING LOCATION AND MIX 27
4.7 GALLIUM - BUILDING NEW US CAPACITY 28
4.8 GALLIUM – WHO USES IT? SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE MANUFACTURERS 28
4.9 GALLIUM RAW MATERIAL PRICE TRENDS 29
5 CHINA GA & GE TRADE RESTRICTIONS 31
6 GALLIUM AND GERMANIUM GEOPOLITICAL RISKS & ASSESSMENT 32
7 REFERENCES 34
FIGURES
FIGURE 1: GERMANIUM AND GALLIUM PRODUCTION BY REGION ESTIMATES 7
FIGURE 2: US GERMANIUM USE APPLICATIONS ESTIMATE (AS A PERCENT OF
TOTAL WEIGHT) 2022 8
FIGURE 3: SILICON-GERMANIUM (SIGE) IS CRUCIAL IN 2
NM GAA-FET FABRICATION 9
FIGURE 4: 2021 GERMANIUM PRODUCTION ESTIMATES AS A PERCENTAGE OF
TOTAL OUTPUT (TONS) 10
FIGURE 5: GEO2 AND GECL4 PRODUCTION FROM GE CONCENTRATE 12
FIGURE 6: AIR LIQUIDE (VOLTAIX) GERMANE PLANT IN BRANCHBURG, NJ (USA) 14
FIGURE 7: GERMANIUM ORE TO FINISHED PRODUCTS INTO THE US –
SUPPLY CHAIN FLOW 15
FIGURE 8: GERMANIUM US IMPORTS BY COUNTRY OF ORIGIN 17
FIGURE 9: SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE MANUFACTURERS USING SIGE TECHNOLOGY
BY REGION (AS A PERCENT OF 200MM EQUIVALENT CAPACITY*) 18
FIGURE 10: GERMANIUM PRICE TRENDS 2018 TO 2023 19
FIGURE 11: GERMANIUM METAL SHANGHAI METAL MARKET FUTURES
(PRICES PER KG) 19
FIGURE 12: CHINA WROUGHT AND UNWROUGHT GERMANIUM EXPORT FOR
JAN – AUG 2023 20
FIGURE 13: WORLD GALLIUM PRODUCTION AS A PERCENT OF TOTAL VOLUME
(METRIC TONS) 22
FIGURE 14: GALLIUM PRECURSOR SUPPLY CHAIN 23
FIGURE 15: EXAMPLE OF MOLECULAR BEAM EPITAXY SYSTEM 24
FIGURE 16: GALLIUM ORE TO FINISHED PRODUCTS INTO THE US –
SUPPLY CHAIN FLOW 26
FIGURE 17: US GALLIUM IMPORTS SHOWING COUNTRY DEPENDENCY 28
FIGURE 18: : SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE & LED MANUFACTURERS USING
GAAS/GAN/GAP BY REGION 29
FIGURE 19: GALLIUM METAL PRICE TRENDS 2018-2023 30
FIGURE 20: GALLIUM METAL SHANGHAI METAL MARKET FUTURES (PRICES PER KG) 30
FIGURE 21: CHINA WROUGHT AND UNWROUGHT GA EXPORTS 2023 31
TABLES
TABLE 1: ELECTRONIC DEVICES AND THEIR USE OF GERMANIUM 9
TABLE 2: GERMANIUM SEMICONDUCTOR VALUE CHAIN 16
TABLE 3: MOST POPULAR APPLICATIONS FOR GALLIUM SUBSTRATES INCLUDE
GAAS AND GAN COMPOUND 21
TABLE 4: GA-CONTAINING SEMICONDUCTOR PROCESS MATERIALS SUPPLIERS
AND LOCATIONS 25
TABLE 5: GALLIUM SEMICONDUCTOR VALUE CHAIN 27
