The global semiconductor grade silane sih4 market is dominated by five giants (Linde Group, Air Liquide, Showa Denko, Merck and SK Materials) with a combined 83% market share, 99.9999% (class 6N) purity level and metal impurity content of below 0.1ppb. The 2023 data show the unit price of direct purchasing orders over 500kg to be 2,800−3,500/kg and that of buying small quantities (< 50kg) through distributors at 4,200/kg, a 50% premium. TSMC signed a five-year agreement with Linde Group in 2022 that set price volatilities at ±7% and ensured a minimum of a 2.5 tons monthly supply to ensure 3nm process demand growth.
The regional distribution network allows for flexible buying, and specialty gas companies such as Airgas in the United States provide ISO shipping containers (volume 47L, pressure 30bar), with one silane sih4 tank fill with 18kg being 23% of the transport cost (850/ trip by road, 3,200/ trip by air). Japan TANAKA’s “Just-in-Time” system assures 4 hours’ delivery within the Kanto district, has real-time purity measuring technology (precision of laser spectral analysis 0.01ppb), yet the minimum order quantity is as low as 10kg, and inventory turnover has to be maintained 27 times/year. During a 2023 Russia-Ukraine conflict-caused shortage of neon gas, the delivery cycle of such distributors, silane sih4, was stretched from 3 days to 11 days, compelling 12% of fabs to engage safety inventory mechanisms.
E-commerce platform creates new avenues, Alibaba International station congregates 42 silane sih4 suppliers, 2024 Q1 transaction data presents the median price of 6N products as 3,150/kg (±189,800/kg) mainly to serve the needs of research and development organizations. In regards to cross-border logistics, air transportable dangerous goods must comply with IATA PI965 standard, 40L cylinder packages cost $1,200/unit and accounted for 29% of total procurement cost, and standard deviation of customs clearing time of ±5.3 days.
Strategic partnership in supply chain security, Samsung Electronics has invested US $470 million in SK Materials’ Gumi factory and gained preferential rights to supply silane sih4 for 15 years at a price 13% cheaper than the average market price. Arsenane purification technology is utilized in the factory to control boron impurities at less than 0.05ppb, which is needed for EUV photoresist deposition process. Intel is also partnering with Air Liquide to build an in-facility gas plant that has transportation risk zeroed out through direct pipeline supply, but up to $180 million infrastructure investment and consumption of more than 80 tons per annum are necessary to cover costs.
Special procurement policies for special regions are diverse, China Yangtze Storage through the national fund support, at $2,450/kg to order reserve CSIC 718 production capacity (99.9995% purity), 22% less than imported items. Eu F-Gas regulations that required silane sih4 imports to be supported by a carbon footprint certificate (< 8kg CO2e/kg) cut Russian suppliers’ market share from 19% to 3%. The Indian Semiconductor Mission Plan demands 30 percent domestic procurement, forcing companies like Applied Materials to set up purification centers in Bangalore, increasing upfront operating costs by 37 percent.
With the arrival of alternative sources of procurement, Tokyo Electron’s new long-range plasma source technology can replace some of silane sih4 with ammonia (NH3), increasing silicon nitride deposition by 19% and reducing material costs by 28%. However, ASML lithography calibration tests demonstrated that the substitute enhanced film thickness uniformity to ±3.7% from ±1.2%, which necessitated 100% application of high-purity silane sih4 at nodes below 3nm. Silane recovery system engineered by China Shuoke Crystal improved recovery of unrecovered silane sih4 in tail gas to 92%, lowering consumption of one wafer to 6.1mg from 8.3mg.
As for transport risk management solutions, the Linde Group’s “two-tank Interlock” transport system features real-time pressure sensors (sampling rate 100Hz) and satellite tracking, reducing the probability of leakage accidents to 0.00007 times / 1000 km. During the 2023 Red Sea crisis, it cost more to ship silane sih4 to the Cape of Good Hope at an additional cost of $18,000/ ton, and war risk companies (1.7% value of the goods) avoided 78% loss of shipping time. TSMC’s regular emergency reserve is 6 weeks’ consumption, along with the demand forecasting algorithm (MAPE error < 4%), successfully cope with the seven-day supply chain disruption of the 2022 Taiwan earthquake.