SemiAnalysis: AI semiconductor construction bottlenecks may extend to key materials such as tungsten.

Mars Finance news: On June 30, SemiAnalysis, an independent research institute for semiconductors and AI, said that one of the most underestimated ways to participate in building AI semiconductors may not be the chips themselves, but the materials. As the industry accelerates the production of more advanced semiconductors, demand growth is not only showing up in GPUs and foundry equipment, but also in the key materials that support modern chip manufacturing. Taking tungsten as an example, tungsten is one of the most critical materials in semiconductor manufacturing, valued for its high-temperature stability and resistance to electrical erosion. Foundries rely on chemical vapor deposition to fill deep, high–aspect-ratio vertical vias that connect multi-layer chip architectures, while using physical vapor deposition to deposit ultra-thin structural barrier layers around them. Because tungsten covers both types of core deposition steps, it is irreplaceable in the production of advanced chips.

Tungsten supply appears to be becoming increasingly constrained. High-purity tungsten metal powder is the main raw material for producing tungsten hexafluoride, and tungsten hexafluoride is the gas used in chemical vapor deposition. Among key tungsten hexafluoride suppliers, Japan has SK Materials and Shin-Etsu Chemical; however, they are facing steep price increases and a significant reduction in imports of tungsten raw materials, making it almost impossible to continue producing the critical tungsten hexafluoride material. The related price pressure is also reflected in South Korea’s tungsten hexafluoride import prices, which have risen by 151% since the beginning of this year. As semiconductor complexity and AI demand increase, bottlenecks may not only arise in chips or equipment, but also in the key materials at the bottom of the entire supply chain.