Ammonia (NH3) suppliers for semiconductors are suffering from double whammy as demand decreases due to rising raw material prices and overseas relocation of LED manufacturers, which accounted for a large portion of sales.

According to the semiconductor ammonia (NH3) industry, the supply price of raw material ammonia for manufacturing semiconductor ammonia was around 500 to 700 won per kg three years ago, but recently the supply price has risen by 80%, from 900 won to around 1,100 won.

On the other hand, the supply price of 7N purity ammonia has fallen below 2,000 won per kg, and the margins of ammonia suppliers are decreasing, it said.

This rise in the price of raw ammonia is analyzed to be due to increased manufacturing costs and logistics costs.

Additionally, the decline in ammonia supply prices is analyzed to be due to a decrease in demand for ammonia for semiconductors.

7N ammonia supplied for semiconductors is mainly used for LEDs and semiconductors in a 1:1 ratio, and the usage of LEDs is high compared to the scale of semiconductors. However, recently, LED manufacturers have relocated to Malaysia, Vietnam, etc., and in Korea, only two companies, Seoul Semiconductor and Samsung Electronics, are manufacturing LEDs.

Additionally, for display purposes, it accounts for only one-tenth of semiconductors, and its usage is also decreasing.

As a result, demand is not supported and prices are not fair. It is reported that it exists.

Meanwhile, raw ammonia is entirely dependent on imports. The ammonia imported into Korea is produced based on natural gas and is usually shipped in 100,000-ton tankers. Major importers include Hanwha Solutions, Lotte Chemical, and Namhae Chemical, and since they usually share the volume of one tanker, the quality of ammonia is the same.

Ammonia is commonly used as a fertilizer and as a raw material for caprolactam, nitric acid, etc.

In semiconductor, LCD, and crystal solar cell processes, it is used to deposit an insulating film of silicon nitride (Si3N4) by combining with monosilane (SiH4), and in the LED manufacturing process, it is used to deposit a gallium nitride (GaN) film by combining with trimethylgallium (TMGa) in the MOCVD process.

Recently, the compound semiconductor market, such as GaN (gallium nitride) and SiC (silicon carbide), has been growing, and the demand for ammonia for semiconductor use is expected to expand again in the future.

Suppliers of ammonia for semiconductors include Air Products Korea, PSG, DIG Airgas, Wonik Materials, and Coretec.