Suppliers of ammonia (NH3) for semiconductors are facing a double whammy of rising raw material costs and declining demand due to the relocation of LED manufacturers, which accounted for a large portion of their sales, overseas.

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

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

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

In addition, the decline in ammonia supply prices is analyzed to be due to a decrease in demand for semiconductor-grade ammonia.

7N ammonia supplied for semiconductors is mainly used for LEDs and semiconductors in a 1:1 ratio, but compared to the scale of semiconductors, the usage of LEDs is relatively high. This is because LED manufacturers have recently relocated to Malaysia, Vietnam, and other countries, and domestically, only two companies, Seoul Semiconductor and Samsung Electronics, manufacture LEDs.

In addition, for display applications, it is only one-tenth the size of semiconductors, and usage is also decreasing.

As a result, demand is not supporting it, and prices are not receiving their fair value. It is reported that there is.

Meanwhile, the country relies entirely on imports for raw ammonia. The ammonia imported into the country is produced using natural gas and is typically loaded onto 100,000-ton class oil tankers. Major importers include Hanwha Solutions, Lotte Chemical, and Namhae Chemical, and since they usually share the volume of a single oil tanker, the quality of the ammonia is consistent.

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

In semiconductor, LCD, and crystalline solar cell processes, it is used in combination with monosilane (SiH4) to deposit silicon nitride (Si3N4) insulating films, and in LED manufacturing processes, it is used in combination with trimethylgallium (TMGa) in the MOCVD process to deposit gallium nitride (GaN) films.

With the recent growth of the compound semiconductor market, including GaN (gallium nitride) and SiC (silicon carbide), the demand for ammonia for semiconductors is expected to expand again in the future.

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