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Specialty gases are used in the LED industry.
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Specialty gases are indispensable foundational supporting materials in fields such as optoelectronics and microelectronics—particularly in the manufacturing processes of ultra-large-scale integrated circuits, liquid crystal display devices, amorphous silicon thin-film solar cells, semiconductor light-emitting devices, and semiconductor materials. Their purity and cleanliness directly affect the quality, integration level, specific technical specifications, and yield of optoelectronic and microelectronic components, and fundamentally limit the precision and accuracy of circuits and devices. Semiconductor lighting is an industry that is currently experiencing rapid growth; as the compound semiconductor market expands, demand for specialty gases is set to increase even further. Epitaxial growth requires large quantities of ultrapure gases.
Specialty gases are essential foundational materials indispensable in fields such as optoelectronics and microelectronics—particularly in the manufacturing processes of ultra-large-scale integrated circuits, liquid crystal display devices, amorphous silicon thin-film solar cells, semiconductor light-emitting devices, and semiconductor materials. Their purity and cleanliness directly affect the quality, integration level, specific technical specifications, and yield of optoelectronic and microelectronic components, and fundamentally limit the precision and accuracy of circuits and devices.
Semiconductor lighting is an emerging industry that is currently experiencing rapid growth. As the compound semiconductor market expands, demand for specialty gases is increasing even more significantly. Epitaxial growth processes require large quantities of ultra-pure source gases and process gases. Currently, Taiwan and Japan hold relatively high market shares in the compound semiconductor sector. In recent years, China and South Korea have demonstrated strong growth momentum, while North America and Europe have also seen their market shares rise somewhat. Specialty gases used in semiconductor technology are characterized by a wide variety of types and stringent quality requirements, placing high technical and safety demands on their production, filling, transportation, and storage. Coupled with factors such as economies of scale, achieving large-scale production requires extensive accumulated expertise and experience. Consequently, China’s domestic market currently exhibits a situation of large demand but limited supply capacity. Research and development as well as production of many gas types remain largely unexplored, and the market supply relies heavily on imports.
Specialty gases for the LED industry
The semiconductor industry uses a wide variety of gases, which have high quality requirements and are consumed in small quantities. Most of these gases are either toxic or corrosive. The number of gas types can exceed one hundred. According to their applications, special gases used in the semiconductor industry can be broadly categorized as follows:
(1) Silicon-containing gases: Silane compounds containing silicon-based groups, such as silane (SiH4), dichlorodihydrogen silane (SiH2Cl2), and disilane (Si2H6), etc.
(2) Doping gases: Gases containing Group III and Group V atoms such as boron, phosphorus, and arsenic, including boron trichloride (BCl3), boron trifluoride (BF3), phosphine (PH3), and arsine (AsH3), among others.
(3) Etching and cleaning gases: Primarily composed of halogenated compounds and halocarbon compounds, such as chlorine gas (Cl2), nitrogen trifluoride (NF3), hydrogen bromide (HBr), carbon tetrafluoride (CF4), and hexafluoroethane (C2F6).
(4) Reaction gases: Primarily carbon- and nitrogen-based oxides, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), ammonia (NH3), and nitrous oxide (N2O), among others.
(5) Metal vapor deposition gases: These include halogenated metals and organometallic alkane compounds, such as tungsten hexafluoride (WF6) and trimethylgallium (Ga(CH3)3), among others.
In the LED industry chain, epitaxial technology, equipment, and materials are critical to the fabrication of epitaxial wafers. Practice has shown that MOCVD is an excellent technology for growing epitaxial wafers and is also a practical, industrially viable technique. Currently, the MOCVD process has become the fundamental technology for manufacturing the vast majority of optoelectronic materials. The ultra-pure specialty gases required for epitaxial technology include high-purity arsine, high-purity phosphine, and high-purity ammonia. In the production of gallium arsenide, silane is used for N-type doping, while hydrogen chloride and chlorine gas are commonly employed as etching gases; argon, hydrogen, and nitrogen serve as essential carrier gases. Meanwhile, the organic sources primarily needed for epitaxial growth include trimethylgallium, trimethylindium, trimethylaluminum, diethylzinc, dimethylzinc, and bis(methylcyclopentadienyl)magnesium. The ongoing advancement of existing technologies is placing increasingly stringent demands on the quality of these products.
During the growth of semiconductor compounds, in addition to pure specialty gases, certain mixed gases are also required, with SiH4/H2 being the primary example. Although the amount of SiH4/N2 used as a film-forming source is relatively small, the quality requirements for the product are extremely high. The dew point of the mixed gas must reach below -95℃; only under such conditions can the yield of epitaxial wafers be reliably ensured.
The expansion of the compound semiconductor industry has driven a rapid growth in the raw materials market. Demand for materials such as wafers, substrates, etchants, process gases, organometallic compounds, and testing and packaging materials is increasing at an annual rate of approximately 21%. Among these raw materials, process gases—including arsine, phosphine, ammonia, argon, hydrogen, nitrogen, hydrogen chloride, and chlorine—account for 8% of total consumption, while organometallic compounds account for another 8%.
Market Trends in Special Gas Technologies for the LED Industry
As compound semiconductor technology continues to mature and its industrialization accelerates, the research and manufacturing technologies for ultra-pure specialty gases and organic sources—essential components of epitaxial growth—are steadily improving. This progress is reflected in several key areas: advanced techniques for deep purification of gases and organic sources; clean surface treatment technologies for cylinder and pipeline interiors; highly sensitive detection technologies for gas impurities at levels of ppm, ppb, and ppt; precise control and analytical detection methods for metal impurities at ppb and ppt levels; detoxification and alarm systems for exhaust gases; the establishment of integrated, pollution-free gas supply systems; technologies for preparing mixed specialty gases; complementary device technologies; and testing and filtration technologies for particles ranging from 0.01 to 0.002 μm. To meet the growing demands of downstream industries, specialty gas manufacturers are continuously developing innovative technologies in product purification, filling, and testing processes.
The development trend of specialty gases continues to evolve and advance in tandem with the growth of the optoelectronics and microelectronics industries. This is primarily reflected in the continuous expansion of product varieties and the emergence of new semiconductor materials, which in turn have spurred demand for next-generation supporting materials. Specialty gas manufacturers are closely aligned with the needs of downstream chipmakers, constantly introducing new product varieties that meet the requirements of advanced semiconductor processes. At the same time, the quality of specialty gases keeps improving. Take ammonia—the most widely used gas in the LED industry—as an example: the purity specifications for high-purity ammonia have evolved from the initial technical requirement of electronic-grade (5N) to megabit-grade level 1 (5.5N), then to megabit-grade level 2 (5.7N), and finally to blue ammonia (6.4N), which is now widely adopted in gallium nitride production. Currently, the purity specification for high-purity ammonia required by gallium nitride technology exceeds 99.99999%, and the white ammonia—already recognized by the industry—is now fully commercialized. Since the content of impurities such as moisture and hydrocarbons in specialty gases is strictly regulated according to their purity levels, most special gases, due to their high chemical reactivity, are inherently difficult to maintain in their pure state. Therefore, ensuring both the purity of the gases and the reliability of the gas supply systems has become a critical factor for semiconductor manufacturers seeking both quality and cost-effectiveness. To avoid frequent changes of process gas cylinders during compound semiconductor manufacturing and minimize the introduction of impurities, the specifications of gas filling containers are trending toward larger volumes, and product packaging is becoming more standardized and modular. In facilities where conditions permit, semiconductor manufacturers can even directly install dedicated gas delivery pipelines, thereby guaranteeing stable supply quality of specialty gases.
The most representative companies supplying specialty gas products include U.S. firms Air Products and Praxair, Germany’s Linder, France’s Air Liquide, and Japan’s Asahi Kasei. These companies hold a major share of the international market for electronic gases. Although China has achieved certain progress in the research and development of specialty gases, very few have yet been commercialized, leaving the vast majority of these products still dependent on imports. With support from the national “863” Program, Dalian Bonded Zone Colide Chemical Technology Development Co., Ltd. has developed high-purity ammonia products with a purity exceeding 99.99999%, which can replace imported products and are used in gallium nitride production. Jiangsu Nanda Optoelectronic Materials Co., Ltd. has made significant strides in the research and production of key precursor materials, enabling it to partially meet the demands of the domestic LED market.
Market Demand for Specialty Gases in the LED Industry
Currently, global demand for high-purity electronic gases is growing at an accelerating pace. In 2009, the global market size for high-purity specialty gases used in LEDs had already reached 2 billion U.S. dollars. Several major gas companies—such as Air Products and Praxair from the United States, Linder from Germany, Air Liquide from France, and Showa from Japan—dominate the global market, with annual production capacities reaching several thousand tons.
In recent years, with the advancement of optoelectronic and microelectronic technologies—particularly the breakthroughs in gallium nitride technology—the demand for specialty gases and the technical requirements associated with them have been steadily increasing. More and more manufacturers and users are beginning to pay close attention to the quality of raw materials and their impact on production, sales, and the economic performance of enterprises.
According to statistics from the National Semiconductor Lighting Engineering R&D and Industry Alliance, since 2004, the cumulative scale of new investments in China’s LED industry has reached 15 billion yuan. Over the past three consecutive years, the number of MOCVD machines ordered and installed by enterprises has exceeded 50 units annually, significantly boosting the rate of domestic production. By the end of 2008, the domestic chip production rate had reached 49%. Based on the current expansion plans of alliance members and the number of machine orders, it is projected that nearly 200 additional MOCVD machines will be added to China’s capacity over the next three years. Currently, companies such as Cree, Xuming, and Taiwanese chip manufacturers have all entered the Chinese market through joint ventures, which will undoubtedly further accelerate the localization of chip production. By 2015, the domestic chip production rate could reach 70%. The demand for specialty gases, including high-purity ammonia, is experiencing rapid growth, increasing at an annual rate of 19%. The total domestic demand for specialty gases in the LED industry has reached 3,000 tons.
In today’s era of global economic integration, China—with its rapidly growing economy—has captured the world’s attention. Several of the world’s leading gas suppliers have set their sights on China’s enormous specialty-gas market. Some have chosen to establish subsidiaries directly in China to sell their products—for example, U.S. companies Air Products and Praxair, and Japan’s Showa Denko; others have teamed up with domestic gas firms to serve as exclusive distributors, such as U.S. company Airgas and Metheson Trigas; some have built filling plants in China, like Germany’s Linde; and still others adopt an OEM model, distributing high-quality electronic gases produced by local manufacturers—for instance, France’s Air Liquide. The overarching goal of all these strategies is to secure a significant share of China’s electronic-gas market and reap substantial economic benefits. Faced with competition from international companies, domestic specialty-gas manufacturers now face tremendous challenges. In LED chip manufacturing processes, domestically produced varieties currently include high-purity ammonia, high-purity trimethylgallium, and mixed gases. However, several critical raw materials—including high-purity arsine and high-purity phosphine—remain dependent on imports, and it will be difficult for domestic producers to achieve industrial-scale supply to users in the short term.
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