Stefan Mileschin

So, you don’t want to supply us with chips? Well, we will not give you the materials.

While the US is posturing about how will remove Russian access to technology to punish its invasion of Ukraine, its chip companies are hoping that their supply of semiconductor-grade neon will hold up.

Ukraine supplies more than 90 per cent of US semiconductor-grade neon, critical for lasers used in chipmaking. The gas, a biproduct of Russian steel manufacturing. Thirty-five per cent of US palladium, used in sensors and memory, among other applications, is sourced from Russia.

Large chip companies so far predict limited supply chain disruption from the Russia-Ukraine crisis, thanks to raw material stockpiling and diversified procurement.

One Japanese chipmaker, speaking off the record, said chipmakers are not feeling any direct impact, but the companies that supply them with materials for semiconductor fabrication buy gases, including neon and palladium, from Russia and Ukraine could do.

"The availability of those materials is already tight, so any further pressure on supplies could push up prices. That, in turn, could knock on to higher chip prices."

https://fudzilla.com/news/54427-russ...n-sanction-war