Electronic specialty gases: Feedstocks
How fluorspar, tungsten and natural gas feed the fabs
What this tab covers What it is made from and what it feeds: the raw materials and energy per tonne with their share of cost (linked to the commodity table), who is low-cost and why, and the chemicals made from it.Fluorine gases depend on fluorspar and HF; WF6 on tungsten; helium on natural gas processing; rare gases on large steelworks air separation. Cost is mostly purification, cylinders and logistics, so producers near fab clusters in Korea, Taiwan, Japan and China win.
Inputs per tonne
| Input | Quantity per tonne | Role | Share of cost | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F Fluorspar | fluorine about 0.8 t per t NF3 and 0.38 t per t WF6 (stoichiometry) | fluorine source | not published | stoichiometry |
| He Helium | not applicable (product) | cooling and purge gas | about $6 of helium in an $18,000 EUV logic wafer (2026) | Smith (Apr 2026) |
| W Tungsten | about 0.62 t per t WF6 | WF6 metal source | not published | stoichiometry |
| St Steel | not applicable | rare-gas source | not published | Conway (2023) |
| Si Silicon | not published | silicon precursor | not published | Indicative |
| Ammonia (for NF3, nitride films) | about 0.24 t per t NF3 (stoichiometry) | nitrogen source | small | stoichiometry |
Who is low-cost, and why
Not a cost curve market: producers compete on purity, reliability and local presence. Chinese entrants (Peric, Huate) have pushed NF3 prices down; Korean and Japanese suppliers hold leading-edge qualifications (indicative).