Semiconductor Materials and Process Inputs

Materials · elements, polysilicon, wafers, gases, chemicals, resist, slurries, targets, masks

Chipmakers bought a record $73.2B of materials in 2025. China refines the elements underneath, about 91% of rare earths and 99% of primary gallium, while Japan makes the engineered inputs on top: roughly half of silicon wafers, most photoresist and nearly all EUV mask blanks.

Semiconductor materials sold for a record $73.2 billion in 2025 (SEMI): $45.8 billion of wafer fab materials and $27.4 billion of packaging materials. Taiwan bought $21.7 billion, China $15.6 billion and South Korea $11.2 billion. Below, the country that leads each input: China refines the critical elements, while Japan leads silicon wafers, photoresist and EUV mask blanks, and US and European firms lead gases and slurries. SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIALS SALES, 2025, $73.2B Wafer fab materials $45.8B Packaging $27.4B TOP BUYERS, $B Taiwan 21.7 China 15.6 South Korea 11.2 WHO LEADS EACH INPUT Critical elements China REFINES 91% OF RARE EARTHS, 99% OF GALLIUM Semiconductor-grade polysilicon Germany, US, Japan WACKER, HEMLOCK, TOKUYAMA Silicon wafers Japan SHIN-ETSU AND SUMCO, ABOUT 53% Photoresist Japan JSR, TOK, SHIN-ETSU, SUMITOMO, FUJIFILM EUV mask blanks Japan AGC AND HOYA, NEARLY ALL Process gases Europe, US, Japan LINDE, AIR LIQUIDE, AIR PRODUCTS, NIPPON SANSO CMP slurries US, Japan ENTEGRIS, DUPONT, FUJIMI, RESONAC Sputtering targets Japan, US JX ADVANCED METALS, HONEYWELL, TOSOH SEMI MMDS (MAY 2026); IEA (2026); USGS (2026). WAFER SHARE IS AN INDUSTRY ESTIMATE.
Materials sales, 2025
$73.2B
Wafer fab materials
$45.8B
Packaging materials
$27.4B
Largest buyer
Taiwan, $21.7B
China rare earth refining
~91%
Hub
Materials

Market

Chipmakers Bought a Record $73.2 Billion of Materials

Semiconductor materials market, 2025
MeasureFigureSource
Total materials sales$73.2B, up 6.8%, a recordSEMI MMDS, May 2026
Wafer fab materials$45.8B, up 5.4%; litho materials and wet chemicals grew double digitsSEMI MMDS, May 2026
Packaging materials$27.4B, up 9.3%; substrates and bonding wire led, helped by gold pricesSEMI MMDS, May 2026
Largest buyerTaiwan, $21.7B, for the 16th yearSEMI MMDS, May 2026
Second and thirdChina $15.6B; South Korea $11.2BSEMI MMDS, May 2026
Silicon wafer revenue$11.4B on 12,973 million square inches shippedSEMI, February 2026

Materials are the part of chipmaking a fab buys every day. Tools are bought once and run for a decade; wafers, gases, chemicals, resist, slurries and targets are consumed with every wafer start, so materials spending tracks fab output rather than fab construction. That is why the materials market grew 6.8% in 2025 while silicon wafer revenue fell 1.2%: more wafers were processed, but prime wafer prices stayed soft.

The inputs

10 Inputs, Each With Its Own Chokepoint

Materials and process inputs covered on SemiconductorX
InputWhat it includesMain constraint
Raw and Refined MaterialsQuartzite, gallium, germanium, tungsten, rare earths, copperRefining is concentrated in China
Critical ElementsThe elements under Chinese export licensingTwo Chinese suspensions expire in November 2026
Quartzite to PolysiliconHigh-purity quartz, silicon metal, 11N polysiliconSpruce Pine quartz; a few polysilicon makers
Process GasesBulk nitrogen and hydrogen; NF3, neon, silane, WF6Specialty gases from few plants
Process ChemicalsHydrofluoric and sulfuric acid, peroxide, solvents, precursorsElectronic-grade HF from Japan
PhotoresistKrF, ArF, EUV and metal oxide resistsJapanese supply
CMP SlurriesSilica, ceria and alumina slurries; padsCeria tied to rare earths
Sputtering TargetsCopper, tantalum, titanium, cobalt targets6N metals from few refiners
Wafer ProductionSilicon, SOI, SiC and compound wafersFive makers hold about 90%
Photomasks and EUV Mask BlanksReticles, blanks and pelliclesTwo Japanese blank makers

Mine to fab

Every Input Passes Through Five Stages

How a raw material reaches the fab in five stages: mine, refine, purify to electronic grade, engineer into a finished input such as a wafer or resist, and consume in the fab. China leads the first three stages for most critical elements; Japan, Europe and the US lead the engineered inputs. FROM MINE TO FAB IN FIVE STAGES 1. Mine QUARTZITE, BAUXITE, ZINC ORE, RARE EARTH ORE 2. Refine SILICON METAL, GALLIUM, GERMANIUM, OXIDES 3. Purify POLYSILICON, 6N TO 11N METALS, ELECTRONIC-GRADE GASES AND ACIDS 4. Engineer WAFERS, RESIST, MASK BLANKS, SLURRIES, TARGETS 5. Consume EVERY LITHO, ETCH, DEPOSITION AND CLEAN STEP IN THE FAB CHINA LEADS MINING, REFINING AND PURIFYING MOST CRITICAL ELEMENTS JAPAN, EUROPE AND US LEAD ENGINEERED INPUTS

Every input passes through the same five stages. The first three, mining, refining and purifying, decide how much material exists and where; the fourth turns it into something a tool can use, such as a 300mm wafer, a bottle of ArF resist or a tantalum target. Process steps that consume each input are on the Manufacturing Process Flow.

Japan and China

China Leads the Tonnes, Japan Leads the Parts per Billion

Japan and China lead different halves of the chain. China leads the stages measured in tonnes: it refines about 91% of rare earths and makes about 94% of sintered rare earth magnets (IEA, 2024 data), produces about 99% of the world's primary gallium (USGS), mines about 79% of tungsten and makes almost 80% of silicon material.

Japan leads the stages measured in parts per billion. Shin-Etsu and SUMCO make roughly half of the world's silicon wafers by industry estimate; JSR, Tokyo Ohka Kogyo, Shin-Etsu, Sumitomo Chemical and Fujifilm make most photoresist; AGC and Hoya make nearly all EUV mask blanks. US and European firms lead gases (Linde, Air Liquide, Air Products), slurries (Entegris, DuPont) and semiconductor-grade polysilicon (Wacker, Hemlock).

Export controls

Two Chinese Suspensions Expire in November 2026

Export controls that touch semiconductor materials, October 2026
MeasureStatusMaterials affected
China licensing, August 2023In forceGallium, germanium
China licensing, September 2024 and February 2025In forceAntimony; tungsten, indium, bismuth, tellurium, molybdenum
China ban on exports to the US, December 2024Suspended until November 27, 2026Gallium, germanium, antimony, superhard materials
China licensing of seven rare earths, April 2025In forceDysprosium, terbium, samarium and others used in magnets
China rare earth expansion, October 9, 2025Suspended until November 10, 2026; no renewal announced as of October 20Five more rare earths; 0.1% foreign-content rule
US Section 232 on polysilicon, August 2026Takes effect December 4, 2026Polysilicon minimum import price of $21/kg; 15% on ingots and wafers

Details by element, with prices, are on Critical Elements.

US production

The US Makes Polysilicon and Quartz but Not the Critical Elements

  • Made in US
  • Some US volume
  • US planned
  • Made abroad
Where US supply stands
InputUS producersUS status
Semiconductor-grade polysiliconHemlock Semiconductor (Michigan), Wacker (Charleston, Tennessee)Made in US
High-purity quartz for cruciblesSibelco and The Quartz Corp at Spruce Pine, North CarolinaMade in US
Silicon wafersGlobalWafers (Sherman, Texas), SK Siltron CSS (SiC, Michigan)Some US volume
Bulk and specialty gasesLinde, Air Products, Air Liquide plants at US fab clustersSome US volume
Rare earth magnetsMP Materials (Fort Worth, Texas), Noveon (San Marcos, Texas)Some US volume
Gallium and germaniumNo primary production; gallium recovery projects funded in 2025US planned
TungstenNo US mine output since 2015Made abroad
Photoresist and EUV mask blanksSmall US resist output; no EUV blank productionMade abroad

Design and IP

Design Software and IP Are Inputs Too

Chip design is an input too. Electronic design automation software, licensed processor and interface IP, and the foundry's process design kit all have to be in place before a mask is made. Three companies (Synopsys, Cadence and Siemens EDA) supply most EDA tools, and Arm licenses the processor cores in most phones and many data center chips. See Fabless Design and IP, EDA Tools, IP Licensing and Process Design Kits.

Record

Page Record

Covers
Semiconductor materials market size and buyers, the inputs and their constraints, the mine-to-fab chain, Japan and China's roles, export controls and US production
Sources
SEMI Materials Market Data Subscription release (May 2026); SEMI silicon wafer shipments release (February 2026); IEA, Rare Earth Elements (2026); USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 (gallium, silicon, tungsten); Fastmarkets (China suspension of US export ban, November 2025); Startup Fortune citing Bloomberg Government (rare earth suspension, October 20, 2026); White & Case on the Section 232 polysilicon proclamation (August 2026); industry estimate of wafer maker shares (2026)
Last verified
October 2026