Opportunities in the Semiconductor Industry’s Electronic Specialty Gases: Where Can Ordinary Investors Find Their Chance?

1. What are Electronic Specialty Gases?Electronic specialty gases, fully known as “electronic specialty gases,” are essential materials in the semiconductor manufacturing process, often referred to as the “blood” or “food” of the semiconductor industry.They have the following core characteristics:* Ultra-high purity: The purity requirements are extremely high, usually reaching 5N (99.999%) or higher, even 6N or 9N levels. Any trace of impurities can cause chip defects, leading to a significant drop in product yield.* High process involvement: They directly participate in chemical reactions in several core steps of semiconductor manufacturing, serving as key media to achieve specific process functions.* Variety: There are hundreds of types, with different gases playing different roles in various process steps.* High technical barriers: Involves multiple high-tech processes such as gas synthesis, purification, mixing, detection, filling, transportation, and storage.Core role: Without qualified electronic specialty gases, it is impossible to manufacture high-performance, high-yield integrated circuit chips.2. What products are involved?Electronic specialty gases are involved in almost all core steps of semiconductor manufacturing, with the main products and their applications as follows:

Among these gases, Nitrogen Trifluoride and Hexafluorine Sulfur are also potent greenhouse gases, thus their emission reduction and recycling treatment are receiving increasing attention.3. Which companies are involved?This is a market dominated by international giants, but domestic companies are striving to catch up.# International Giants (holding major market share)1. Linde Group: After merging with Praxair, it became the world’s largest supplier of electronic specialty gases.2. Air Products: A global leader in industrial gases, with a strong presence in the electronic specialty gas sector.3. Air Liquide: A French company, it is a leading supplier of industrial and medical gases worldwide.4. Taiyo Nippon Sanso: A Japanese company with a strong influence in the Asian market, especially in the semiconductor field.5. Merck: Strengthened its position in electronic specialty gases and high-purity chemicals through the acquisition of Versum Materials.6. SK Materials: A South Korean company with a global leading position in high-purity Nitrogen Trifluoride and other areas.4. Which domestic companies can be focused on?Chinese electronic specialty gas companies have developed rapidly in recent years, achieving breakthroughs in some products and entering the supply chains of mainstream wafer fabs both domestically and internationally, making it one of the core tracks for “domestic substitution.”Domestic first-tier (already entered mainstream supply chains):1. Huate Gas: A leading domestic electronic specialty gas company. It has the most comprehensive product range and is the only gas company certified by all five major semiconductor equipment manufacturers (ASML, LAM, TEL, AMAT, KLA). Its flagship products include Krypton-Neon mixtures for photolithography.2. KMT Gas: Originating from large-scale petrochemical tail gas recovery, it has a significant cost advantage. Its products include high-purity carbon dioxide, helium, neon, krypton, xenon, and have entered the certification supply chains of several wafer fabs.3. Jinhong Gas: A comprehensive gas service provider in China with a wide product line. It has advantages in ultra-pure ammonia and high-purity hydrogen products and is actively laying out large-scale gas on-site production projects.Other important participants:4. Nanda Optoelectronics: A domestic leader in precursor materials (considered a special form of electronic specialty gases), its ArF photoresist products are also highly regarded.5. Yake Technology: Entered the electronic specialty gas and precursor field through the acquisition of Chengdu Kemite and Jiangsu Xian Technology, with products including Hexafluorine Sulfur and Tetrafluoromethane.6. China Shipbuilding Specialty Gas: A subsidiary of China Shipbuilding, it is a domestic leader in key etching and cleaning gases such as Nitrogen Trifluoride and Tungsten Hexafluoride, with production capacity and market share ranking among the top globally.7. Zhengfan Technology: Although it started with process medium supply systems (gasification stations), it has extended upstream by producing electronic specialty gases, creating a synergistic effect.5. What future opportunities are there?The future opportunities in the electronic specialty gas field are immense, mainly revolving around the following aspects:1. Golden opportunity for domestic substitution* Geopolitical and supply chain security: In the context of the U.S. technology blockade against China, ensuring the autonomy and controllability of the semiconductor materials supply chain has become a national strategy. Domestic wafer fabs (such as SMIC, Yangtze Memory, etc.) have a strong motivation to validate and use domestic specialty gases, providing unprecedented market windows for domestic companies.* Cost advantage: Domestic electronic specialty gases typically have a 20%-30% cost advantage over imported products, helping wafer fabs effectively reduce production costs.2. Direct pull from downstream capacity expansion* China is building the world’s largest wafer production capacity. Each new wafer fab requires a continuous, stable, and large supply of electronic specialty gases. The capital expenditure expansion downstream will directly drive the demand for upstream electronic specialty gases.3. New demands brought by technological upgrades* Advanced processes: As chip processes advance to 7nm, 5nm, and 3nm, the purity, stability, and impurity control of electronic specialty gases are subject to almost stringent new requirements, presenting new technical challenges and market opportunities.* Emerging applications: New fields such as third-generation semiconductors (silicon carbide, gallium nitride), storage chips (3D NAND), and advanced packaging have new demands for the types and performance of specialty gases.4. Expansion and integration of product lines* From single gases to mixtures: Providing precisely proportioned mixtures represents a higher barrier and added value.* From gases to services: Offering integrated solutions of “products + equipment + services” (such as on-site gas production, gas management systems) will become core competitiveness.* Precursor materials: This is a field with higher technical barriers and value than electronic specialty gases, and it is a key direction for future breakthroughs.5. Green and sustainable development* The reduction, recycling, and development of alternatives for potent greenhouse gases (such as Nitrogen Trifluoride and Hexafluorine Sulfur) will also give rise to new technical directions and market demands.Electronic specialty gases are the cornerstone of the semiconductor industry and represent a high-barrier, high-growth golden track. For domestic companies, “domestic substitution” is the most critical logic and the greatest opportunity at present. Investors and industry observers should focus on those companies that have been certified by mainstream customers, possess core product technologies, and continue to invest in R&D and capacity expansion. With the rise of China’s semiconductor industry, local electronic specialty gas companies are expected to replicate their successes in other fields, achieving a leap from “catching up” to “running alongside” and even “leading.”