SemiAnalysis: AI semiconductor manufacturing bottlenecks may extend to critical materials such as tungsten

Independent semiconductor and AI research institute SemiAnalysis noted in a report that one of the most underrated ways to contribute to AI semiconductor development may not be the chips themselves, but materials. As the industry accelerates production of more advanced semiconductors, demand growth is not limited to GPUs and foundry equipment, but also extends to the critical materials underpinning modern chip manufacturing. Taking tungsten as an example, the report points out that tungsten is one of the most critical materials in semiconductor manufacturing, valued for its high-temperature stability and resistance to electrical wear. Foundries rely on chemical vapor deposition (CVD) to fill deep, high-aspect-ratio vertical vias connecting multi-layer chip architectures, and use physical vapor deposition (PVD) to deposit ultra-thin structural barrier layers around them. Because tungsten is used in both core deposition processes, it is irreplaceable in advanced chip production. Tungsten supplies appear to be increasingly constrained. High-purity tungsten metal powder is the primary raw material for manufacturing tungsten hexafluoride (WF6), a gas used in CVD. Japan hosts key tungsten hexafluoride suppliers including SK Materials and Shin-Etsu Chemical, but is facing sharp price hikes and a significant drop in tungsten raw material imports, making it nearly impossible to continue producing this critical material. This price pressure is also reflected in South Korea’s tungsten hexafluoride import prices, which have surged by 151% year-to-date. As semiconductor complexity and AI demand rise, bottlenecks may emerge not only in chips or equipment, but also in the critical materials at the base of the entire supply chain.