The surge in silicon prices is the latest scary news about technology prices
In almost all electronic products available today, the semiconductor of choice for transistors we rely on, silicon, is the latest metal that is in short supply. Bloomberg and mining.com, Although it is the second most abundant element in the earth’s crust.
However, you can’t just frost to get the MOSFET out, which is why 20% of the silicon produced worldwide is refined to metallurgical grade purity, 15% of which is further refined for use in semiconductors, with a purity of over 99%.
And this is what we lack. As China, the world’s largest producer of silicon metal, reduced production, the price of this shiny thing rose by 300% in less than two months, causing factories in Scandinavia to cut production.
This is not only bad news for the microchip industry, but also bad news for other large users of silicon, such as automakers, who use silicon and aluminum alloys to make engine blocks and other parts, as well as the solar industry, where refined Monocrystalline silicon is used in the panel. It also forms the basic building block of many medical implants.
The reduction in production seems to be related to the power supply, Reuters explained The shortage of coal, coupled with the increase in industrial demand, has restricted the amount of available electricity. China’s power system prevents coal price increases from being passed on to consumers, so the power companies themselves either bear the economic losses or reduce output.
When news of a silicon wafer shortage came, Japanese silicon wafer manufacturer Sumco Announce It will spend more than US$2 billion to increase its production of 300mm silicon wafers at its plant in Saga Prefecture, Japan, and plans to put it into full production by 2025.
