Strong photovoltaic and electronics sectors support nitrogen trifluoride, silane and ammonia demand

Solar drives electronic gases

20 March 2008 14:41  [Source: ICB]

Correction: In the ICIS Chemical Business story headlined: "Strong photovoltaic and electronics sectors support nitrogen trifluoride, silane and ammonia demand, please read in the 22nd paragraph "Mike Hilton, Air Products' senior vice president and general manager for electronics and performance materials" instead of "Mike Hilton, Air Products' vice president and general manager for electronics and performance materials." A corrected story follows.

Demand for electronics, coupled with increased interest in solar energy, means the market for electronic gases will keep growing. But are shortages looming?

Ivan Lerner/New York

ALTHOUGH SEMICONDUCTORS remain the principal driver for electronic specialty gases, increased interest in photovoltaics is adding to the push.

Electronic gases are needed in thin-film deposition, such as chemical vapor deposition (CVD) or physical vapor deposition (PVD), technologies used to make a semiconductor or a photovoltaic cell.

The three major gases used in semiconductors, liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and photovoltaics are nitrogen trifluoride (NF₃), silane (SiH₄) and ammonia.

Emerging thin-film solar cells will be based on thin-film deposition technologies including CVD processing, says industry analyst Mike Corbett, managing partner of Linx Consulting, based in Boston, Massachusetts, US.

"Basically, tandem-cell thin-film solar cell production uses similar CVD tool sets as those used in the LCD industry. So as thin-film solar cells become more popular, there will be a high volume-growth potential for these gases," says Corbett.

According to US-based industrial gas supplier Air Products, solar capacity is growing at more than 30%/year.

"With photovoltaics using many of the same raw materials as semiconductor manufacturers, we would expect to see strong growth in the products Air Products supplies to the photovoltaics industry," says Dave Tavianini, photovoltaics business development manager for the company.

Looking ahead, Tavianini adds, demand for specialty gases will continue to accelerate as second-generation thin-film siliconphotovoltaics proliferate.

Air Products has been routinely expanding its NF₃ capacity since the late 1990s to meet demand, sometimes by as much as 50% at a time. In late 2007, the company said it would double NF₃ capacity at its facility at Ulsan, South Korea, to 1,000 tonnes/year by 2009. The rest of Air Products' global capacity - about 2,200 tonnes - is at its plant in Hometown, Pennsylvania, US.

Photovoltaics were invented in 1954, but they have only recently been considered viable for commercialization, owing to advances in semiconductor technology.

The growth has been fast: 2006 was the first year more polysilicon was consumed by the photovoltaics industry than by semiconductor manufacturers. "With that in mind, and photovoltaics growing at much faster rates, we will continue to see strong growth," says Tavianini.

In January, Air Products signed an agreement with Signet Solar to deliver gas to Signet's new thin-film photovoltaic module production facility in Mochau, Germany.

Meanwhile, polysilicon demand is expected to increase by 10%/year, according to Germany-based chemical producer Wacker.

According to Mark Thirsk, also a managing partner at Linx Consulting, 90% of photovoltaic cells are made of monolithic silicon, which uses electronic-grade polysilicon as a feedstock. The majority of solar-grade polysilicon is formed through a gaseous process, using chlorosilanes as an intermediate. Cell manufacture also uses SiH₄ as a precursor with nitride and oxide before deposition.

"Apart from nitrogen, the largest volume gases for silicon photovoltaic manufacture are silane and ammonia, with silane being the higher-value segment," says Thirsk.

Heightened interest in renewable energy sources has prompted solar cell and polysilicon manufacturers to increase capacity and production, says Ken Spall, director of business development for US industrial gas producer Praxair Electronics of Orangeburg, New York.

LANDMARK 1GW REACHED IN US

The company believes that there is now roughly 1GW of photovoltaic power generation capacity in the US. "We are seeing a range of growth in the photovoltaic market, over the next seven years, from 30-50% worldwide," says Spall.

There is the potential for an SiH4 shortage to hit the market eventually, warns Corbett. The gas is used to deposit silicon, silicon oxide and silicon nitride on glass substrates.

SiH₄ is also a key precursor in the production of polysilicon for some polysilicon suppliers. "Polysilicon is short currently, and producers may utilize the silane to increase polysilicon production, rather than supplying it towards solar cell applications," says Corbett.

Tandem cells produced via the CVD process also use a lot of silane, and "a shortage of silane would ripple through photovoltaics and LCD production in a bad way," he adds.

Praxair believes customers are aware of possible challenges in this area and are taking measures to maintain silane supply for the growing demand. "Silane is certainly an area of interest," says Spall.

It is also an area of interest to Air Products. "We continue to supply our customers as effectively as we have in the past, but supply remains tight given the demand for polysilicon in semiconductors and photovoltaics," says Mike Hilton, Air Products' senior vice president and general manager for electronics and performance materials.

GROWTH IN THE SUN

As long as oil prices remain high, continued growth in photovoltaics is almost assured. The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), based in Washington, D.C., says that roughly $11bn (€7.2bn), or 10%, of US electrical needs could be competitively addressed with solar power by 2020.

Meanwhile, the US Department of Energy says that, globally, annual installations by the photovoltaic industry grew from 4,000MW in 2002 to 1.7GW in 2006, representing an average annual growth rate of over 42%.

Based in San Jose, California, the trade association Semiconductor Equipment and Materials Institute (SEMI) predicts the global photovoltaic market will grow from $13bn in 2007 to over $40bn by 2012.

But while photovoltaics are showing impressive growth, both Praxair and Air Products agree that semiconductors and their end markets are still driving demand for electronic gases.

According to Hilton, semiconductors still account for about 85% of demand for electronic specialty gases.

"Within the semiconductor area, the memory segment is showing the strongest growth, thanks to robust demand for consumer electronics," he says. "Overall, demand is generally tight for the specialty gases that are consumed by the electronics industry and we would expect that to continue, thanks to the growth we are seeing overall and especially in memory, displays and photovoltaics."

Praxair and Air Products sell primarily to the semiconductor, flat-panel display, light-emitting diode (LED) and photovoltaic markets. Both companies have also seen higher raw material and manufacturing costs, which they are working to recover.

The global market for industrial gases was estimated to be worth $41bn in 2005, and is forecast to increase to $51bn by 2010, according to the US market research firm the Freedonia Group, based in Cleveland, Ohio.

US-based market analyst BCC Research estimates global electronic chemicals and materials demand was $22.7bn in 2005. It is expected to grow at 8.9%/year to 2010, reaching $34.8bn.

North America accounts for about 26% of the world market.

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