Silicon wafers

Tight oligopoly and limited greenfield capacity constrain leading-edge wafer supply as 2/3 nm specifications tighten.

Polished single-crystal silicon disks that serve as the physical foundation for every chip. Diameter, flatness, and defect specifications tighten at each node, especially for 2/3 nm with strain engineering and multi-patterning. Shin-Etsu, SUMCO, Siltronic, and SK Siltron form tight oligopoly; limited greenfield capacity keeps supply constrained at leading edge.

Single-crystal polished silicon wafers as the primary substrate for all CMOS logic, memory, and analogue fabrication; also covers epitaxial, SOI, and compound semiconductor substrates.

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