“They Say the Neon Lights Are Bright on Broadway…”
Neon lights have been around since the 1920’s and while neon glows red/orange and other gases are used for other colors, “neon lights” are more a generic term than one specific to a particular color, and by the 1940’s neon lights were so popular that even small US towns had at least one neon sign hawking something on Main Street. That said, ~70% of the neon gas currently produced globally is used in the semiconductor industry, specifically for excimer lasers used in DUV (Deep Ultraviolet) stepper photolithography down to the 7nm node, and Lasik eye surgery. So why do we mention neon? Because the Ukraine is the world’s leading producer of neon gas (~50% share) and the war with Russia has increased the concern that the gas will be in short supply.
Neon gas is found naturally in the air but at only 18.2 parts per million and is a byproduct of a process that removes oxygen from the air. As the oxygen is removed through liquification, a neon and helium (NHM) mixture must also be removed, but in order to move the NHM from 30% - 40% purity to the 99.999% needed for commercial use, the energy cost is so high that only the largest facilities can do so profitably, with smaller plants just releasing the NHM into the atmosphere.
As the lasers[1] are used the neon degrades, introducing impurities which affect the performance of the laser and the neon has to be partially or fully replaced after a few weeks. During the 2015/2016 unrest in Ukraine laser designers at companies like Cymer (ASML) and Gigaphoton (631.JP) found ways to reduce gas consumption, stretching the replacement intervals by modifying the injection software, but the only long-term solution has been to recapture the ‘used’ gas in tanks under the floor of the fab and eventually filtered and returned to the laser, and this process has an efficiency of between 85% and 92% and is more energy efficient than producing ‘fresh’ neon.
The problem with the recovery/recycle process is that the lasers must be designed to take advantage of such a system and that production must stop in order for the cleanroom to be fitted with the recovery tanks, so in many cases, even with the price of neon increasing, it is more cost effective to buy new gas rather than convert to recycle/recover for smaller companies, especially when utilization is high. The wholesale price of neon has jumped from 1,850 yuan (~$290/ft3) on February 24 to 16,000 yuan (~$2,511 US) on March 17, when both major neon producers in Ukraine shut down[2], after a previous increase between October 2021 and February from the equivalent of $62.77. This makes the economics for recovery a bit different, especially if semiconductor manufacturers did not have strong ties to Chinese neon producers as a secondary source of the material, but with semiconductor demand at such a high point, it is still questionable as to whether fabs can take down production to make such changes at this point
[1] Typically Argon Fluoride lasers, which are made up of 95% neon despite the name.
[2] Ingas is in Mariupol and Cryoin is in Odessa.
Neon gas is found naturally in the air but at only 18.2 parts per million and is a byproduct of a process that removes oxygen from the air. As the oxygen is removed through liquification, a neon and helium (NHM) mixture must also be removed, but in order to move the NHM from 30% - 40% purity to the 99.999% needed for commercial use, the energy cost is so high that only the largest facilities can do so profitably, with smaller plants just releasing the NHM into the atmosphere.
As the lasers[1] are used the neon degrades, introducing impurities which affect the performance of the laser and the neon has to be partially or fully replaced after a few weeks. During the 2015/2016 unrest in Ukraine laser designers at companies like Cymer (ASML) and Gigaphoton (631.JP) found ways to reduce gas consumption, stretching the replacement intervals by modifying the injection software, but the only long-term solution has been to recapture the ‘used’ gas in tanks under the floor of the fab and eventually filtered and returned to the laser, and this process has an efficiency of between 85% and 92% and is more energy efficient than producing ‘fresh’ neon.
The problem with the recovery/recycle process is that the lasers must be designed to take advantage of such a system and that production must stop in order for the cleanroom to be fitted with the recovery tanks, so in many cases, even with the price of neon increasing, it is more cost effective to buy new gas rather than convert to recycle/recover for smaller companies, especially when utilization is high. The wholesale price of neon has jumped from 1,850 yuan (~$290/ft3) on February 24 to 16,000 yuan (~$2,511 US) on March 17, when both major neon producers in Ukraine shut down[2], after a previous increase between October 2021 and February from the equivalent of $62.77. This makes the economics for recovery a bit different, especially if semiconductor manufacturers did not have strong ties to Chinese neon producers as a secondary source of the material, but with semiconductor demand at such a high point, it is still questionable as to whether fabs can take down production to make such changes at this point
[1] Typically Argon Fluoride lasers, which are made up of 95% neon despite the name.
[2] Ingas is in Mariupol and Cryoin is in Odessa.
- Neon Lights on Broadway - Source: Dreamtime.com
"Vegas Vic" 40ft Neon Sign at the Pioneerr Club - Source: By BoldSolitude - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5227617
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