Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

CTOnews.com, January 11, according to TheElec, South Korean chipmakers Samsung and SK Hynix are planning to purchase silicon wafers for chip production, but the number is less than originally planned.

Chipmakers discussed the issue with their wafer suppliers sometime in the fourth quarter, according to sources.

Silicon wafers are cut from crystalline silicon. The chips used in electronic products are cut from these wafers.

There are five major suppliers of these wafers, including Shin-Etsu and Sumco from Japan, GlobalWafers from Taiwan, Siltronic from Germany and SK Siltron from Korea.

During the worst two years of the epidemic, the supply of these wafers was tight and chipmakers were in short supply.

This continued when the global economy began to decline in 2022. This is because the wafer is a back-end industry, the impact of the consumer market comes later than the front-end industry, and the front-end industry sells products directly to customers, which is more directly affected.

CTOnews.com learned that when chipmakers first reported a drop in profits in the third quarter of last year, wafer profits rose.

Chipmakers are seeking to buy more wafers than usual. Sources say wafer supply deals are usually long-term, which usually limits chipmakers from adjusting their purchases, but Samsung and SK Hynix have asked for further supply cuts.

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