Electronic specialty gases can be further divided into several categories such as doping gases, epitaxial gases, ion implantation gases, LED gases, etching gases, chemical vapor deposition gases, carrier and dilution gases, etc. There are over 110 types of electronic gases used in the semiconductor industry, with 20-30 types being commonly used.

Current electronic semiconductor technology imposes extremely stringent requirements on product performance and parameters, as well as on the manufacturing environment. As semiconductor processes become increasingly precise, the purity requirements for specialty gases have also risen accordingly to maintain chip surface cleanliness and improve product yield. Therefore, there is a significant demand for specialty gases in applications such as doping, protection, and implantation.

From a global perspective, the market size of electronic specialty gases for integrated circuits was $3.5 billion in 2015, and it has remained stable over the past few years. The market size in 2017 is expected to be similar to that of 2015. In terms of market structure, due to the extremely high purity requirements for electronic specialty gases, companies with high-purity processes and large-scale production are mainly concentrated in a few major companies in Europe, America, and Japan. In 2014, American Air Products, French Air Liquide, Japanese Taiyo Nippon Sanso, Praxair, and Linde Group collectively accounted for 94% of the global market share.

Global Market Size of Electronic Specialty Gases for Integrated Circuits, 2012-2017

Data Source: Compiled from public information

Related Report: "2017-2022 China Electronic Specialty Gas Market Depth Assessment and Investment Prospect Evaluation Report" released by Zhiyan Consulting

By the end of 2016, the domestic electronic specialty gas industry was highly concentrated. Six companies—American Air Products (APCI), Praxair, Japanese Showa Denko, British BOC Company (acquired by German Linde Group), French Air Liquide, and Japanese Taiyo Nippon Sanso—collectively held 85% of the market share in China's electronic specialty gas market.

Market Share of China's Electronic Specialty Gases in 2015

According to statistics, by the end of 2015, there were more than 150 specialty gas production enterprises in China, but most of them were small in scale. In recent years, with increasing national support for the semiconductor industry, research projects such as the 02 Special Project have driven the continuous improvement of domestic electronic specialty gas products in China.