1. The market price of krypton gas is rising

The market price of krypton gas rose to 9,000-10,000 yuan/cubic meter in March, with some high prices ranging from 11,000-12,000 yuan/cubic meter. Zhuo Chuang believes that with the release of market demand and the gradual improvement of global public health, the demand for krypton in the chip market will continue to support, and in the short term, it is difficult to have a large capacity release at home and abroad, and the market price of krypton in China is expected to further increase.

Krypton gas market supply is tight, the late semiconductor market demand is still supported.

Before the Spring Festival, the overall performance of krypton gas market was relatively flat. After the Spring Festival, the market was affected by some high-priced orders, and the price of negotiation rose again. At present, the market supply of goods is tight, the main manufacturer has limited inventory, take goods to negotiate the price in 9000-10000 yuan/cubic meter, part of the high price in 11,000-12,000 yuan/cubic meter. At present, the market trading atmosphere has improved, the industry bullish atmosphere is stronger.

2. Downstream demand is still supportive

Since September 2020, under the superimposed influence of multiple factors such as the shortage of wafer production capacity and the peak season of the electronics industry, the multi-brand electronic components and electronic-related industries have entered the price rising mode, and the trend is getting more and more intense. From wafer tight caused by the spot market chip shortage price has spread to the silicon wafer and packaging and even chip manufacturing raw materials, the rally in the recent concentrated outbreak. This wave of strong demand comes from the mature process, no one has expanded production in the past few years, and 5G, AI, automotive electronics and other applications are just beginning to develop, this shortage will be difficult to solve.

Prices of DRAM, NAND and NOR were up across the board and rose more than expected in the first half of the year, according to the sources. In November 2020, U.S. chipmaker Micron announced the development of the industry's first 176-layer NAND flash memory chip. SK Hynix then released its 176-layer chip in December. Kioxia of Japan also recently announced that it has successfully developed 162-layer 3D NAND in partnership with Western Digital. In addition, the company plans to double production this year and raise its monthly output of memory chips to 100, 000 wafers, or about 7 per cent of global output, by the second half. And is preparing for trial production of a 192-layer NAND flash memory chip.

In conclusion, with the continuous development of 5G, AI, automotive electronics and other applications, the market demand for chips will be effectively guaranteed. At present, the market for chip demand is strong, related enterprises have more plans to expand capacity. Zhuo Chuang believes that with the release of market demand and the gradual improvement of global public health, the demand for krypton in the chip market will continue to support, and in the short term, it is difficult to have a large capacity release at home and abroad, and the market price of krypton in China is expected to further increase.