BEIJING: China has placed a complete ban on the export of helium, an act which puts one of the key elements of the semiconductor industry under state control amid the threat of renewed Middle Eastern conflict to the supply chain. The effects of the China helium export ban on the semiconductor industry go from the Beijing Artificial Intelligence industry through to Asian and international chip manufacturers in a world where technology supply chains rely heavily on a forgotten gas.
The embargo came into force immediately following the fighting in the Middle East which threatened to disrupt the helium supplies from Qatar – the third largest helium producer in the world and largest exporter of helium to China.
Why Helium Is Really Important For Making Computer Chips
The connection between Chinas ban on exporting helium and making semiconductors is not easy to see for people. But it is really important for making modern chips. Helium is not just helpful when we make semiconductors. For some parts of the process Helium is the option we have. Helium is crucial, in steps of semiconductor fabrication and we cannot make chips without Helium.
Chipmakers use helium in a lot of steps when making chips.
They use helium for these things:
- Wafer cooling: Helium is really good at taking away heat when they are working on the chips
- Plasma etching: This is when they need to remove some material from the chips and helium helps them do that
- Chemical vapour deposition: Helium carries gases to the surface of the wafers
- Atomic layer deposition: Helium is necessary for putting really thin layers of material on the chips
- Lithography support: Helium is used when they are making the most advanced chips in special environments
- Leak detection. Helium is small so it can find leaks in the systems that they use to make chips
Helium is used in all these steps because it is really good, at doing these things. Chipmakers need helium to make sure the chips are made correctly.
Unlike industrial gases helium cannot be made from other processes.
It is extracted from natural gas fields with helium levels. A rare geological occurrence that limits where it can be sourced. The availability of helium depends on these natural gas fields. Helium is hard to find because it only comes from these places. This makes helium different, from industrial gases.
The Qatar supply problem that led to Beijings reaction
The decision by China to stop exporting helium, which is needed for semiconductors is because of a point in the supply chain. Qatar, the country that has provided most of Chinas helium imports and one third of the worlds helium had its exports stopped because of attacks by Iran earlier. The Qatar supply disruption is what triggered Beijings response to the semiconductor situation. Qatar is a deal, for helium and China gets a lot of its helium from Qatar.
China is really dependent on countries for helium. A company called Trivium thinks that China gets 85 percent of the helium it needs from other countries. This makes China very vulnerable to problems with the helium supply from Qatar. The current conflict in the Middle East is a threat to this supply corridor for helium from Qatar. China needs helium from Qatar and other countries so any disruption in the helium supply, from Qatar will affect Chinas helium requirements.
Will This Cause Shortages?
The announcement that China is banning helium exports for semiconductors caused a lot of worry in markets around the world.. When experts looked at it they thought the impact, on other countries might not be as big as people first thought. China helium export ban is what got everyone concerned. The China helium export ban is not going to affect markets as much as the news made it seem.
Beijing has a way of controlling what it exports. The thing with helium is one part of this bigger plan. China likes to control what it sends out when it is running low on things it needs. For example China has stopped exporting:
- Fuel when it was hard to get in China
- Fertilisers when food was really expensive around the world and China needed to feed its people
- Sulphuric acid which’s a very important chemical used to make semiconductors
Rare earth minerals. This is a big deal because these minerals are used in a lot of technology and China is, in charge of who gets them. Chinas helium export ban is a move that affects semiconductors.
This fits with Beijings plan to secure what it needs. China is controlling its exports to manage its resources. The export ban on helium is part of this plan. Beijing wants to make sure it has enough for itself. Chinas actions are, about managing what it has.
The Iran conflict is causing problems for helium exports from Qatar. This shows how fragile the situation is. When this happened Beijing made a decision to stop exporting things to protect the companies in Beijing that make computer chips. This was a decision for Beijing to make because it wants to protect its own interests.
It also shows how things that happen in one part of the world can affect the supply of technology, in other parts of the world. The Iran conflict and Qatar helium exports are an example of this. No single company or government can fully control how the Iran conflict and Qatar helium exports will affect the technology supply chains.
Nayab Fatima is a media professional specializing in fact-based journalism, research, and analytical reporting on technology, telecom, aviation, and automobiles.
