The global semiconductor industry relies on just one factory

Semiconductors are installed in many things used in daily life, such as notebook PCs and smartphones, and have become essential to modern life. Regarding such semiconductors, the existence of ``the only factory on which the world's semiconductor industry depends'' has become a hot topic.

High Purity Quartz

The modern economy rests on a single road in Spruce Pine, North Carolina. The road runs to the two mines that is the sole supplier of the quartz required to make the crucibles needed to refine silicon wafers.

There are no alternative sources known. From Conway's Material World: pic.twitter.com/mYfrfub8dw

— Ethan Mollick (@emollick) March 9, 2024

According to the book ' Material World ' published in 2023, the global semiconductor industry depends on the Sibelco factory located in Spruce Pine, North Carolina, USA. This factory produces ultra-high purity quartz, and is said to be the only source of quartz, which is used as a material for ``fused silica crucibles necessary for refining silicon wafers.''


Sibelco's official page describes high-purity quartz as ``used to produce fused silica, which has unique optical, mechanical, and thermal properties, and is essential for the production of a wide range of high-tech products.''

According to Ethan Mollick , who studies economics and AI at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, it is technically possible to artificially synthesize quartz with the same composition as Sibelco's high-purity quartz. However, synthesizing high-purity quartz costs a lot of money, and expanding production technology takes a long time. For this reason, it has been pointed out that if Sibelco's high-purity quartz becomes unable to be produced, the semiconductor industry could be in major turmoil for a long period of time.

Yes, this is exactly what the quoted passage says. It would likely a few years of major disruption while techniques to generate alternatives were scaled up. But the disruption would be pretty catastrophic.

— Ethan Mollick (@emollick) March 9, 2024