Compound semiconductor manufacturers have said that prices for key chipmaking metals have doubled and gallium has climbed sharply, as disruptions from the ongoing Middle East conflict pile onto supply constraints already created by China's export controls, DigiTimes reported Friday.
Industry sources told DigiTimes that prices for high-temperature metals — tungsten, tantalum, and molybdenum — used in compound semiconductor equipment have doubled in recent weeks, with some specialty chemical inputs rising as much as threefold. Gallium, the feedstock for gallium arsenide (GaAs) and gallium nitride (GaN) chips, has also climbed further. Market data indicate that gallium was trading at approximately $2,100 per kilogram in early March 2026, representing a 123% increase since the start of 2025, following China's ban on gallium exports to the United States in late 2024.
