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Material · Lithography & Optics · ZA RU DE GB BE JP

Ruthenium, sputtering and ALD grade

A rare metal being adopted for the wiring inside advanced chips. It comes out of the ground only alongside platinum.

Searching is free and needs no AI. Summaries use your own AI model.

Severity
How this is computedSum of four judged scores, each 0–3: concentration + substitution + lead time + inelasticity.Method →Code →
How hard it binds, 0 to 12
When it bites
Within 2 years
judged 2026-09-15
Evidence
Verified
8 maker rows

AI & computeSemiconductorsMining & materialsWork on it: roles and trainingReport an error on GitHub

01Key numbers

dated, each linked to its source

Every series on every bottleneck — filter, compare and download.

02Why it holds things up

Ruthenium is a by-product of PGM mining, so supply is set by platinum and palladium economics rather than by demand for ruthenium. Refining and target fabrication are separately concentrated.

Grade that ships · 4N ruthenium, targets or precursor feed, PGM-refiner traceable.

Part of the process · Materials & tools, which takes years, per qualification to loosen once somebody decides to.

03Severity

judged 2026-09-15 · a judgement, not a measurement

How this is computedSum of four judged scores, each 0–3: concentration + substitution + lead time + inelasticity.Method →Code → / 12

How few suppliers qualify
Estimate, not a measurementA by-product of South African and Russian PGM mining, so supply cannot answer demand. Ruthenium interconnect at leading nodes is the demand shock.By Substrata, open to challenge · 2026-09-15 / 3
How hard to replace
Estimate, not a measurementA by-product of South African and Russian PGM mining, so supply cannot answer demand. Ruthenium interconnect at leading nodes is the demand shock.By Substrata, open to challenge · 2026-09-15 / 3
Decision to new capacity
Estimate, not a measurementA by-product of South African and Russian PGM mining, so supply cannot answer demand. Ruthenium interconnect at leading nodes is the demand shock.By Substrata, open to challenge · 2026-09-15 / 3
Can the buyer walk away
Estimate, not a measurementA by-product of South African and Russian PGM mining, so supply cannot answer demand. Ruthenium interconnect at leading nodes is the demand shock.By Substrata, open to challenge · 2026-09-15 / 3

A by-product of South African and Russian PGM mining, so supply cannot answer demand. Ruthenium interconnect at leading nodes is the demand shock.

04Who makes it

8 verified of 8 rows
OrganisationStepEvidence
Sibanye-StillwaterSSW SJMine / extractVerified source ↗
Impala PlatinumIMP SJMine / extractVerified source ↗
NornickelGMKN RUMine / extractVerified source ↗
HeraeusPrivateRefineVerified source ↗
Johnson MattheyJMAT LNRefineVerified source ↗
UmicoreUMI BBRefineVerified source ↗
Furuya Metal7826 JPConvertVerified source ↗
Tanaka KikinzokuNo listing foundConvertVerified source ↗

05Rules that govern it

All policy →

06What would remove it

No candidate relief has been written up for this one yet.

07Science pipeline

22 papers, preprints and grants collected, unreviewed
  1. Research21 (Computed: Items per stage = papers, preprints and grants collected for the bottleneck whose relevance score is 2 or more, placed on a stage by the rule in lib/science.ts; judgements are counted separately.)
  2. Lab1 (Computed: Items per stage = papers, preprints and grants collected for the bottleneck whose relevance score is 2 or more, placed on a stage by the rule in lib/science.ts; judgements are counted separately.)
  3. Pilot0 (Computed: Items per stage = papers, preprints and grants collected for the bottleneck whose relevance score is 2 or more, placed on a stage by the rule in lib/science.ts; judgements are counted separately.)
  4. Early0 (Computed: Items per stage = papers, preprints and grants collected for the bottleneck whose relevance score is 2 or more, placed on a stage by the rule in lib/science.ts; judgements are counted separately.)
  5. Scale0 (Computed: Items per stage = papers, preprints and grants collected for the bottleneck whose relevance score is 2 or more, placed on a stage by the rule in lib/science.ts; judgements are counted separately.)

judged, with a citation claimed, no citationNumber: papers, preprints and grants the feeds collected — unreviewed

The full pipeline, by stage →

08What has happened

1 dated
  1. 2026-09-14
    TightensPolicyEU

    The EU updates its dual-use control list to add atomic layer deposition equipment for molybdenum and ruthenium.

    policy.trade.ec.europa.eu ↗official source

    The sentence that says so

    “Specifically, this update of the EU control list provides for the addition of new dual-use items, including: Semiconductor manufacturing and testing equipment and materials (e.g. Atomic Layer Deposition equipment for molybdenum and Ruthenium, equipment for the development and the inspection of Extreme Ultra-Violet masks and reticles, and single wafer cleaning equipment)”

All events →

09What this holds up

2 loops
  • Siliconone turn: Months

    Worst judgement on this loop: How this is computedThe highest severity score among the bottlenecks recorded as gates on the loop.Method →Code →, judged 2026-09-15

  • Materials qualificationone turn: Years

    Worst judgement on this loop: How this is computedThe highest severity score among the bottlenecks recorded as gates on the loop.Method →Code →, judged 2026-09-15

A loop is one design, build and measure turn. Severity is a dated judgement on a 0–12 scale, not a measurement, and the judgements are not added together — the figure shown is the worst single one.

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