The cost of the raw materials is a rounding error compared to all other aspects of semiconductor manufacturing. The entire industry is a game of "value-add". T

The cost of the raw materials is a rounding error compared to all other aspects of semiconductor manufacturing. The entire industry is a game of "value-add". The blank silicon wafers start out with effectively zero (or negative) value. The raw materials are worthless to the business. Only once validated features (process layers) begin to accumulate do those raw materials begin to inherit some sense of value.