Semiconductor innovation has spurred the greatest period of technological advancement in human history, transforming every aspect of our lives. As a result, information and communication technologies (ICT) are undergoing "super-exponential growth," increasing the volume of chips per capita throughout the decade (https://www.src.org/about/decadal-plan/). However, this era of unprecedented production meets a time when global sustainability has never been more critical. As an R&D community, we have an obligation to do more to ensure that the growth in chip manufacturing and packaged chip volumes is as environmentally benign as possible and does not put additional stress on our already taxed environment (https://www.src.org/about/sustainability/). This Commitment to Sustainability must be factored into our materials, chipmaking, and packaging—early and often—so that it does not become a costly late stage success metric or cleanup exercise.
For these reasons and more, SRC is calling upon global leaders to bring innovative new materials, ideas, products, and businesses to the market that would fail to exist if sustainability and environmental factors were not considered. In particular, per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and gasses with high global warming potentials (GWPs) are two chemical classes that are of critical importance to semiconductor manufacturing, are of growing concern to public health (if not properly handled or abated), and where there are currently no known substitutes in the application areas where these chemicals are used.
Herein, we will expand upon the challenges and opportunities SRC sees, outlining where R&D in measurement, abatement, and alternatives is already underway and early results have been obtained. We will also share our ideas and plans to realize a more significant commitment to both the of Sustainable Semiconductor Manufacturing (SSM).