Decarbonization Strategies in Semiconductor Manufacturing: Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emission and Energy Consumption in the CVD Process

As the semiconductor industry strives to adopt sustainable practices, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations have become increasingly important. The decarbonization initiatives discussed here highlight the importance of energy efficiency, resource optimization, and collaborative efforts to achieve sustainability targets while ensuring operational excellence. The exploration of alternative gases has allowed significant progress to be made in reducing the environmental footprint within the semiconductor industry, such as the use of F 2 for NF 3 chamber cleaning, and the optimization of liquefied natural gas (LNG) use for abatement systems. These initiatives have played a vital role in aligning with sustainability goals and effectively reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This study also examines the power consumption of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, focusing on the deposition process. To reduce power consumption, power usage of spin operation types was decreased by adjusting the speed of the equipment front end module (EFEM) fan, load lock module (LLM) pump, and process module (PM) pump. Also, power consumption of heat types was minimized by turning off the LLM heater and the PM fore-line heat jacket. Overall, this study emphasizes the importance of ESG principles and decarbonization initiatives in the semiconductor industry, and highlights the need for sustainable practices, energy efficiency, and resource optimization to meet global sustainability targets while maintaining operational excellence. Collaboration among industry stakeholders is critical to achieve these goals, and ensure a more sustainable future.