NSF PR 96-18 - April 25, 1996
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$10 Million Research Center Aims to Advance Environmentally Benign
Semiconductor Manufacturing
One of the most concerted efforts to study the environmental,
health and safety aspects of the semiconductor manufacturing
process is being initiated through a partnership with
the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Semiconductor
Research Corporation (SRC).
The NSF/SRC Engineering Research Center (ERC) for
Environmentally Benign Semiconductor Manufacturing
will be housed at the University of Arizona and led
by chemical engineer Farhang Shadman. Through the
ERC, engineers and scientists from Arizona, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, Stanford University, and
the University of California-Berkeley will cooperatively
address the semiconductor industry's concern for a
more environmentally sound manufacturing process.
NSF and the SRC will each commit $1 million a year
for five years. SEMATECH, the semiconductor industry's
manufacturingtechnology development consortium, will
contribute $750,000 in start-up funds.
The semiconductor industry makes electronic components
for products that fuel the information age, such as
cellular phones, personal computers, VCRs and televisions.
Complex electronics also play an integral role in
a variety of other products, including automobiles,
medical instruments and children's toys. The global
semiconductor industry alone supports an annual worldwide
market of $150 billion, and it provides essential
resources for much larger markets. The U.S. share
of the global semiconductor market is approximately
40 percent and growing each year. The market is expected
to grow to $183 billion in 1996 and exceed $238 billion
in 1998. The U.S. semiconductor industry employs 272,000
workers and provides the enabling technology for an
electronics industry that employs 2.5 million U.S.
workers.
An essential issue for the semiconductor industry
is the development and use of environmentally sound
manufacturing processes. One focus is the large amount
of highly purified water required to rinse and clean
a silicon wafer. The semiconductor industry is interested
in reducing water use through innovative technology
development. There is also a need to minimize the
amount of energy required to manufacture microchips.
Most semiconductor manufacturers have voluntarily
ended the use of ethylene-based glycol ethers -- fluorocarbons
used as cleaning solvents. To replace them, the industry
is looking for safe solvent alternatives. Although
the semiconductor industry's share of total fluorocarbon
use is small, the industry is still concerned about
its possible impact on the earth's ozone layer.
The Arizona ERC will work in partnership with firms
from the semi-conductor industry that will contribute
to strategic planning of the research program. These
firms will interact with faculty and students in research,
and provide opportunities for student interns both
to learn the manufacturing process firsthand and also
to contribute solutions for industrial problems while
they are still in school. ERC graduates will be part
of a new generation of engineers capable of integrating
environmentally conscious concepts up-front in the
design of manufacturing processes.
The Engineering Research Centers Program, established
in 1985 by NSF, builds partnerships among universities
and industry. These Centers support long-term fundamental
research, integrate the knowledge of engineering and
scientific disciplines in research designed to advance
technology systems, and educate a new generation of
engineers capable of using knowledge across disciplines
to enhance the competitiveness of industry.
The SRC, the research arm of the Semiconductor Industry
Association, was created in 1982. It plans and implements
an integrated program of pre-competitive research
conducted at 48 North American universities, national
laboratories and research institutions. The SRC is
located in Research Triangle Park, N.C.
SEMATECH, created in 1987, is a consortium of 10 major
U.S. semiconductor companies and the U.S. Department
of Defense. It seeks to develop semiconductor manufacturing
technology to keep the U.S. semiconductor industry
competitive. SEMATECH is located in Austin, Texas.
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