Technology with the Environment in Mind

Evaluation Process for Semiconductor Fabrication Materials that are Better for the Environment

EXTERNAL RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

Consortia Engagement

The mission of our external programs is to influence the direction of the research; then to extract the value from external R&D organizations and activities and to bring this back to Intel. These are some of the items that we look at:

• The current (and evolving) EHS trends and their potential impact on Intel.
• The response needed from university and fundamental research to address these EHS trends.
• The research needed to develop science and technology leading to simultaneous process performance/cost/EHS gain.
• Incorporating EHS principles into engineering and science education.
• Promoting Design for Environment and sustainability as a technology driver and business benefit.

On an industry level, Intel collaborates on EHS issues with other semiconductor manufacturers and with our suppliers of tools and chemicals in national associations, such as the International Sematech Manufacturing Initiative (ISMI), and the U.S. and European Semiconductor Industry Associations (SIA and ESIA, respectively). Broad industry needs with regard to EHS elements of new technology (including chemicals) are integrated into the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS). The ITRS is a global industry 15-year roadmap that identifies technology requirements for the continued success of the semiconductor industry.

Intel also actively participates in the World Semiconductor Council (WSC), a global industry body whose efforts include pre-competitive cooperation on major EHS policy issues for the industry. Membership is composed of semiconductor trade associations from six leading global centers of manufacturing (EU, China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and the U.S.). Global collaboration at the WSC level has led to voluntary global industry agreements on the responsible use of chemicals. A key initiative has been the reduction of global warming by reducing perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) emissions by 10% lower than 1995 levels by 2010. A second example is the full phase-out of perfluorooctyl sulfonates (PFOS) in non-critical applications while also continuing R&D to eventually phase out critical uses, where possible.

Environmentally Benign Materials Research (EBMR) is a key program that GFM-EHS uses to enhance the sustainability of current and future technologies. This program identifies critical material research needs for environmental purposes, such as alternatives to PFCs, and targets research to find solutions, or at a minimum, gain better knowledge about the nature of the problem. These projects can be accomplished internally with direct assistance from suppliers, or via industry consortia such as the ISMI, the Semiconductor Research Corporation's Engineering Research Center (SRC-ERC), and the semiconductor consortia in Belgium (IMEC), for example.

Intel has been a promoter of collaborative R&D efforts to create the science, technology, and educational methods to remain in a leadership position in promoting a safe and environmentally conscious supply chain.

Consortia External Supplier Engagement

Via some of these consortia efforts, Intel GFM has some indirect interaction with suppliers to assist in directing their efforts towards the industry's needs. An example of this is the SEMATECH Supplier Data Council. This team consisted of chemical suppliers and device makers whose mission was to determine how to obtain consistent timely EHS data for semiconductor chemicals. The team created a standardized methodology to guide the development of consistent EHS data by suppliers and a method to communicate the data to suppliers and downstream manufacturing users.

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