Dr. Chris JONES
Environment and Sustainability Manager, Edwards
We all need to understand how we integrate equipment into a fab to ensure that we have a profitable, safe, and environmentally compliant facility. Chris Jones is a PhD qualified chemist with extensive experience developing methods to help manage environmental compliance within the semiconductor, nuclear, military, and pharmaceutical industry sectors. He is looking to communicate the importance of sustainability to process developers, tool designers, and factory operators. He is the Environment and Sustainability Manager within the Edwards Organisation.
Presentation Title
Broader Responses to Sustainability Challenges –Impact, Measurement, Reduction, Elimination.
Abstract
In the semiconductor industry, the drive towards sustainability and reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is a matter of regulatory compliance and a strategic imperative for environmental stewardship and operational efficiency.
We will discuss the challenge of the GHG measurement gap, ~ a 25% difference in the case of CF4, between the estimated GHG emissions based on atmospheric measurements by AGAGE and the reported emissions by the aluminum, rare earth, and semiconductor industries. This gap poses a significant hurdle in accurately assessing and mitigating environmental impacts.
We will examine the complexities involved in the models and measurements used to estimate emissions from semiconductor fabrication processes (fabs), especially when using multi-inlet abatement devices. Furthermore, we discuss preliminary results from a laboratory investigation of wastes generated from PFC gas treatment regarding the minimal releases of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) from the abatement under laboratory conditions while explaining the need for field testing.
Water usage is an important topic for the industry. We will describe a case study in which we have examined the use of sub-atmospheric evaporators to achieve >>90% water recycling in our service technology centres and renewable energy sources, such as solar energy, in the same facilities.
Lastly, we explore the broader context of non-fuel-based abatement technologies and their role in reducing GHG emissions, which aligns with global efforts to close the GHG measurement gap.