The global shortage of chips and the surge in demand for semiconductors is a hot topic, but of greater concern is the semiconductor industry's enormous carbon footprint.

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The carbon footprint of semiconductor manufacturing is likely to grow further as efforts to increase production and plans for the new FAB take shape. According to Greenpeace East Asia, up to 80% of the carbon dioxide emitted during a device's life cycle occurs during manufacturing. Thankfully, many people are beginning to pay attention to this issue and major media outlets are beginning to shed light on it. They are rightly shining a light on the contradiction that semiconductors, despite consuming large amounts of energy, can draw downstream efficiencies and put macro-level carbon reduction targets within reach. In an industry as integral to modern life and as technically complex as semiconductor manufacturing, there are no easy answers, but it is encouraging to see key industry leaders not only begin to talk more about sustainability, but to take action.

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One such effort was recently announced by SEMI, a global industry association, whose leaders, in collaboration with McKinsey & Company, have identified five key intervention points to reduce the industry's carbon footprint.

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Reduction of commercial energy consumption
Optimize energy supply - decarbonize power plants by purchasing renewable energy and natural gas
Supplier de-hydrocarbonization
Reduction of process greenhouse gas emissions - volume reduction, gas usage and leakage reduction
Reduce downstream process energy consumption - Improve energy efficiency of electronics products
We have developed a metrology platform that supports smarter, less material, more energy efficient semiconductor process control, realizing the benefits of "achieving more with less" in a wide range of applications.
Building on the findings of this study, along with the increased commitment to sustainability by the world's leading chipmakers, SEMI recently issued an urgent call for startups to help drive innovation in environmentally friendly manufacturing, focusing on three key areas.

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Energy efficiency at the tooling, manufacturing process, and supply chain levels
Water recycling technologies that enable manufacturing process efficiency, reclamation, reuse, and remediation at industrial processing centers
Material use and sustainability, including alternative chemistries for wafer processes, material recycling, and waste reduction
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Estimated CO2 emissions equivalent from greenhouse gases used between different nodes. (Imec)
At Atnerup is excited and encouraged that industry leaders are taking this action. Furthermore, we are excited that it is fully in line with our vision of using semiconductor metrology as a key tool to achieve more with less in semiconductor FABs.

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Atnerp's Aston metrology platform supports smarter, less material, more energy-efficient semiconductor process metrology, enabling the benefits of "achieving more with less" in a wide range of applications including

Adjusting the combustion rate of semiconductor waste gas treatment equipment based on the chemical composition and concentration of the waste gas
Monitor and optimize process gas usage to ensure that harsh process gases are not used more than is sufficient and necessary
Process-to-endpoint detection for small area etch, chamber cleaning, and ALD processes, replacing inefficient time-based processing
Enabling Equipment & Process Co-Optimization (EPCO) with real-time data to unlock opportunities for continuous improvement in operational efficiency through AI/ML to optimize process efficiency and product yields.
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You can read about these applications in Aston's Resource Library.

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And we hope other companies with fresh, bold ideas that support a greener future will join us.