The drive to become carbon neutral and reduce the impact of CO2 on the climate is not an easy task for any industry – especially not for semiconductor manufacturers. Manufacturers must keep pace with the huge demand in a global market that is expected to grow to over 1,000 billion US dollars by 2030. One reason for this is the explosive growth in global consumption of consumer electronics. Another important role is played by the development of advanced IT applications such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and machine learning technologies.
Due to the highly precise and complex manufacturing process, a large number of gases and chemicals are used in hundreds of process steps, e.g. thin film deposition, coating, chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP), lithography, metrology, etching and many others. Nitrogen, however, is far ahead in terms of overall consumption.
The increasing demand for ever smaller, highly developed semiconductors and chiplets is forcing manufacturers to work in inert or non-reactive environments throughout the entire production process. The extremely small lithographic structures and atomic layer thicknesses on the wafers would be destroyed on contact with oxygen. This is usually prevented by nitrogen purging of front opening unified pods (FOUP) or other production systems with particle-free, ultra-high purity nitrogen gas (UHP). As nitrogen can be separated from the air in large quantities, this protective measure has been the industry standard for decades. The demand is enormous – and so are the potential savings. The precisely dosed use of nitrogen in the production of semiconductors is therefore a natural choice if you want to exploit potential savings.
For you and many other manufacturers, reducing energy and carbon dioxide emissions may seem like a minor matter when dealing with this enormous demand. However, it is worth keeping an eye on reducing energy and carbon dioxide emissions. Lower nitrogen output per wafer produced and the reduced amount needed to be manufactured help you to increase yield, as the compression and cooling processes in the production of UHP nitrogen consume a lot of energy.
You can also save energy in production, for example by using energy-efficient components. A sustained reduction in power consumption also ensures less heating of the components, and therefore a lower cooling requirement for the cleanroom. Your company's carbon footprint can be significantly improved with reduced emissions and sustainable production methods.
