Reducing the environmental impact of semiconductor manufacture

As part of the drive to reduce the cost/cm2, reducing the utility consumption (and therefore running cost) of the vacuum pumps and abatement systems supporting the new process tools will be critical. Significant savings can be realized by using green modes whereby this supporting equipment is put into low energy states, and this has been the focus of one of the working groups in the European EEM450PR project. Models were constructed to simulate the impact of green modes, at various levels of wafer inactivity, initially for 300mm, and then extended for a hypothetical 450mm fab. It was also noted that additional savings would be possible in the facility, e.g. reduced process cooling water when the pump and abatement thermal load is reduced. The model was then validated by looking at data from a HVM 300mm fab, simulating the effect of green modes (without actually implementing them), and also live green mode implementation on pumps and abatement at an R+D lab in Europe. A live demonstration was also conducted in the G450C Albany fab on some installed 450mm toolsets, as part of the complementary and collaborative engagement between the regions on the 450mm topic, in order to validate the assumptions for future 450mm fabs. The paper discusses the results of this work and implications for HVM 450mm fabs, including the requirement for standardized signaling.