Evaluation of the Environmental Impact within Semiconductor Packaging Materials

This paper reports the sustainability of materials and components required for PCB manufacturing, namely the substrate material, die-attach method and IC chip design. Electronics manufacturing processes are generally decided by the technical and economic requirements, and not sustainability, resulting in poor practices and unintended outcomes. Alternative methods could be used and this paper reviews some of the drivers and opportunities for sustainable PCB manufacturing. A life-cycle assessment (LCA) was performed on simple Printed Circuit Boards (PCB) and a comparison of the manufacturing approach using FR-4, polyimide and paper-based substrates is made. The impacts of different processing steps were considered, all scored using the ReCiPe Endpoint. The results found solder material has a significant influence, with lower-temperature solders reducing the overall environmental impact. However, it has been found that the component that has the biggest environmental impact overall is the IC. We discuss how die size, technology node and packaging formats effects this rating, and also show how the move towards alternative materials can reduce the environmental impact of electronic products.