Pushing toward Green Manufacturing

摘要

Despite its critical importance, the semiconductor industry has been somewhat conservative in implementing large-scale environmental initiatives, mainly because of the complexity of the manufacturing processes. With a few exceptions, the industry has not treated this issue as seriously as other technical roadmap challenges. The industry traditionally has accepted change, as long as it is cost effective and does not present the slightest risk in the fab or to the product, alter processes of record, or require requalification. However, the introduction of several major environmental protection regulations and protocols has triggered a more accelerated adoption of "green manufacturing" practices in the semiconductor industry.