Storstilet EU-projekt skal bane vejen for mere bæredygtig produktion af mikrochips
I EU-projektet GENESIS bliver der fokuseret på at udvikle mere bæredygtige teknologier til chipproduktion (in english).
The ecological footprint of microchip manufacturing is growing in step with increasing demand. In the GENESIS EU project, the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS is joining forces with partners to develop technologies that make manufacturing of these essential chips more sustainable.
- From a technical perspective, recent decades have seen enormous advances in microelectronics. Today, attention is also turning to more environmentally responsible ways of manufacturing chips. For the first time, this project brings together nearly all of Europe’s key players, says Julia Osten, research manager at Fraunhofer IPMS and project lead for GENESIS.
GENESIS, short for 'GENerate in Europe a Sustainable Industry for Semiconductors', unites over 50 partners from industry, research and academia along the European semiconductor value chain.
Coordinated by CEA-Leti, this three-year project aims to develop new technologies by 2028 that are in line with the European Green Deal and the EU Chips Act and improve sustainability across the entire microchip life cycle. Its main priorities include cutting emissions, substituting critical materials and advancing new recycling approaches.
In addition to project management, statutory compliance and consolidation, four of the six existing work packages in the project are scientific in nature: real-time monitoring and sensors, environmentally friendly materials, reducing dependence on critical raw materials and minimizing waste and emissions. Julia Osten is coordinating the latter effort for the 25 project partners in Work Package 4.
Recovering raw materials from waste
One of the areas the researchers are focusing on is the reusability of materials. Working together with partners from industry, Fraunhofer IPMS is investigating how chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) slurries can be treated and reused.
- The semiconductor manufacturing process always needs these slurries for wafer polishing. They are liquid suspensions made up of water, chemicals and extremely fine abrasive particles. The goal is to reduce material consumption, water usage and waste generation as well as to recover valuable raw materials and return them to the production cycle, explains Julia Osten.
Clean rooms as a testbed for sustainable processes
- Our cutting-edge 200 and 300-millimeter clean rooms at Fraunhofer IPMS enable us to test sustainable semiconductor processes under realistic conditions together with our partners from industry and to evaluate their impact on industrial manufacturing processes, says Julia Osten, and she continues:
- This helps us reduce risks while speeding up the adoption of environmentally friendly solutions. We can also build on our experience from the GreenICT project funded by the BMFTR. The objective is to transfer the research findings to industrial applications as quickly as possible. If we can help manufacture the countless chips in our devices with fewer resources and less environmental impact, we will be creating real value for future generations.
