Fall Semiconductor Series: How integrated software and automation transform fab sustainability
(Part 1 of 5) Why does semiconductor fab sustainability require an integrated solution?
In our Fall Semiconductor Series, we discuss the sustainability challenges facing semiconductor fabs and why an integrated software and automation solution is the right solution – both for today and the future.
Many complex challenges. One integrated solution.
Today’s unprecedented demand is forcing semiconductor plants into continuous, 24/7 operation, generating a significant environmental impact due to high energy and chemical use and elevated water consumption. The resultant waste and byproducts are driving a surge in greenhouse gas emissions.
A joint report from the global association Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI), the Climate Consortium and the Boston Consulting Group revealed the semiconductor industry, including chip design, electronic design automation (EDA) and ingress protection (IP), wafer fabrication, manufacturing and package, assembly and test) is responsible for 0.3 percent of global carbon emissions. Another 1 percent is produced by upstream and downstream suppliers and users. Sixty-five percent of emissions from semiconductor manufacturing come from using electricity to power equipment and buildings. About 30 percent of emissions result from using process chemicals that enter the atmosphere during manufacturing.*
Sustainability is one of today’s critical semiconductor manufacturing challenges
As the demand continues to grow for smart devices, so does the responsibility to ensure their design and production is environmentally responsible.
Unfortunately, legacy systems offer fragmented solutions that fall short of what manufacturers demand today to meet sustainability challenges.
Many legacy systems are unconnected without a common data platform or common language across systems, limiting the secure collaboration, visibility and traceability needed to compete in today’s global ecosystem. Design, engineering and manufacturing functions often exist in silos where sharing information is difficult, impacting innovation, sustainability planning and manufacturing optimization.
Some limitations of the traditional approach include:
- Disconnection between the fab, subfab and utilities
- Disaggregated data with incomplete and inaccurate data sets
- Data fragmentation that inhibits sustainability planning
- Poor knowledge transfer and collaboration between teams
- Missing flexibility to quickly adapt to volatile market demands and supply chains
- Long-term asset performance that remains unclear
- Cloud computing security risks
Semiconductor manufacturers have now entered a new era, one defined not only by speed and profitability, but by resilience, adaptability and sustainability. To thrive in this future, they must embed sustainability into the core of every decision, process and product to unlock a dynamic, data-driven and artificial intelligence (AI) enabled view of the entire value chain.
Sustainability requires holistic thinking
Software and automation working synergistically can bring the energy efficiency, decarbonization, resource efficiency and circularity needed to transform the fab.
While software enables process optimization, automation drives operational efficiency. Their seamless integration creates a multiplier effect that delivers predictive insights, self-adjusting systems and real-time optimization that transforms semiconductor manufacturing from reactive to proactive, unlocking new levels of sustainability and performance that neither could achieve alone.
In next week’s Blog, we will discuss how semiconductor fabs can leverage the dynamic synergies of integrated software and automation to improve energy efficiency, decarbonization, resource efficiency, circularity and yield.
Or if you’d like to discover more about this topic right now, just download our new eBook below, “Using integrated software and automation to transform fab sustainability.”
*SEMI, Semiconductor Climate Consortium and Boston Consulting Group Report, Pages 3, 12: https://discover.semi.org/rs/320-QBB-055/images/Transparency-Ambition-and-Collaboration-BCG-SEMI-SCC-20230919.pdf
