New Tool for Targeting Energy Improvements in Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment

Resource consumption directly impacts the cost of semiconductor manufacturing and indirectly contributes to increases in global warming. Since 1996, several resource conservation projects and surveys have been performed at SEMATECH, its member companies, and semiconductor manufacturing equipment (SME) suppliers. Significant reductions in SME resource consumption are possible, but are they enough? The International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) continues to challenge new fobs and SME designers to meet ever-decreasing energy goals. The World Semiconductor Council has issued their white paper on energy suggesting normalized energy reductions for wafer fabs. To achieve measurable reductions, both factory owners and SME suppliers will need to baseline their energy consumption and establish specific targets for improvement. Target setting must include the total energy requirements for process equipment, its support components (e.g., vacuum pumps, abatement devices, chillers), and all support utilities (e.g., power, water, compressed air, etc.). To measure, track, and report the progress towards improvement goals, a total equivalent energy (TEE) tool is presented. One of the key components of the TEE methods to be addressed is the use of energy conversion factors (ECFs)