GlobalFoundries, Samsung Electronics, and TSMC Join Imec's "Sustainable Semiconductor Technologies & Systems" (SSTS) Program

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The expansion of SSTS' partner network with three of the world's top foundries marks an important milestone in bringing together the entire IC ecosystem

www.eejournal.com/, May. 17, 2023 – 

LEUVEN (Belgium), MAY 16, 2023 – Imec, a world-leading research and innovation hub in nanoelectronics and digital technologies, today announced that GlobalFoundries, Samsung Electronics, and TSMC have joined imec's Sustainable Semiconductor Technologies & Systems (SSTS) research program. Launched in 2021, the SSTS program rallies stakeholders from across the semiconductor industry – including systems companies, (equipment) suppliers, and now also three of the world's leading semiconductor foundries – to help reduce the ecological impact of the IC value chain.

In response to mounting concerns about climate change, tech companies around the world are accelerating the efforts to complete carbon neutrality for their supply chains and products. The semiconductor industry recognizes its pivotal role in this endeavor. Studies have found, for instance, that almost 75 percent of mobile devices' CO2 emissions can be traced back to the underlying manufacturing process – with chip production being responsible for nearly half of that footprint. Against this backdrop, the SSTS program provides detailed information on the environmental impact of choices made during semiconductor technology's definition phase.

Luc Van den hove, CEO of imec: "SSTS' success hinges on the active involvement of players from across the IC value chain. Hence, I am delighted to announce that GlobalFoundries, Samsung Electronics, and TSMC, have now entered the program. Following the earlier enrollment of renowned systems companies such as Google, Amazon, Apple, Meta and Microsoft, our new core program partner Rapidus, and equipment suppliers including Applied Materials, ASML, Edwards, Kurita, SCREEN and Tokyo Electron, we have reached an important milestone in effectively bringing together the entire semiconductor ecosystem."

"By benchmarking our models at GlobalFoundries, Samsung Electronics, and TSMC, we will be able to further refine and optimize the imec.netzero tool, the web application that is at SSTS's very heart and that allows us to assess energy consumption, water/mineral usage, and greenhouse gas emissions associated with the various aspects of chip making. In the longer term, the partner program will also develop recommendations on how to improve the ecological footprint of chips by suggesting novel processes and technology optimizations," added Lars-Ake Ragnarsson, the program director of SSTS.

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