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What is the environmental footprint of a typical fab? From what I understand, modern chips are free of conflict materials, but are there toxic byproducts which

What is the environmental footprint of a typical fab? From what I understand, modern chips are free of conflict materials, but are there toxic byproducts which would cause trouble with the EPA?

option 6y ago
the problem with environment footprint is that moving it to other country solves nothing and often makes matters worse (due to more relaxed standards). We all live on the same planet.
perl4ever 6y ago
Modern chips are free of conflict materials? How do you even start to come up with a basis for the statement? I also don't understand the connection between "conflict materials" and toxic substances. I thought it was common knowledge that making chips involves lots of extremely toxic chemicals though.
- adammunich 6y ago
  The amount of rare elements used to dope semiconductors is orders of magnitude less than what's used in the capacitors next to them.
megaframe 6y ago
While still an issue, many of the really bad offenders leaked chemicals for instance doesn't happen much anymore. Mostly because fab materials are expensive to get and purify. Simply dumping them is wasteful, so anything that can be salvaged and used on the next batch is big savings. ... https://blogs.intel.com/csr/files/2019/11/Circularity-at-Intel-Waste-Recovery-and-Reuse-November-2019.pdf https://blogs.intel.com/csr/files/2019/11/Circularity-at-Int...
9nGQluzmnq3M 6y ago
A memorable description of one chemical used in fabs: [Chlorine trifluoride] is apparently about the most vigorous fluorinating agent known, and is much more difficult to handle than fluorine gas. That’s one of those statements you don’t get to hear very often, and it should be enough to make any sensible chemist turn around smartly and head down the hall in the other direction. The compound also a stronger oxidizing agent than oxygen itself, which also puts it into rare territory. That means that it can potentially go on to “burn” things that you would normally consider already burnt to hell and gone, and a practical consequence of that is that it’ll start roaring reactions with things like bricks and asbestos tile. It’s been used in the semiconductor industry to clean oxides off of surfaces, at which activity it no doubt excels. https://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2008/02/26/sand_wont_save_you_this_time https://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2008/02/26/sa... Read on to find out what happened when somebody accidentally spilled 1 ton of the stuff!

What is the environmental footprint of a typical fab? From what I understand, modern chips are free of conflict materials, but are there toxic byproducts which would cause trouble with the EPA?

option 6y ago

the problem with environment footprint is that moving it to other country solves nothing and often makes matters worse (due to more relaxed standards). We all live on the same planet.

perl4ever 6y ago

Modern chips are free of conflict materials? How do you even start to come up with a basis for the statement? I also don't understand the connection between "conflict materials" and toxic substances. I thought it was common knowledge that making chips involves lots of extremely toxic chemicals though.

adammunich 6y ago
The amount of rare elements used to dope semiconductors is orders of magnitude less than what's used in the capacitors next to them.

megaframe 6y ago

While still an issue, many of the really bad offenders leaked chemicals for instance doesn't happen much anymore. Mostly because fab materials are expensive to get and purify. Simply dumping them is wasteful, so anything that can be salvaged and used on the next batch is big savings. ... https://blogs.intel.com/csr/files/2019/11/Circularity-at-Intel-Waste-Recovery-and-Reuse-November-2019.pdf https://blogs.intel.com/csr/files/2019/11/Circularity-at-Int...

9nGQluzmnq3M 6y ago

A memorable description of one chemical used in fabs: [Chlorine trifluoride] is apparently about the most vigorous fluorinating agent known, and is much more difficult to handle than fluorine gas. That’s one of those statements you don’t get to hear very often, and it should be enough to make any sensible chemist turn around smartly and head down the hall in the other direction. The compound also a stronger oxidizing agent than oxygen itself, which also puts it into rare territory. That means that it can potentially go on to “burn” things that you would normally consider already burnt to hell and gone, and a practical consequence of that is that it’ll start roaring reactions with things like bricks and asbestos tile. It’s been used in the semiconductor industry to clean oxides off of surfaces, at which activity it no doubt excels. https://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2008/02/26/sand_wont_save_you_this_time https://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2008/02/26/sa... Read on to find out what happened when somebody accidentally spilled 1 ton of the stuff!