Assessing environmental impacts of nanoscale semi-conductor manufacturing from the life cycle assessment perspective

New products in nanoscale integrated circuit (IC) fabrication for the semiconductor industry are being continuously and rapidly developed. Previous research indicates that the use of energy, water, and other resources by the semiconductor industry has also increased as wafer processing has become more complex and as the industry expands production worldwide, highlighting the environmental impact challenges faced by the semiconductor industry. The industry must re-evaluate its products’ environmental impacts and develop new strategies for recently mandated reductions in these impacts. In this research, a study of the impact categories involved in the production of a die of embedded nonvolatile memory (eNVM) was conducted based on life cycle assessment, addressing matters of climate change, water use, particulate matter, and resource use of minerals and metals. The results show that the sustainability of nanoscale IC fabrication of memory products with mask layers has improved from to 2018–2020 based on the midpoint and endpoint results. These preliminary findings support the need for more aggressive strategies for carbon emissions reduction, particularly energy efficiency strategies for SDG 13 Climate Action.