Lightwave Logic Inc (LWLG)

[tkg]

The global chip industry has a colossal problem with carbon emissions
PUBLISHED WED, NOV 3 20213:42 AM EDT


Energy intensive processes

"Several aspects of the semiconductor production process require vast amounts of power, according to Forrester analyst Glenn O’Donnell.

To begin with, the chipmakers need to take raw silicon (i.e. sand), melt it down, purify it, and then “grow” the silicon “rods,” O’Donnell told CNBC. “The furnaces [needed] to do this are extremely energy hungry,” he said.

The rods of purified silicon are then “sliced like deli meat into thin wafers,” upon which chips are built, O’Donnell added.

Various materials are layered onto the wafers in a series of steps that use energy intensive equipment. Diffusion furnaces, ion implanters, and plasma etching-machines all need considerable amounts of power, O’Donnell said, adding that some require very high temperatures.

The diffusion furnaces, for example, run at 1,200 to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit and the wafers sit in them for hours at a time to change the surface characteristics of the silicon."

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/03/tsmc-samsung-and-intel-have-a-huge-carbon-footprint.html

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If only there were an alternative to silicon....:)