products
Greening of productsMinimal impact on the environment is the top priority for all processes related to SAMSUNG Electronics products: design, production, distribution, use and disposal. SAMSUNG has established a system of developing environment-friendly products with consideration for recycling, disassembly, and environmental safe.
Goals for Realizing Green ManagementDeveloping enforcement-friendly products through LCA
- Drive for LCA(MEMORY, SYSTEM LSI)
- Obtaining the Environment Labeling(ISO 14020)
- Design for ESH
Realizing the idea of responsibility for products
- Subscription to PRODUCT indemnity and liability insurance
- Minimizing claims
Three strategies are employed in semiconductor design and process development to create new chips that are friendlier to the environment.
First, semiconductor functions are enhanced to increase semiconductor density on a single chip. The result is that fewer chips are needed to perform the desired functions, thereby reducing the amount of materials needed and the volume of waste generated during product disposal. This approach has enabled SAMSUNG to go from building DRAMs with a one-megabit capacity to those with 4M, 16M, 64M, and 256M and, most recently, 1G capacity. The company has also developed DRAM chips with embedded logic functions that enable them to perform both memory and PC graphics functions. A consequence of these technological advances has been major cuts in energy consumption.
Second, an ongoing effort is made to maximize the number of chips that can be fabricated from each wafer. This minimizes the amount of raw and sub-materials needed.
The third strategy is to diminish the amount of power used by the ICs themselves. Targets for power consumption are set, and R&D is subsequently carried out to meet those targets.
Developing Environment-friendly Parts: Semiconductors Lead-free Package.
Semiconductors made by SAMSUNG Electronics do not contain lead, an element known to be harmful to the environment. Efforts are also currently underway to eliminate lead from the packaging needed for installing chips in finished products. Basic assessments were completed in 1999, reliability evaluation is to be completed in 2000, and mass production of lead-free packaging is scheduled to start up in 2001. Research has been aimed at developing lead-free plating, solder ball, and solder paste, to decrease the impact of production processes and finished products on the environment.
Chip-sized Packages and Micro Ball Grid Array
Lead-frame plating and protective-film forming processes are needed to improve the electrical conductivity of and protect the circuits on a semiconductor chip. These processes have required the use of an epoxy molding compound (EMC) and various chemicals, which results in the generation of EMC cull and waste acid. To reduce the environmental impact of these processes, SAMSUNG Electronics has replaced the conventional EMC thermosetting resin with a liquid hardening agent for forming the protective film. Moreover, (lead-free) solder ball is used in the lead-frame plating process.
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a scientific tool for evaluating and improving the environmental aspects of all product-related processes. This study of LCA began in 1995, and the LCA on microwave ovens was performed in 1996. LCA programs were then developed for DRAM chips in 1998.
