As sustainability becomes a worry worldwide, the semiconductor industry appears in the eye of the storm. Wafer production requires many tons of water, and chips contribute to hazardous e-waste that’s complex to recycle. In this environment, the reusability of InP reclaim wafers makes them an attractive alternative.
InP reclaim wafers don’t have an expiry date: as long as they’re properly stored in a clean environment, they can be reused several times, maximizing their lifespan and reducing waste. In this article, we’ll explore the viability of these wafers as a more sustainable option, assessing potential challenges to come to the semiconductor industry.
Indium-phosphorus binary semiconductors are known as InP wafers. They are perfect for optoelectric circuits because they have a face-centered cubic crystal structure, just like GaAs and other III-V semiconductors. Because of that, they’ve also been growing in popularity over the past few years.
With its array of optoelectronic capabilities, indium phosphide is a perfect fit for devices that work on the principle of converting light into electrical energy. It’s a deal for many optoelectronic devices, such as solar cells, photodetectors, lasers, and more.
Because of its special qualities, InP is highly sought after as a resource for manufacturing across many industries. Beyond its inherent qualities, InP's potential is enhanced by its ability to work in concert with other materials to create ground-breaking solutions.
Moreover, the direct bandgap characteristic of indium phosphate makes it excellent for optoelectronic applications. These attributes play a major role in driving the indium phosphide wafer market's expansion.
In fact, the global Indium Phosphate wafer market has been on the rise for several years now. It’s currently estimated at USD 177.03 million and is expected to reach USD 311.15 million by 2029.
As you can see, Indium Phosphide (InP) is a popular material due to its exceptional electronic properties. However, due to their capabilities and usability across industries, InP wafers are expensive.
As a result, InP reclaim wafers have become popular. These are recycled InP wafers that go undergo a rigorous reclamation process, which enables them to be used once more.
The cleaning and reprocessing process involves removing the preexisting epitaxial layers, cleaning the substrate, and cultivating new epitaxial layers on the wafer. That way, the wafer is restored to its original state, making it suitable for use in a wide range of semiconductor applications.
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Besides saving costs, this process helps reduce electronic waste, one of the fastest-growing waste groups globally, with an estimated 62 billion kilograms produced in 2022 alone.
However, InP reclaimed wafers still have their limitations.
InP reclaim wafers do not have an expiration date, but they’re not immune to degradation over time. The number of reprocessing cycles, storage conditions, and exposure to environmental contaminants are some of the factors that can affect their shelf life.
In fact, proper storage is one of the most important elements to maintaining an InP reclaimed wafer’s usability and quality. Chemicals, airborne particles, and other environmental pollutants can affect a wafer's performance.
That’s why these wafers need to be kept in a controlled environment with controlled humidity, temperature, and light exposure to avoid degradation.
The semiconductor industry is expected to grow in the coming years. But with that opportunity comes a challenge: semiconductor manufacturers require a lot of water to operate. In fact, the reclaiming process involves wet cleaning techniques that use a large amount of water.
Wet cleaning techniques effectively remove surface contaminants without damaging the wafers, but they require the use of more solvents and water, which also means developing proper waste disposal methods. There are three main methods used for reclaiming InP wafers:
As you can see, water usage during the reclaim process is high. The quality, purity, and stable supply of water are crucial to wafer manufacturing and have been a growing concern among manufacturers for years.
Several companies have actively engaged in research and development of water reuse techniques. There are active attempts to reuse wastewater extracted from site plants, improve reclaimed water quality through repeated testing, and adjust processing sequences and combinations.
This comes alongside stricter requirements for governments and international organizations that promote clean water and reduce water usage.
The TSMC case study is a good example. The chip manufacturing company is committed to promoting sustainable water management and actively practices water conservation, establishing liquid waste classification and distribution systems.
Through its efforts, water reclamation in the fabs has effectively achieved the use of each drop of water 3.5 times.
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As sustainability becomes a growing concern among all industries, semiconductor manufacturers contribute by exploring different techniques. Although InP reclaim wafers do not have an expiration date, contamination, storage conditions, and the number of reprocessing cycles they go through can all have an impact on their functionality and performance.
To extend the life and yield of semiconductor wafers, semiconductor makers must follow tight storage regulations and quality control procedures. Moreover, water usage is a widely known concern. However, there’s an expectancy for better water recycling methods to come.
If you’re interested in learning more about our InP reclaimed wafers and their production method, reach out!
