E H S R e p o rt

Pr o d u c t - R e l a t e d I ni t i a t ive s
fo r t h e E nvir o n m e n t

Product-Related Initiatives for the Environment
The Tokyo Electron Group works hard to reduce the impact of its products on the environment throughvarious improvement measures, such as reducing energy requirements of our semiconductor and FPD
production equipment and minimizing the use of regulated chemical substances.

Designing Products that have Less Environmental Impact in Use
Our Approach to Reducing the Environmental
Impact of Our Products

matters, reducing the number of parts and processes required,

We believe it is important to promote environmentally conscious

improving the environmental performance of existing equipment.

designs, as we have clearly stated in the Tokyo Electron GroupIn addition, they were encouraged to cover voluntary items such

Credo and Principles on Environmental Preservation. We give top

as reducing the number of processes required for equipment

priority to the provision of energy-saving equipment and to reducing

installation. In the design and development process, we also consider

or finding alternatives for the regulated chemical substances

and implement, where possible, the reduction of required materials

contained in our products.

and the number of processes involved. Progress of the defined goals

reducing the use of processing gases and liquid chemicals, andwill be reviewed in the Group’s mid- and long-term plan.

Highlights
MANAGEMENT Report
EHS Report
SOCIAL Report

20

Organizations for Reducing Environmental Impact
Two working groups are in place to promote our efforts to reduce

Energy-Saving Measures for Products

the environmental impact of our products: the Chemical Substances

We are examining measures to reduce the energy that our products

Steering Team and the Product Working Team. The former works

consume when they are used and have set the following five targets:to reduce or substitute the use of chemical substances subject to(1) reducing energy used by the product itself; (2) reducing energy

applicable regulations in our equipment parts and components. The

used by peripheral devices; (3) managing the product in an energy-

latter was established under the Environmental Steering Committee

saving manner; (4) reducing energy used by the clean room; andin fiscal year 2008. Under the leadership of the Product Working
Team, each business unit has developed a roadmap to reduce their

Approach to Energy Saving of the Products

environmental impact. In preparing the roadmap, business units wererequired to cover the following mandatory items: reducing energy(5) Managing the clean room in an energy-saving manner(planned operation and proper management)(4) Reducing energy used by the clean room

requirements in our products, addressing chemical substance-related
Items in the Environmental Road Map by Each Division(1) R educing the energy requirements
in our products(2) A ddressing chemical substancerelated matters(3) R educing the number of partsand processes required(4) Reducing the use of processing
gases and liquid chemicals(5) Improving the environmental
performance of existing
equipment

Coolingequipment(2) Reducing energy used byperipheral devices

Vacuumpump(1) Reducing energy usedby the product itself(3) Managing the product in an energy-saving manner

TOPICS
Recycling of Replaced Components
In the past, we disposed of faulty equipment components we produced. We opted not torecycle faulty components due to their peculiarities and quality concerns. In order to use
resources more effectively and reduce disposed waste, we have explored ways we couldchange this practice. Now, old components replaced during the equipment warrantee
period are collected and inspected by our Group. If components are found to be reusable orrecyclable, they are refurbished and reused. In shifting to this new policy, we established aquality standard for inspections that requires the same level of inspection for used components
as for new components, and the detection of any noticeable degradation or abrasion, among
others. In addition to resource saving and waste reduction, the revised practice brings anotherbenefit: the results of any repairs undertaken can provide insight into creating longer-lastingproducts and to reduce stock levels and maintenance costs. This collection and recycling
program is currently only available in Japan but will be extended to overseas markets in the
future to achieve further reduction of waste and improved resource consumption.

TOKYO ELECTRON Environmental and Social Report 2008

Flow of Replaced Recycling Process
Repairingequipment failure
Collecting reusable/
recyclable components

Shipped asservice parts

Inspecting
collected components

StoredRepairingcollected components

Quality inspection

Implementing necessary
recycling steps

our products and their supplementary devices (e.g. vacuum pumps

operation and proper management). For energy-saving management

and cooling equipment) consume in reference to the SEMI S23of the clean room, we are required to cooperate with customers

standard, and monitor the consumption of electricity as well as theand facility manufacturers. Such close cooperation will allow us to

consumption of water, dry air, cooling water and exhaust heat, andmake further efforts to reduce the energy consumed by our products

take appropriate measures.

Pr o d u c t - R e l a t e d I ni t i a t ive s
fo r t h e E nvir o n m e n t(5) managing the clean room in an energy-saving manner (planned

while they are in use. In addition, we will identify how much energy

Highlights

We strive to contribute to both the workplace and the global
environment by developing equipment of even higher quality.
Masami Akimoto
Senior Vice President, Deputy General Manager,
Development & Manufacturing DivisionTokyo Electron Limited

to reduce their environmental impact and extend their product life. We
have started to provide this modification service in earnest with thelaunch of a Post-Sales Division this year.

SOCIAL Report

TOKYO ELECTRON Environmental and Social Report 2008

EHS Report

Collaboration among engineers as well as good physicalI have been engaged in development of the Group’s products since I
and mental well-being is needed to take our development
joined the company in 1984. While “environmental consciousness”
capabilities to the next level.
and “global warming prevention” are frequently used phases theseIn pursuit of the development of equipment that is even moredays, concern for the environment has long been a basic element
environmentally-friendly, we need a forum to build a network ofof our product development. Meeting customer needs by producing
engineers,
equipment with shorter wait
times,ELECTRON
low energy consumption,
TOKYO
Environmentalhigher
and Social Report
2008 share experience and expertise, and discuss basic
technologies and research methodologies, in addition to individual
utilization and higher yield is indeed synonymous with reducing the
R&D efforts at each business unit. From an initiative launched lastenvironmental impact of our products.
year, we now hold a quarterly gathering of engineers, enabling us to
For example, reducing the use of liquid chemicals in manufacturinghold in-depth peer-based discussions and utilize the technologicalsemiconductors/FPDs is not only about the environment but also
expertise of other departments. In an increasing number of newabout cost performance and process efficiency. This recognition drove
product development projects, cross-departmental project members
us to make a variety of improvements such as changing our coating
are solicited and selected.
methods to reduce the use of liquid chemicals and recycling used
In tandem with enhancing our R&D capabilities, we are promoting
liquid chemicals with a high collection rate. Such improvements overa better work-life balance for our employees. Good physical andthe years have resulted in higher production efficiency, requiring lessmental health is a powerful enabler of outstanding performance.
energy and resource consumption.
We are particularly working to slash overtime work hours, so far
generating good results. For instance, one department’s monthly
We aim to reduce the environmental impact of both new andaverage overtime work hours has declined by about 60%.
existing products.
Excellent performance of the equipment we develop leads to
We are developing next-generation models of our products inbetter performance for its users and providers and their respective
collaboration with customers to meet extremely high requests fororganizations, and in turn greater profits for the companies. Reliable,
equipment that has less of an impact on the environment. At the samestable equipment can be a helpful partner in customer production
time, we are implementing environmental improvements to existing
activities. Furthermore, it will substantially ease the burden on our
products installed at customer sites. Once shipped from our factory,
Group’s field engineers.
our semiconductor production equipment will be in use for a long
We will continue striving to develop high-quality equipment both intime, generally speaking, for 15 to 20 years. Tens of thousands of units
terms of functionality and environmental performance.
of our equipment are in operation worldwide. We must retrofit them

MANAGEMENT Report

When developing equipment and products, satisfying ourcustomers’ requests for excellent product performanceand reducing the environmental impact of our products are
inseparable objectives.

21

E H S R e p o rt

Pr o d u c t - R e l a t e d I ni t i a t ive s
fo r t h e E nvir o n m e n t

Product-Related Initiatives for the Environment

Preventing Global Warming
Initiative for Coater/Developer
CLEAN TRACK™ LITHIUS Pro™
A coater/developer is used to coat photoresist and develop the

CLEAN TRACK ™ LITHIUS™

CLEAN TRACK ™ LITHIUS Pro™

exposed pattern simultaneously in the lithography process (where
the same photo development technology is applied) in manufacturing
semiconductors. When we developed the CLEAN TRACK LITHIUS
Pro coater/developer by redesigning our 300 mm wafer CLEAN

Highlights

TRACK™ LITHIUS™, we concurrently worked to reduce the

Improvement of Exhaust System of Hot Plate Chambers
Before improvement

After improvement

Chamber

Chamberenvironmental impact of the overall LITHIUS series. Specifically,

Ejectorwe adopted a new exhaust system for hot plate chambers which
directly uses exhaust air from the factory. We previously exhausted
air by using compressed-air powered ejectors. This shift enabled us
to reduce the use of compressed air by 35% or more compared tothe previous system. We also worked to achieve a proper volume

Compressed air
to operate ejectors
Trap tankExhaustair

Exhaustairof nitrogen gas purge in this coater/developer, resulting in at

MANAGEMENT Reportleast a 70% reduction in the use of nitrogen gas. Through these
improvements, the revised models’ energy requirement per unit areaof wafer was reduced by approximately 20%. When developing the
new LITHIUS Pro, we incorporated energy-saving features, suchas introducing an inverter-equipped automatic control system forthe humidifying heater and the freezer within the temperature and

The shift of chamber exhaust system from an ejector-based method to a direct
exhaust method eliminated the use of ejectors and compressed air for ejectors.

Energy Consumption per Unit Area of Wafer(Consumption by the initial model = 1.0)
10.8

humidity controller, and reducing the number of pumps used. As

0.65

a result, LITHIUS Pro requires 32% less electricity than the initial
LITHIUS model. Its energy use per unit area of wafer was alsoslashed by 35% from the existing LITHIUS model. We will continue
to incorporate a greater number of energy efficient designs in all new

Modified LITHIUS

LITHIUS Pro(After improvement)

EHS Report

products and adopt such “green” features for existing models.
lComment from an Employeel

Meeting Expectations to Improve
Energy Efficiency from theDevelopment Stage

Keiichi Yahata
Safety Technology Section, CT System Design Dept.
Tokyo Electron Kyushu Limited

SOCIAL Report

22

LITHIUSIn recent years, our customers have requested equipment with evergreater energy efficiency. As semiconductor production equipment
is high-precision machinery, modifying its design after completionor at a later stage involves significant risk and requires tremendous
effort in terms of risk assessment. This means it is important toconsider energy efficiency in the product development stage.

TOKYO ELECTRON Environmental and Social Report 2008

Initiative for FPD Coater/Developer
A FPD coater/developer is used to apply photoresist on FPD substrates
and develop the exposed pattern. This equipment—which contains
coating, developing, and drying units—becomes increasingly larger
as the substrates it processes expands. Our Exceliner™ is an exampleof this
変更前 type of large model and we aim to reduce its environmental
footprint through a variety of improvements, even during the productconcept development phase. For instance, the scrubber unit for washingsubstrates reuses a maximum of 3,000 cubic meters of pure water used
for rinsing in the pre-washing process. In addition, more than 90%
of its used developing agent is recycled and the coating method for
変更後
photoresist has been changed from spin-coating to slit-coating. In thisway, this equipment now requires more than 90% less photoresist.

Reduce Energy Consumption

Pr o d u c t - R e l a t e d I ni t i a t ive s
fo r t h e E nvir o n m e n t

Modification of Thermal Processing Systems to

Initiative for Single Wafer Deposition System Trias™

Some of our thermal processing systems use exhaust pipe heaters to

A single wafer deposition system is used to form metal and barrier

prevent byproducts and other substances from adhering to the insidefilms by using thermal and plasma energy. This system adopts asurface of the chamber. The electricity consumed by the pipe heaters

chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process, whereby a gaseous mixture

has been reduced by 40 to 50% by installing PLENO heaters whichof reactive chemicals is supplied in the chamber and then heated. As ahave a higher-insulation performance than previously used silicon

result of this chemical reaction, thin layers are formed and deposited.
Previously, cooling water was supplied to the system from a

PTFE,* which means this unit is cleaner, suffers little degradation

dedicated temperature control unit installed outside the system.

and thus has a probable longer product life.

However, we noted that this external device accounted for a large
portion of the overall environmental impact of the system and*P TFE: polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a
fluorocarbon resin consisting of fluorineand carbon.

consulted with our customers to find a solution to reduce its

Highlights

rubber pipe heaters. The PLENO heaters are made from porous

energy requirements. We learned that the cooling water systemsof customers’ factories can be directly supplied to a single wafer
deposition system in a consistent manner. We therefore decided toElectricity Use at Different Temperatures
Previous type
PLENO heater

100

method which does not need a separate temperature control unit.
This shift led to a reduction in energy use and installation space. As
proof of the success of this measure, we received an award from acustomer in recognition of our environmental initiative.
Discontinue Use of a Dedicated Chiller

51

Temperature
control unit

37
19
200°C

ALPHA (α)-303i to be modified

Beforeimprovement

100°C

Note: Power use of the previous type at
200°C = 100

lComment from an Employeel

Shift from Spin Coating to Slit Coating

Spin coating

Required photoresist
per unit area

1

Creating Environmentally Friendly
Products through Extensive
Discussions with Customers

Mitsumasa Kubota

The elimination of the temperature control unit is the result ofSlit coating

extensive discussions with customers and many attempts to

0.09

improve the equipment. We will continue striving to develop
environmentally friendly products and new green technologies.

TOKYO ELECTRON Environmental and Social Report 2008

SOCIAL Report

Second Group, SD Design Engineering Dept.
Tokyo Electron AT Limited
After
improvement

EHS Report

Cooling water is
supplied directly fromthe customer’s plant

After
improvement

Beforeimprovement

Cooling water is
supplied from the customer’splant to the temperature
control unit

MANAGEMENT Report

modify the system to be suitable for the new cooling water supply
PLENO heater23

E H S R e p o rt

Pr o d u c t - R e l a t e d I ni t i a t ive s
fo r t h e E nvir o n m e n t

Product-Related Initiatives for the Environment

Management of Chemical Substances
Our Activities toward Reducing the Use ofRegulated Chemical Substances in Products

intended to regulate the use of chemical substances in electronic

Against the backdrop of growing concerns over the impact thatGroup has already taken the necessary actions in response to thisharmful substances contained in parts and materials have on theregulation, which requires compliance with the following two rules.

environment and eco system, many countries have worked to regulate

1. Product Labelinginformation products sold on the Chinese market. The Tokyo Electron

Highlights

the use of such substances in automobiles and electrical products.

Products containing chemical substances regulated under China’s

The Tokyo Electron Group is making appropriate responses to these
movements. For example, with regard to the RoHS Directive1 that took

RoHS must carry a label showing the period during which theeffect in July 2006, we issued a written statement demonstrating thatTokyo Electron Group generally sets this period at 25 years.

the semiconductor and FPD production equipment manufactured by

2. Disclosure of Information on the Use of Chemical Substances

product can be used in an environmentally safe manner. The

our Group falls outside the scope of the Directive because they areInformation on the use of products containing regulated chemicallarge-scale stationary industrial tools, to which the Directive does notsubstances should be disclosed in the product’s instruction

apply. This statement also specifies the rationales of our judgment.
We have already met all requirements of China’s RoHS2, which

manual and similar documents in the Chinese language. The
Tokyo Electron Group strictly complies with this rule.

became effective in March 2007. In order to meet the regulatory
a Chemical Substances Steering Team, which comprises representatives

System to Reduce the Use of Regulated
Chemical Substancesfrom TEL’s headquarters and its manufacturing subsidiaries. The team

The Tokyo Electron Group operates a chemical substancescollects and shares information and investigates the use of regulated

management system based on the principle of not using, purchasingchemical substances in our products and advises us, in cooperation withor selling parts containing regulated chemical substances at more thanour suppliers, when to replace products containing these substances

regulatory specified levels. This system is used to register and refer towith alternatives. Despite the fact that our semiconductor/FPD

information on the use of chemical substances in various parts. This

production equipment is not regulated by the EU’s RoHS, we voluntarilysystem allows us to check with ease whether parts to be used in ourdeveloped a timetable in fiscal year 2007 to phase out the use of the six

products contain regulated chemical substances or not and controls

regulated substances used in our products (excluding certain products).

the manufacture or shipment of products containing these substances.

requirements of relevant countries in a prompt manner, we established

MANAGEMENT Report

We are scheduled to start shipping products that meet EU RoHS

EHS Report

standards in stages from the second half of fiscal year 2009.

Future Regulations on Chemical Substances

1 RoHS: Restriction of the use of certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical andElectronic Equipment

In Europe, under regulations such as REACH1 (which mandates

2 China’s RoHS: Officially called “Management Methods for the Prevention andControl of Pollution from Electronics Information Products”

Chemical Substances to be ReducedFirst Priority
Cadmium
Hexavalent chromium
Lead
Mercury
PBBs
PBDEs

Pigments, stabilizers, and resins
Chrome plating
Solders, paints, electrical wire coating, and free-cutting metal
Batteries and fluorescent lamps
Resin parts
Resin parts

SOCIAL Report

Second Priority
Substances designated as Level A substances in JIG*
(We have already implemented measures for many of these substances.)* T he Joint Industry Guide for Material Composition Declaration for Electronic Products(JIG) was prepared by Japanese, American and European private trade associations.
The Guide lists the chemical substances for which conservation measures should be
implemented. It classifies the substances into Level A and Level B: 16 substances are listed
as Level A substances, including cadmium, hexavalent chromium, lead, mercury, PBBs, and
PBDEs. More than 400 substances are listed as Level B substances.

Response to China’s RoHS
China’s RoHS, which became effective on February 28, 2007, is

24

TOKYO ELECTRON Environmental and Social Report 2008

safety evaluations of almost all chemical substances sold on themarket and registration of the relevant information), the new Batteries
Directives2 and the PFOS3 Directives, companies will be increasingly
required to fulfill their responsibilities as a manufacturer and follow the
precautionary principle. All Tokyo Electron Group departments, fromthose engaged in product development and design, manufacturing,materials procurement, quality assurance, and environment and safety
are making concerted efforts to comply with these regulations. We will
also explore optimal management of chemical substances by joining
the activities of JAMP4 and other forums.
1 REACH: Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals
2 The EU’s new Batteries Directive regulates the disposal of batteries which arecollected from used electronic and electric devices in compliance with WEEE. It also
requires labeling with a designated recycling mark to facilitate collection and recycling.
3 Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) is used as a water repellent and waterproof
coating and in producing flame-resistant greases and oils. The EU’s directive,
effective June 27, 2008, prohibits the use of PFOS in quantities larger than those
designated, with some exceptions.
4 JAMP: Joint Article Management Promotion-consortium