POTSDAM, N.Y. — Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) has awarded a project to two Clarkson University professors that seeks to drive an industrywide shift toward sustainability in chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) consumable manufacturing. Clarkson University Jihoon Seo, assistant professor of chemical & biomolecular engineering and Alan Rossner, associate director for education, are the instructors involved, […]
POTSDAM, N.Y. — Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) has awarded a project to two Clarkson University professors that seeks to drive an industrywide shift toward sustainability in chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) consumable manufacturing.
Clarkson University Jihoon Seo, assistant professor of chemical & biomolecular engineering and Alan Rossner, associate director for education, are the instructors involved, per a Feb. 22 Clarkson release.
CMP is one of the essential steps in the production of integrated circuits and other microelectronics devices. However, Clarkson says many new materials are not designed with environment, health, safety, and sustainability (EHSS) in mind.
To address these challenges, Seo and Rossner will perform research and analysis on the environmental sustainability of CMP consumable manufacturing. In particular, they will assess CMP processes regarding sustainability, highlighting gaps related to the manufacturing of CMP consumables, and then develop an EHSS-impact analysis for CMP consumable manufacturing by incorporating life-cycle assessments of inputs/outputs and their relevant impact categories, the release stated.
“Clarkson University has a strong reputation as a leading research institution in the field of CMP,” Seo contended. “The CMP research team at Clarkson University has extensive experience in the development of novel CMP processes and materials development as well as in the characterization and optimization of CMP performance.”
“In addition to our cutting-edge research in the CMP field, we are also highly active in collaboration with industry partners,” Rossner added. “We work with leading semiconductor manufacturers and equipment suppliers to develop and implement advanced CMP processes and materials in real-world semiconductor applications.”
Seo and Rossner’s project comes just months after Boise, Idaho–based Micron announced it would invest up to $100 billion over the next 20-plus years on a semiconductor manufacturing campus at the White Pine Commerce Park in the town of Clay. The upcoming facility will be a less than three-hour drive from Clarkson’s campus in Potsdam in St. Lawrence County.
“This is just a wonderful trend to see companies come back and bring advanced manufacturing back to the states and to have our students be part of creating those products,” William Jemison, dean of engineering at