National Semiconductor

National Semiconductor Corp of Maine is a manufacturing location for National Semiconductor Corporation (NSC) of Santa Clara California. NSC and all its locations are committed to the journey toward sustainable manufacturing. NSME operates a world-class semiconductor manufacturing facility in South Portland where it employs approximately 600 people. It includes a design center where engineers create innovative products for information appliances. The manufacturing operation produces state-of-the-art integrated circuits.

National Semiconductor manufactures silicon wafers sized at 8 inches in diameter. Each semiconductor manufactured goes through the same general process steps, but the complexity and structural makeup between the products are slightly different. Oxide and metallic layers are built up on the blank wafers with changes or additions in chemicals or process parameters to build the various layers to the required specifications. The manufacturing processes include repeated batch operation steps such as pre-cleaning, doping, photo mask development, metal application, etching, chemical mechanical polishing, and cleaning.

National Semiconductor in its STEP-UP Program agreement has made the following commitments:

Reduce total electrical energy consumption by 20 percent per wafer layer compared to FY 2003 by making efficiency improvements in HVAC, chiller and compressed air systems
Explore ways to reduce the CO2 and Nox generated through the operation of the volatile organic compounds abatement unit
Reduce water use by an additional 20 percent from FY 2004 to FY 2006 compared to an FY 2003 baseline
Reduce the amount of hazardous waste per 10,000 wafer layers shipped off-site by 15 percent compared to FY 2003

Congratulations to National Semiconductor for pursuing environmentally sustainable ways of doing business!

Full text of the National Semiconductor STEP-UP Program Agreement in pdf forma