Expanding the Use of Hydrogen in the Electronics Industry
Low Carbon Hydrogen for Electronics
Hydrogen, Electronics & Decarbonization
Hydrogen plays a vital role in electronics manufacturing, particularly in the LED, display, and photovoltaic sectors. Its unique properties—enables uniform heat transfer in annealing, acts as a reducing agent in epitaxy, reduces crystallinity in deposition, and stabilizes reactive chemicals like diborane and digermane — make it essential in several critical processes. Hydrogen's unique properties also make it a critical component in semiconductor manufacturing. The demand for hydrogen in the semiconductor industry is driven by the need for advanced chip production and the transition to sustainable energy sources. Implementing options such as low carbon intensity hydrogen production may lower the carbon footprint of certain processes.
Other Areas for Low Carbon Hydrogen
An application of hydrogen in the semiconductor industry is extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography. Lithography is the process where the pattern for semiconductor chips is transferred from a master to the silicon wafer using light. During EUV light production, tin droplets are shot with a laser, which causes them to emit UV light. This leads to the unwanted deposition of tin debris in the light collector, and the chamber needs to be cleaned regularly. Large flows of hydrogen are used to react with the deposited tin to form tin hydride (SnH4), which is volatile and is removed using a vacuum pump.