Making Microchips

Making Microchips

An examination of the environmental and economic implications of the computer microchip industry's exodus from California's Silicon Valley to New Mexico, Virginia, Ireland, and Taiwan. In Making Microchips, Jan Mazurek examines the environmental and economic implications of the computer microchip industry's exodus from California's Silicon Valley to New Mexico, Virginia, Ireland, and Taiwan. Globalization, economic restructuring, and changing manufacturing processes in this rapidly growing industry present difficult new questions for environmental policy. Mazurek challenges the assumptions of U.S. policies designed to promote the competitiveness of domestic microchip makers. She argues that, although these initiatives focus on the economic effects of environmental regulation, they fail to acknowledge how economic and organizational changes within the industry collide with and often confound efforts to monitor and manage pollution from chemicals used in microchip manufacturing. Despite its reputation as a clean industry, microchip manufacturing is fraught with hazards. More than sixty dangerous acids, solvents, caustics, and gases are used to make microchips, and some of them are suspected to be carcinogens and/or reproductive toxins. Mazurek describes the environmental by-products of chipmaking, including soil contamination, air and water pollution, and damage to human health. Applying insights from economic geography to questions of how and where companies organize production, she shows how Silicon Valley played a pivotal role in the development of the microchip. Pairing federal environmental data with structural and geographic information on the six firms that continue to build wafer fabrication plants in the United States, she demonstrates how reorganization and relocation of manufacturing facilities divert attention from trends in toxic emissions and how they complicate public and private efforts to improve the industry's environmental performance. In the concluding chapter, Mazurek marshals her findings in a broader analysis of the expansion of global manufacturing and the resultant environmental problems.

Air Force Magazine

India Shaping Its Chip Industry

‘India Shaping its Chip Industry’ delves into the fascinating semiconductor journey that commenced on a promising note in the 1980s. Despite that strong beginning, the country found itself largely dependent on imports, which became painfully evident during the Covid pandemic when global supply chains were disrupted. This experience served as a wake-up call, highlighting the necessity for self-sufficiency in critical technologies. Recognising that our reliance on foreign nations can have significant implications on both our economic stability and national security, the Prime Minister made a committed decision to make India self-reliant in the semiconductor sector. In response, the government has actively revised its national electronics policy to create a conducive environment for growth and innovation in the semiconductor industry. Moreover, it is investing efforts in developing critical and emerging technologies while forging strategic partnerships with other countries. This collaborative approach aims to reboot and reinvigorate the semiconductor landscape in India, paving the way for a robust domestic industry. The efforts being made today are not merely reactionary but are rooted in a vision for sustainable growth. As the fruits of this initiative begin to materialise, the future of India’s semiconductor industry looks promising and full of potential.