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Bench 2 Spring 2008

Page history last edited by PBworks 15 years, 10 months ago

 

Energy: Researchers in semiconductor technology are looking at ways to minimize the power consumption in integrated circuits on the transistor level by experimenting with new doping techniques and circuit configurations in response to a higher global demand for energy efficiency. Before, speed and performance were the paramount factors of a successful IC device. Now, energy efficiency is stepping in to add a new element of quality. If we can achieve super efficient circuits, then the total energy consumption of computers, cell phones, and many other digital devices will save us plenty in terms of electricity and ultimately the fuels used to produce that electricity. Practical circuits such as bistable multivibrators utilze interconnected nand/nor gates, in which Transistor Transistor Logic (TTL) is used. Propagation delay is an important element in these feedback circuits, which cascades down to the topic of power dissipation. A standard TTL gate will have a propagation delay of 10ns and an accompanying power dissipation of 1mW. If we are looking at an RS latch, for example, we would have to consider 6 propagation delays if we track the logic of the circuit, and therefore a total power dissipation of 6mW to accomplish a one bit response [2].As technology advances in improving the energy consumption, engineers will attempt to fabricate chips on the transistor level to operate at lower voltages. Companies such as Texas Instruments and Universities such as MIT, are trying to produce chips that will be up to ten times more energy efficient [4].

 

Environment: It may seem that lower operating voltage improvements made in semiconductor chips today provide minimal improvements, but the key lies in integrating these improvements into every electrical device possible. An integration of efficient chips in computers will perhaps produce the largest yields due to their electronic manufacturing complexity, scale, and considerable power consumption. Our handheld devices will also be affected, and since nearly everyone has a cell phone on their person, prolonged battery life improvements that come with IC chip gate power efficiency will ease the environmental strain of resources to produce the enormous amount of energy used by our rapidly growing and technologically tuned society [8]. As for any production line, mass quantities of chips that are being made will accelerate the resource depletion. With newer designs of products, the average life cycle begins to shorten which amounts to more electronic waste [5]. In an environmental sense, the semiconductor chip does not have a good opportunity cost. It produces a waste that is 100,000 times its weight [6]. According to the Winter 2008 Bench 8 group, in a 2 gram semiconductor chip, it consumes about 72 grams of chemicals and 970 grams of energy in the form of fossil fuels. This is about 500 times the chip's weight. Shockingly enough, consumers are replacing their computers more often, which uses 500 times its weight in fossil fuels, than other devices such as cars, which uses only 2 times its weight[12].

 

 

 

Economics: When it comes to the economical impact of the IC technology used in our digital devices, we must think in terms of the waste produced and the cost of removing the waste. Electronics are scrapped everyday as new devices come along to make them obsolete. This process is accelerating, creating more and more electronic waste. Other than just pure household garbage and normal recyclable materials, electronic waste has a much greater potential to be recycled and generate cost savings [7]. In fact, the cost of not recycling the materials would be much greater and even more harmful for the environment, especially human health as many scrapped electronics contain biologically damaging materials. Companies can save more money by producing an environment friendly lab. Intel, for example, is incorporating recycled materials into their construction as well as careful consideration with water conservation and energy efficient lighting [6].

 

Social and Political Equity: The rise of digital technology continuously influences the social interaction amongst human beings. We are interfacing much more heavily with digital devices to aid in our daily tasks. This creates, in essence, a barrier between people. The barrier is behind a computer or behind a cell phone, for instance, which makes the physical barriers and distances between us unimportant, but introduces an advanced technological medium that we all heavily rely on for communication [5]. As chips become easier to produce in mass quantities, the price of electronics decreases. This allows the consumer in any social class to involve themselves in an already present electronic world.

 

 

The First Law of Ecology: Everything is Connected to Everything Else

 

In physics, with every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. This holds true with the impact of our production and the waste it creates thereafter. As we produce more electronics, we produce more waste when we upgrade to the next hot item of the week.[13] The word "cybernetics" derives from the Greek word for helmsman; it is concerned with cycles of events that steer, or govern, the behavior of a system. If the ship veers off its desired path, the result produces a shift in the compass pin needle. The helmsman reacts to the compass by compensating for the ship moving off course. Overcompensation produces a reaction taken to set the ship back on course. With this, the ship’s cycle is complete [9]. Much like a ship’s cycle, we can relate the environmental cycle as well. Each living creature is part of a giant food chain that maintains the balance of our ecosystem. The bugs feed fish, fish feed carnivores, and when the carnivores die, and their carcass becomes food for the bugs which completes the cycle.

 

 

 

The Second Law of Ecology: Everything Must Go Somewhere

 

Once again this relates to physics. Matter is indestructible. In nature, there is no such thing as ‘waste’. There is a purpose for everything. The food cycle mentioned above is a perfect example of how the ecological cycle continues to move as creatures come into this world and leave this world [9]. In our society, there is such thing as 'waste'. Rapid technology change, low initial cost and planned obsolescence results in a fast growing problem around the world. However, as we grow in production, we also grow in recycling. Part of this growth involves greater diversion of electronic waste from energy intensive, down-cycling processes where equipment reverts back to its raw material form. This allows room for reuse and refurbishing.

 

 

 

The Third Law of Ecology: Nature Knows Best

 

Mother Nature inherently knows what is best. If the Earth is uninhabited, nature continues to choose what is best for itself to live. Incorporating humans to the Earth allows room for industrial growth. As industrial growth evolves into more large scale industry, the effects of the growth become detrimental to the environment. Global warming and global pollution are such consequences[10]. If our electronic growth is not properly taken care of, it is a major contributor to the toxin and carcinogin levels. Electronic waste represents 2 percent of America's trash in landfills, but it equals 70 percent of overall toxic waste [13].

 

 

 

The Fourth Law of Ecology: There is No Such Thing as a Free Lunch

 

"In nature, both sides of the equation must balance, for every gain there is a cost, and all debts are eventually paid" says Commoner [11]. The fourth law encompasses the previous three laws as a whole. As we continue to evolve, everything that we produce pays a price in the long run. For example, bigger factories that produces more units that cause a cheaper price creates more air pollution. We cannot avoid the payment of this “benefit” but merely postpone it. Looking at the current environment of the o-zone layer depleting as well as the polar ice caps melting are the payments we are paying for the good life.

 

 

How It All Correlates:

As companies become more energy efficient and cost efficient, they are following the first law of ecology. By going green, they save money on their energy costs in the long run despite the high immediate cost. These extra savings allow the company to come up with more cost efficient solutions for their production line. This follows the second law of ecology. When they produce more products in bulk, the cost of the product decreases allowing more people to involve themselves in the electronic industry. Even though these prices are cheaper, it still needs to follow the fourth law of ecology, because the company still pays for the cost of making the product and the consumer still purchases the product for some fee. Even with products that are free after rebate, there is still some cost to be made to produce the product on the company side.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

 

[1] Muhammad H. Rashid, “Introduction to PSpice Using OrCAD for Circuits and Electronic,” University of West Florida, 1995. [Book].

[2] K. Gopalan, “Introduction to Digital Microelectronic Circuits,” Purdue University Calumet, 2002. [Book].

[3] E.E. Department Faculty. “Digital Integrated Electronics Laboratory”. California Polytechnic State University of San Luis Obispo 2008, [Book].

[4] Ann Steffora Mutschler, “MIT, TI Develop Proof-Of-Concept, Energy-Efficient Microchip”. Electronic Design, Strategy, News, Feb. 4, 2008, [Accessed: May 2, 2008] Available:http://www.edn.com/index.asp?layout=article&articleid=ca6528473

 

[5] Andreas Koehler, Claudia Som, “Effects of Pervasive Computing on Sustainable Develeopment”. IEEE Technology and Society, 2005, [Accessed: May 2, 2008] available: http://www.ieeessit.org/technology_and_society/free_sample_article.asp?ArticleID=1

 

[6] Sharon Gaudin, “Intel’s New 45nm Penryn Plant goes Green”. Computerworld, Oct. 30, 2007, [Accessed: May 2, 2008] available: https://blackboard.calpoly.edu/courses/1/EE-347-02-2084/content/_1749350_1/Intel's_Penryn_Plant_Goes_Green.pdf?bsession=11295625&bsession_str=session_id=11295625,user_id_pk1=130061,user_id_sos_id_pk2=1,one_time_token=

 

[7] P. Hawken, A. Lovins, and L.H. Lovins. “Natural C apitalism”. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1999, [Accessed: May 9, 2008] available: http://www.natcap.org/images/other/NCchapter3.pdf

 

[8] Peter Singer, “Green Chips: IC Makers Looking to Cash In”. Semiconductor International Feb. 5, 2008, [Accessed: May 9, 2008] available: http://www.semiconductor.net/article/CA6528827.html

 

[9] Barry Commoner, “The Closing Circle: Nature, Man, and Technology”. Northern Illinois University, 1971, [Accessed: May 23, 2008] available: http://www3.niu.edu/~td0raf1/history261/nov1910.htm

 

 

[10] Steve Nobel, “The Four Laws of Ecology…”. International Prosperity Blog, June 26, 2007, [Accessed: May 23, 2008] available: http://nobelsteve.blogspot.com/2007/06/four-laws-of-ecology-as-formulated-by.htm

 

[11] Wikipedia, “Barry Commoner”. Wikipedia, [Accessed: May 23, 2008] available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Commoner

 

[12] PBWiki, "Sustainability and EE 347". PBWiki, [Accessed: May 30, 2008] available: http://sustainability-and-ics.pbwiki.com/Bench+8

 

[13] Wikipedia, "Electronic Waste". Wikipedia, [Accessed: May 30, 2008] available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_waste

 

Comments (8)

Michelle Lum said

at 1:12 pm on Jun 1, 2008

Great report. I like the way you tied all of EE347 stuff into your sustainability. Each of the E's had something to do with what we are working with. The report is very organized in thought and structure.

Mark Saenger said

at 4:26 pm on Jun 1, 2008

Excellent use of examples to paint a vivid picture about the 4 E's and the Laws of Ecology. The "How It All Correlates" was a great way to conclude by saying how all of the Laws of Ecology work with each other.

Anonymous said

at 4:48 pm on Jun 1, 2008

Pretty good overall. There were plenty of references to hard facts, and that lends credibility to your argument.

A few paragraphs seem to end kind of suddenly though. A single sentence tying all the facts together and signaling the end of that topic might be help.

Bob Somers said

at 4:49 pm on Jun 1, 2008

The comment by Anonymous at 4:48pm above is mine, I guess I wasn't logged in.

Mike Scott said

at 9:55 pm on Jun 1, 2008

Good report. I liked the examples you gave and did a good job of not only showing the big picture, but also relating it to the experiment as well. The summary at the end draws a nice conclusion to your analysis, but I agree with bob, some of the paragraphs did end a little suddenly.

Jeff Tikkanen said

at 10:46 am on Jun 2, 2008

Great job analyzing the 4 E's and the laws of ecology. I couldn't find much you could improve on, except maybe connecting everything a little bit longer.

Anonymous said

at 1:56 pm on Jun 2, 2008

The report did a very good job of analyzing lab material and then connecting it through the four E’s of sustainability and through the laws of ecology. Good data backed up by good research. Well done.

ChristianRamos said

at 1:03 pm on Jun 3, 2008

Good job on this report. I like how everything is organized backed up by good sources and tied together at the end.

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