Join MIT.nano, Edwards Vacuum, the Initiative for Knowledge & Innovation in Manufacturing at MIT, and FUTUR-IC for talk on PFAS and the implications within the semiconductor industry.
Chris Jones
Environmental Solutions Business Development Manager, Edwards Vacuum
Date: Friday, October 3, 2025
Time: 10 a.m. — 11 a.m. ET
Location: MIT.nano 12-0168
Watch the video
ABSTRACT
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) present a complex challenge for the semiconductor industry: they are indispensable for high-performance manufacturing, yet their persistence and toxicity have led to intensifying regulatory scrutiny.
Edwards has taken a dual approach of raising awareness and delivering action. On the awareness side, we have engaged with others across the industry to map PFAS use, trace their environmental and health pathways, and communicate the risks. On the action side, we have initiated extensive testing of vacuum and abatement systems. One stream of this work has measured destruction and removal efficiencies (DREs) for conventional PFCs such as CF₄, C₃F₈, and C₄F₈, to confirm abatement performance and to assess whether simple combustion treatment could itself generate PFAS. A separate stream has examined longer-chain species, including PFO, and has also used low-pressure plasma with C₄F₈ to mimic process chamber conditions such as chamber cleans. Together, these results highlight both the effectiveness of abatement and the emergence of expected and unexpected PFAS sources, underscoring the importance of applying more rigorous experimental techniques to avoid contamination effects.
In parallel, Edwards has also examined solids recovered from vacuum pumps returned to one of our service centres to assess whether there is evidence of PFAS generation pathways from real-world situations. Alongside these efforts, Edwards is auditing product designs, engaging suppliers, and driving substitution where feasible, with a 2030 target to remove or reduce PFAS in new equipment. This presentation covers a spectrum of topics relevant to both high-volume manufacturing fabs and R&D environments, and offering insights of interest to engineers, sustainability specialists, and facility managers alike.
Authors: Joe Ambrose, Afroza Banu, Balamurugan Kandasamy , Brian Jung, Chris Jones
SPEAKER BIOGRAPHY
Chris Jones graduated from Imperial College Longon with a BSc and PhD in Chemistry before spending 17 years at the UK Atomic Energy Authority, addressing waste management challenges across nuclear, defense, and industrial sectors. Since joining Edwards in 2003, he has worked on environmental technologies for semiconductor manufacturing, including water treatment and fab level abatement systems.
In his current role as environmental solutions business development manager at Edwards, Chris focuses on sustainability challenges facing the semiconductor industry, with PFAS being a central area of his work. He is an active member of the Semiconductor Industry Association's PFAS Consortium, participating in technical work groups on process emissions and abatement, and contributing to the consortium's leadership team. Chris is also engaged with SEMI's EU and US PFAS working groups and has presented Edwards' PFAS research at industry and safety conferences.