Sustainable Valorization of Semiconductor Sludge into High-Performance EMC Fillers

초록

Herein, silicon sludge (SS), a by-product of the semiconductor process, is recycled as a functional filler for epoxy molding compound (EMC). Metallic impurities are removed by acid treatment, and purified SS is coated with a silica shell via a sol-gel to obtain silica-coated silicon sludge (S-SS). S-SS is combined with epoxy resin, curing agent, and carbon black to prepare S-SS/EMC. Under identical heating, IR thermography shows 58.1 °C for S-SS/EMC, higher than conventional SiO2/EMC, indicating faster heat transport and improved dissipation. Enhancement arises from high thermal conductivity of silicon (150 W/mK), and improved interfacial coupling from the silica shell. Accordingly, this work demonstrates a sustainable approach to valorize semiconductor waste into high-performance EMC fillers for efficient thermal management in advanced packaging. - 본 연구성과물은 2025년도 정부(교육부)의 재원으로 한국연구재단의 지원을 받아 수행된 기초연구사업임 (RS-2025-25437296). Keywords: Semiconductor waste, Sol-gel method, Recycling, Thermal conductivity, Epoxy molding compound