PHS8303E - Sustainable Electronics, Eco-Design, Electronic Waste Management

Structure and function of electronic devices (EDs). Basics about the fabrication of EDs: materials and processes. Raw materials, their purity and their geographical origin. Sources of synthetic materials, including the sacrificial ones. Energy and water consumption during fabrication. Approaches to make greener currently used materials and (micro)fabrication processes. Power consumption during operation of EDs. End-of-life of electronic products: definition and Rs (e.g. reduce, reuse, recycle) scenarios. Life cycle analysis (LCA). Circular electronics. Effects on health and the environment of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). Urban mining. Eco-design, including modular electronics. Sustainable business models and value chains. Emerging approaches to greener device end-of-life. Compostable electronics. International initiatives for sustainable electronics. Psychology of consumer electronics.