Green MST design from a designer's perspective: how to base decisions on environmental issues

Abstract

Eco-design is a frequently applied concept, but mostly as a case study or based on a given product, which has to be improved. Rarely design for environment is used as part of the development of a new product, because environmental assessments usually need a sound data basis; see e.g. common life cycle analysis concepts. Hence, this paper presents an integrated approach, how to deal with environmental issues during product design, when knowledge about the later product is still fairly limited - and the possibility to implement major changes is still given. The approach presented focuses on lean and smart measures, which work without additional extensive data acquisition and scenarios. However, they impose uncertainties, but remain applicable for the designer. This approach is shown for one of the most advanced tasks in electronics: Design of micro systems technology (MST) devices, known also as micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS). Furthermore, overlaps with other disciplines, such as microelectronics design is inevitable.