Assessing the contribution of semiconductors to the sustainable development goals (SDGs) from 2017 to 2022

Shuchen Hsieh; Pei-Ying Lin; I-Hui Lin; David E Beck; Ching-Hui Lin

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e21306

Assessing the contribution of semiconductors to the sustainable development goals (SDGs) from 2017 to 2022

Heliyon. 2023 Oct 30;9(11):e21306. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e21306. eCollection 2023 Nov.

Authors

Shuchen Hsieh¹, Pei-Ying Lin¹, I-Hui Lin², David E Beck³, Ching-Hui Lin⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, National Sun Yat-sen University, 70 Lien-Hai Rd., Kaohsiung, 80424, Taiwan.
² Office of Institutional Research, National Sun Yat-sen University, 70 Lien-hai Rd., Kaohsiung, 80424, Taiwan.
³ Oxford Instruments Asylum Research, Inc., 7416 Hollister Ave., Santa Barbara, CA 93117, USA.
⁴ Center for Teacher Education, National Sun Yat-sen University, 70 Lien-hai Rd., Kaohsiung, 80424, Taiwan.

Abstract

Semiconductor development is a major driving force for global economic growth. However, synchronizing it with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations remains a critical challenge. To gain insight into this, we analyzed SDG-related publications on semiconductors from 2017 to 2022 using the SciVal database. The study found 77,706 documents related to SDGs in the field of semiconductor research, with an overall increase in the number of publications each year. The main focus of these publications was SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), accounting for 68.9 % of the total publication count. Additionally, the results indicate that semiconductors have multifaceted potential in advancing a range of SDGs. From fostering innovations in healthcare (SDG 3), ensuring clean water access (SDG 6), catalyzing transformative industrial growth (SDG 9), to contributing to climate mitigation strategies (SDG 13), semiconductors emerge as versatile drivers of sustainable development. The respective publication percentages for these goals were 7.3 %, 5.9 %, 9.7 %, and 4.4 %, underscoring their capacity to make substantial contributions across various facets of sustainability. It's worth noting that only 2.9 % of these publications stem from academia-industry collaborations. This indicates a pressing need to facilitate collaboration between academia and industry, as such partnerships have the potential to amplify the impact of semiconductor innovations on the SDGs. The novelty of this study lies in its specific exploration through a comprehensive analysis spanning five years, revealing the alignment between semiconductor advancements and the latest SDGs. It uncovers the significance of collaborative ecosystems involving research institutions, businesses, and governments. Through these results, our study addresses a gap in the existing literature and advances semiconductor contributions to the SDGs.

Keywords: Academic-industrial collaboration; Affordable; Clean energy; Semiconductor; Sustainable development goals; Sustainable energy.