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How computer chips are made
Discover the incredible journey of how ordinary sand is purified, designed, printed with light, and packaged into the powerful computer chips that run our world.
4 chapters75 assets
by steve · Jul 24, 2026
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Chapter 1
From beach sand to pure silicon
1The journey from common sand to quartz
2Achieving the ultimate chemical purity
3Growing the perfect single crystal ingot
4Slicing the ingot into razor thin wafers
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Chapter 2
Designing the microscopic city
1The billions of tiny switches called transistors
2Using software to blueprint a microscopic city
3The law that predicted shrinking technology
4Creating photolithography masks as stencils
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Chapter 3
Printing with light in the cleanroom
1The dust free world of the semiconductor cleanroom
2Using light to paint patterns on silicon
3Etching away the unwanted materials
4Doping silicon to change its conductivity
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Chapter 4
Slicing, packaging, and testing the final chip
1Testing the wafer before slicing it up
2Dicing the wafer into individual dies
3Packaging the delicate silicon for protection
4The final test before shipping to devices
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