HOW IT'S MADE: Microchips

HOW IT'S MADE Microchips
Microchips are everywhere! With the advent of amazing technology comes a greater need for efficient microchips. But they sound minuscule, so if you’re wondering about how they are made, we’ll discuss that in our video!
Welcome back to How It’s Made, folks, and today we’ll be talking all about microchips! But before we delve into the world of manufacturing, hit that subscribe button, if you haven’t already!
What is a microchip?
Microchips are a flat silicon disk that has an integrated circuit embedded on it and even incorporates transistors. There are patterns of tiny switches that are created on the silicon wafer by embedding materials to form a deep and integrated lattice of interconnected shapes. There are elaborate processes that lead to the construction of these interconnected circuits, and we’ll discuss all of them in detail.
Raw Material: Silicon
Silicon is the digital gold in the technology industry as it is a widely used semiconductor. The manufacturers often improve the properties of the semiconductor by adding phosphorus or boron. The great news is silicon is made from sand which is the second most popularly found element after oxygen.
Silica sand is a form of silicon dioxide from which silicon wafers are made. The first step for this is by melting the sand into a shape of a large cylinder called an ingot from where the thin wafers are sliced off.
For microchips, good and pure silicon is always a mandatory material hence, only one impurity atom, for every 10 million silicon atoms is allowed. Silicon bulls are made in a range of different diameters where the most common sizes are 150, 200, and 300 millimeters wafers! Now, for microchips, the silicon wafers must be really thin. Hence, there is a special sawing technique where these wafers are made.
Why is silicon used?
Silicon is a semiconductor that is an efficient conductor of electricity provided certain conditions are fulfilled. Every silicon atom has four outermost electrons because of which actual pure monocrystalline silicon is non-conductive at room temperature. To make it conductive, small quantities of specific atoms are to be added as impurities to the wafer.
This process is called doping and most often, boron and phosphorus atoms are highly used. The most suitable elements in these groups are very close to silicon on the periodic table and thus have very similar properties.
The P and N conductive layers are very important and the most important part of the chip is the transistors that are built on the P and N conductive layers. The wafer transistors are the smallest control units in microchips. Their job is to control electric voltages and currents.
They are by far the most important components of electronic circuits as every transistor on a chip contains P and N conductive layers. These layers are made of silicon crystals and they also have an additional layer of silicon oxide which acts as an insulator. A layer of electrically conductive polysilicon is coated on top of this.
How are microchips made?
Step #1. Layout and Design
Microchips have to always be carefully designed as these are highly complex chips that are made up of billions of integrated and connected transistors that make up complex circuits such as microcontrollers and crypto chips.
A few square millimeters have to be measured in size and carefully outlined. The actual number of microcomponents requires an in-depth design process that defines the chip’s functions. This actually characterizes the chips’ technical and physical properties.
In fact, special design tools are used to draw up the plans for integrated circuits and construct a three-dimensional architecture of sandwich layers. This blueprint is transferred to photomasks to give the geometric images of the circuits.
The photomasks are used as image templates during the subsequent chip fabrication process to make sure that the microscopic structures of a chip are reproduced perfectly. These are the patterns you’d be seeing on the microchip.
They have to be made in a dust-free environment with stable temperature and humidity levels.
Step #2. Putting it together in a cleanroom.
The chips have to be made in a cleanroom where no more than one particle of dust larger than 0.5 micrometers is allowed in around 10 liters of air. This place is extremely sophisticated with several million cubic meters of air being circulated every hour and hundreds of air volume regulators maintaining a constant airflow. The employees in these production areas have an extremely strict dress code.
It is here that all the airlock chips are built on a base wafer that is cut from a silicon ingot, depending on their size. Several dozen or several thousand chips can be made on one wafer because of their small size.
#Howitsmade #microchips #howitsdone

[@jessedominguez8952]

I’ve always wondered how these things were made and after watching this video I still have no clue

[@EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE850]

yeah this video is garbage

[@ryankappel1245]

Dont worry. I work in a micro chip fab fixing some of the machines that make them. I still dont have much of a clue either. Everything about manufacturing and application of the machines to make them are kept very secret.

[@fuu9818]

Because they don't want anyone else to be able to make them

[@nico843a]

I have a question, so how come covid be a problem? Heard a lot say there's chip shortages everywhere, because of covid.

[@ryankappel1245]

@@nico843a it requires a lot of chemicals to make chips and in large quantities. These chemicals have short shelf life. So if the supply chain is slowed or disrupted it affects manufacturing. Covid had a big effect on global shipping and made acquisition of the matetials needed more difficult. But this is only one issue. One of the bigger problems is chip manufacturers didnt expand fast enough to keep up with demand. There are now new Fabs being built across the US and Europe now. But it takes 3-4 years to get one up and running. It will be another couple years before the new facilities will be up and running to meet demand. Maybe longer.

[@dwagincon4841]

This is not the "how it's made" I'm used to

[@Good_Boy_Red]

I didn't like this version. There was way too much switching between stock footage.

[@B1GDaddyFatStax]

@@Good_Boy_Red agreed. I don't feel a comprehension of what is being displayed as compared to what the narrator is describing. I came into this expecting to learn something, now I'm even more confused and have even more questions.

[@dragons_hook]

I definitely want a "how its actually made" of this!

[@gagassurya19]

​@@dragons_hook wish someone made a diy chip out there :)

[@keanubartolata3465]

copyright protection should be activated

[@Misterfloflomovievideo]

I feel like you are just reading wikipedia at this point. And reading fast!

[@EricK-ig4ko]

Did you go to Wikipedia and read along as he was talking? If not shutup!

[@Misterfloflomovievideo]

@@EricK-ig4ko xd so much violence. Why tho? I just gave my honest feeling, which other people also had if you read the comments

[@roguewolfraceing1268]

@@Misterfloflomovievideo I don't wanna sound like a ass but do you know weather this info is fact or fiction or to better word this is the information falseafyed or is it fact? I just wanna know because I wanna know I'm actually learning genuine info.

[@Misterfloflomovievideo]

@@roguewolfraceing1268 i just said i feel like he is reading a script he doesn't understand, (could be wiki or something else), giving random informations about the subject. The info is probably (no garranty tho) fine, i just critisize the way he is presenting the info If you really wana learn about this subject, im sure there far better videos about it out there

[@roguewolfraceing1268]

@@Misterfloflomovievideo thx and sorry if I came off offensive

[@martf1061]

My mind still can't accept the fact that we can build things at those scales. The size of these things is unimaginably small.

[@ayoitscat]

And it's so precise within such a small size. You have often only a centimeter or two (sometimes less) to arrange billions of transistors with very little room for error, yet few that get made end up defective

[@kuronetwork920]

You should see the next level up. I been to Intel I have a degree in CS and I know how it done all the way down. But it still blows my mind.

[@Timepass-gm6hc]

Yes I worked in semiconductor company and I know about this how it made and we can able to build any semiconductor in any package.

[@RiderBlitz1.0]

We Are humans after all

[@mcan-piano4718]

So how do they make it so small? I still didnt understand. Can u explain if u understood

[@Constantinus213421]

For anyone wondering how those tiny transistors can be placed by the billions on such a small area: they aren't. The factory uses lenses. You have seen a projector they use in meetings or schools to show PowerPoint presentations, or movies, right? The big image on the wall comes out from that small projector, because the image is magnified with a lens. Imagine that it's a different type of lens, which shrinks the image, instead of magnifying it. You project the image on the wall, but now the image is so small, you can't see it. Put a slice of bread on the kitchen table. Spread thick blueberry jelly on it, generously. Let it dry for a while. Take a tennis racket. Fill some holes in the net. Hold the tennis racket above the table, above the slice of bread. Put a lamp above the tennis racket. The light shines through the holes (not the plugged ones), onto the table and bread below. It will create an image of light spots and dark spots, on the table. Now put a shrinking lens, as wide as the tennis racket, between the tennis racket and the slice of bread. Move it until It shrinks the spotty image exactly onto the blueberry-spread slice of bread. The blueberry jelly is not light sensitive, but if it would be, it would soften where the light spots hit from above, and would remain hard, where the dark spots are. Wash the slice of bread with Coca-Cola. The softened jelly will wash away, the hard jelly will stay. Now you have a spotty slice of bread, it has blueberry jelly only where the holes were plugged in the tennis racket and the light didn't shine through. Take a different tennis racket, plug other holes in it. Spread peanut butter on the bread, on top of the dry bread and jelly spots. Repeat the lamp-lens-washing process. Now you have a layered bread/jelly/peanut butter masterpiece. Some parts have three layers, some only bread and jelly (where the peanut butter washed away), some only bread and peanut butter (where the jelly washed away), some with only bread (where both tennis rackets had holes, so the light went through, so the jelly and the peanut butter softened and was washed away, in the respective steps of the process). You just need to plan beforehand, which holes to plug in those tennis rackets, so you can build your islands of jelly and/or peanut butter, where you want them on your slice of bread. And that, my friends, is how transistors in integrated circuits are built, layer by layer. If you use various semiconductor/conductor/insulator materials instead of jelly or peanut butter, and pretty much replace the whole installation with specialized equipment and materials, and really, really good lenses, you have an integrated circuit manufacturing kitchen. I mean fabrication plant. Fab. Factory. The components are not placed on the silicon, they are spread (well...) as a layer of homogeneous material, then illuminated (well...) in specific points, then washed away (well...), then spread a different material, illuminate in a different set of specific points, washed, and repeat this several times, with several materials and several photomasks. Which are essentially sieves, not carnival masks. The transistors are not placed, they are built all together (well...), on the silicon disc itself. And thanks to the lens, they can be smaller than we can hold, because we never hold them, we build them on their silicon disc, right there, layer by layer. Theoretically, we don't even need to see them, even with a microscope, because we see the big mask above with the holes we made in it, but we shrink the circuit's image using lenses (well...) and that's what gets made. We still need to see them though, with microscopes, because we need to see if they were made ok.

[@itadministration7978]

Thank you, this was a great explaination.

[@steelfalconx2000]

Thanks I learned more from your explanation than from this vague video.

[@sanjayrao3257]

Thanks. This is a damn good and concise explanation

[@avengedsvfdrcks]

Glad I read through that whole comment. Thank you for your unique and helpful explanation my kind sir 🙏

[@hadendebardelaben3462]

This is the first time I have found anything that explained this process. I could not figure out how something so small could be made, but now it makes sense!

[@davidbiondo2512]

I appreciate educational videos, I just want to try and provide a bit of constructive feedback. I can’t quite pinpoint what the issue is it may be the speed and tone at which you’re talking, or the way you presented the information I’m not quite sure it just doesn’t seem as easy to understand as some other educational channels. That being said keep up the good work and thank you for taking the time to do the research.

[@capnsmashy5718]

got the same feels , although i could grasp what he was talkin about for the most part the drone in his voice and speed took away from what was being said. if this was stretched to 15 minutes with a clear voice would be much more comprehensive and enjoyable.

[@kjtroj]

Agreed. The terminology used and the pacing make it hard for the average person to understand. That, coupled with none of the video segments really matching up with what was being discussed, it's one of the most disjointed How It's Made videos I've ever seen.

[@charbladex]

I think it's a mix between fast talking, video segments not matching, and the terms he's actually saying I understood some of the terms he was using because I was helping someone with an electronics degree and a regular person would not know those terms. This video feels like he's describing how a microchip is made to someone who is working in the industry already and not for a regular person.

[@dontomaso11]

Most "good" documentaries and edu videos uses pause as a tool for people to take in information. This was non stop talking in a monotone voice, I felt like I heard a bunch of words but learnt nothing.

[@diegocrusius]

add a layer of difficulty for non native speakers also

[@steelfalconx2000]

Hey bring back the guy that actually explains things!

[@GregTheReaper]

There's only so much you can dumb down such a detailed and technical process. I'd rather this than be patronised like a child who doesn't know anything. I thought he explained it all pretty well.

[@santocarbone1130]

@@GregTheReaper Mr. Reaper, you are selling bullshit

[@Hlebka]

If you knew Computer Science or had a degree at UNI you would understand, but it's hard for someone who doesn't know basic Microprocessor architecture principles

[@section7173]

@@Hlebka Well this video could have been shorter had they just said go get a Uni degree. _"If you can’t explain it to a 6-year-old, you don’t understand it yourself."_ -Einstein.

[@MrGiova-ep7kj]

Incredible! Now I have absolutely no idea of how microchips are made.

[@jaisonlasrado6168]

see the top comment it explains it correctly

[@Noviomagus024]

I did this work for 15 years when i was younger. That was one of my most relaxed jobs i ever had. First time i walked in there, it was like walking 100years into the future.

[@jamescollier3]

lol. what did you do? it's a stressful industry

[@dylanmissuwe4839]

This has to be satire. Right? RIGHT?? This dude is literally reading of Wikipedia out if context and adding random untrue crap in between it

[@lxathu]

An audiobook with more or rather less accompanied video rubbish. Either more efforts should be made or none at all.

[@joet4348]

I do feel like it's such a technical subject and the relations are complex in a way that's very challenging to understand with just reading. The visuals are not particularly helpful and generally don't relate to what's being narrated. It would be far easier to understand with animations or diagrams of processes described.

[@edwardhoulton8725]

This is amazing, you have said virtually nothing.

[@Dedric]

I work for a circuit board manufacturer and it sounded like he described how surface mount and through hole components are manufactured in a basic way. If you're too dumb to understand then just say that.

[@TiktokVibes4]

I missed the part how microchips are made

[@ryankappel1245]

I work at an Intel fabrication plant. People will only ever know the basics like in this video. The bigger details on manufacturing process are kept very close secret to the companies that make them. The technology used to make them are also kept very secret amongst the companies that makes the machines. Its all bleeding edge stuff. All it really is is 3D printing on a near atomic level using various chemicals and ionized conductive metals for etching.

[@1953Johnnyp]

@@ryankappel1245 I worked for Kulicke and Soffa back in the 80's. I taught Gold ball bonding and microelectronics for beginners during tech orientations. There aren't many secrets that aren't already published! 2 decades in microelectronics as either a tech or Process Engineer!

[@slimshady6242]

@@1953Johnnyp I want to open a microchip manufacturing company can you guide which source to study , books etc , currently I am pursuing BTech in artificial intelligence and data science from India

[@slimshady6242]

@@ryankappel1245 I want to open a microchip manufacturing company can you guide which source to study , books , technology involved and how small countries like Taiwan master this etc , currently I am pursuing BTech in artificial intelligence and data science from India

[@ryankappel1245]

@@slimshady6242 Well. To start a microchip company, and be competative. You would need a few billion dollars to build a small fab and tool it up. Then need a small army of top tier engineers, physicists and mathmaticians to design the chips. Then a bunch of qualified technicians capable of calibrating/qualifying and operating the many different types of complex machinery. Also it takes about four years from breaking ground on a new fab to where it is functionally high volume manufacturing. Lastly acquisition of the chemicals and some of the technology needed requires a lot of international cooperation with the regulations and secretive nature behind the chemical solutions and some tech used for making the chips. Specifically EUV technology. Working in a fab is pretty amazing and being able to see the fabrication process is mind boggling and fascinating. But they require an enormous amount of expensive and hard to get resources, logistics and manpower.

[@PhdHung]

I don't know what's more impressive - the microchip, or the machine that made the microchip

[@kashmirian9115]

Or who made that machine

[@gtxoiltastebad]

@@kashmirian9115 or what made who

[@johnbui6530]

But which came first? The machine or the microchip?

[@aminehayto7028]

well both

[@PlayU2U]

Both are useless to know, the creator is worth knowing!

[@pollyaloy]

After watching this I still don’t know how silicon chips are made 🤔

[@thecraggrat]

You never make "silicone" chips..."silicone" is rubbery stuff you use to caulk your bathtub. Silicon (no "e") chips are what are made! Sorry, but it grates like fingernails on a blackboard to hear them called "silicone" chips.

[@nutbastard]

@@thecraggrat No wonder I haven't been enjoying my girlfriends silicon implants. They feel like sand bags!

[@BlkskyWlkr74]

This vid takes me back to a company I worked for, I was fresh out of technical school, they bottled 'smoke' box, microchip, for automotive, communication industries, in a sense when the chip 'shorts' it burns up into smoke, I worked in class 100 clean room environment, on maintaining the machines in EPI, Diffusion and Photo areas, very amazing technology process. Need more vids like this.

[@jacobmcmahon1915]

I worked in Intel's cleanroom for three years in Phoenix. My entire team's job was the maintenance and upgrade of a line of 6 million dollar machines. There were 25 of them and their sole job was the scan wafers after processes to make sure other machines weren't adding particles or "defects" to any of the product. I say this as a small insight to how big these facilities are. By the time I left the new clean room was done being built and I could walk straight inside of only clean room for 2 miles.

[@khalidalaa8078]

sir, what degree you got to work there ?, and how you worked there in general ?

[@jacobmcmahon1915]

@@khalidalaa8078 There are many levels of education needed for all sorts of positions. Also Intel has to hire contractors full time because they can buy the machines but they aren't allowed much knowledge of the inside because of intellectual property. So I didn't work for Intel, but I worked at Intel in their clean room every day all day. I have my degree in mechanical engineering, however, most of my coworkers came from doing electrical in the U.S. Navy. The position is called "Field Service Engineer" and there are always tons of positions open for many companies with that job title but each one will be a very different machine. It's great pay and an okay job. Definitely a good introduction to the silicone wafer production industry.

[@khalidalaa8078]

@@jacobmcmahon1915 are these work field limited to the army, meaning that no ordinary graduate can work in those factories ? am middle eastern but i really love technology field so i wanted to know if there is a hope for me 😅

[@jacobmcmahon1915]

@@khalidalaa8078 As long have you have the right(or close) set of skills and a good attitude, just keep trying and you'll get a job in it. There's so many jobs open in silicon production. It honestly feels endless, the amount of job openings. You could do it, it's not limited at all. Plus a lot of those companies will pay you to move to them.

[@khalidalaa8078]

@@jacobmcmahon1915 thanks alot, hope you the best. 😊

[@antipastamony]

I can't not talk about the fact that the logo used in the thumbnail is literally just the macOS icon for system preferences. I assume the creator looked up gear-based logos on google images or something and didn't realize what it came from as otherwise it just seems like too bizarre a move for anyone to make. I'm always glad to see more educational content on the platform but between borrowed clips, a borrowed logo, and a channel name already in use by a major television program I'd be a bit more wary of plagiarism in the future. I get the impression that this channel exists out of a passion to educate rather than to farm views and for that reason I'm not going to hurl accusations around or anything. best of luck to your channel!

[@deadytm]

yes.

[@twintyara6330]

Chill bro

[@BryanTorok]

The television program of the same name rarely identifies the manufacturing facility by voice but often shows logos and product names. I've assumed that the former is a preference of the producers while the latter is either by agreement or throwing the manufacturer a "thank you" for letting them film in the facility. I noted several manufacturers logos in the video. I'm not going to rewatch the video to get them all. but I saw MX and TI (Texas Instruments) just to mention two.

[@TT-yu9uo]

Yep this has plagiarism and stolen content all over it. we don't need another person giving us shotty summaries of material produced by other people.

[@tookitogo]

Yep, it’s not impressive. And there are errors in the content, too.

[@Aspen910]

I'm a Layout Designer, and I just wanted to let you know I appreciate that you acknowledged the most important step to making microchips. Most videos I have seen never talk about mask design, just the fabrication process. Great video!

[@adrianhdragon718]

Cool ;p)

[@robertonunez6626]

Im majoring in EE and I’m currently taking a VLSI elective. How does one learn more about doing layout and what not after or outside of class? Im in my final semester and have been wanting to get an internship doing that but it’s been difficult.

[@Aspen910]

@@robertonunez6626 that’s a great question! And I’m afraid not going to be the answer you might like. Most engineers have no idea what layout even looks like. Anyone who does layout had no idea what it was going to be like either. Anyone who got an associates for layout told me they had an idea, but it was nothing like the real thing. I interned for a layout position and learned during that. That’s my recommendation, intern for it. You could do other internships for engineer things, but maybe do just one that shows you layout. A big disconnect between layout and designers is that the designers think they can just add more and more devices, and as layout I have to tell them “Sorry, that’s not going to be physically possible. Let’s try this.” I think internship would be best, because colleges often give examples of things that aren’t even anywhere close to reality.

[@NguyenVinh-mx5pn]

No masks, no chips

[@mawhite30]

@@robertonunez6626 it seems most EE degree departments would have an elective about semiconductor manufacting and device physics, you might take that class where they would show you some basic constructions. Other than that , since you will be part of the electronics industry, you will have a chance to work with a layout team likely and if you work in a good company some of them might sit down with you and show you a little of what they do. I think there might also be videos here on YT..

[@averagecommenter4623]

I can't wait to see "How It's Made: A functional family"

[@Xirru]

Sponsored by micro crisps

[@koppadasao]

It's that possible?

[@katakouzina]

😂😂😂

[@audreyyyhappened6831]

I've been wondering for some time now, and I'm baffled how the first few batches of microchips were even manufactured with all the precise technology required beforehand. And even more, the complexity in inventing the microchip through all those landscape designs, I adore it. Thanks for the explanation!

[@thecraggrat]

It has been a long road getting from there to here... (sorry for the Star Trek Enterprise soundbite)... Originally devices were much bigger, they were also bipolar transistors, not the MOSFET transistors used now (Thank you Robert Noyce et al. for the integrated planar process & Bell Labs for the MOSFET)... The original MOSFET transistor IC's were 20 microns in size, they were printed using photomasks that were made using an optical reduction of a "Rubylith" circuit layout onto a photosensitive layer on glass plates - the image was developed and was used to print the pattern on a "wafer", I think using proximity aligners - these printed masks were actually disposable after a number of uses...which led to the hard chrome photomask which could be cleaned & used in hard contact aligners allowing better resolution and smaller features, but defects could be a problem. This transitioned into whole wafer projection aligners, where the masks didn't contact the wafer, and then to steppers, where fields containing a few were printed, then the wafer was moved, or "stepped" to print another field until the whole wafer was covered with die. (look on wikipedia for "photomask" for a longer explanation). The point is there is a long road of improving processes for printing smaller and smaller dimension structures to make the transistor over the last 50 to 60 years. This has seen roadblocks along the way where the questions has always been asked "is this the end?" - I can remember an article in the New Scientist asking this about 1 micron technology when I was around 6th form ±. Then some new development comes along, mainly smaller wavelength print, but sometimes process games. And this is just the print, then there is etching the materials, changing from wet etch to plasma etch, and material deposition...oxidation, CVD/LPCVD/ALD progression, evaporation/sputtering metallisation, different transistor structures etc. etc. It is never static. Anyway, just a flavour of what it has taken during the journey and how it builds on what went before.

[@LasseGreiner]

I chime in on the good educational video material. However, the manufacturing of silicone is much more elaborate than just melting sand. Sand is mainly SiO2 (more precisely, the sand used is chosen to be mainly that). This is then reduced and converted to give silicone rods which are non-transparent and not shown at all in the video. These rods are purified further by zone melting and then the wafers are sliced of. This oversight makes me wonder how accurate the descriptions are in the parts of the process I have no clue about....

[@poorchava]

Also, the method by which the ingot is created is very special. It's called Czochralski method and it gives a single monstrous monocrystal, rather than a random polycrystal.

[@silvercriss]

Why is the wafer a disk and not a square? a disk is much harder to portion :-w

[@azztopia]

i have existential crisis now .-.

[@luckgrip252]

A small little correction. Silicon* :) Silicone is used for construction purposes. 🙌

[@exazebra]

@@silvercriss I'm pretty sure the silicon crystals grow in a kind of cylindrical shape. So it's less wasteful to round it to a uniform shape, than to cut off much of the round cross section to make a square.

[@herobrine1530]

As a note there is a final process prior to assembly called metalization. This is where usually a source of pure %99.99 AL is deposited via atomization inside of a crucible which will coat the surface of said wafer, giving it a shiny sheen coat like a mirror. After which the wafer is etched with acid for a specific period of time to remove the correct amount of AL from the surface. After which then the wafer goes through another heat treatment process for future proofing. I know this all because just this last semester I had in college I actually made my own microchips in a lab.

[@-BuddyGuy]

Dude there are hundreds of processes he didn't mention

[@BT-ex7ko]

@@-BuddyGuy Yeah. I was actually pretty upset at this video, as it really downplays some of the insane tech, the ancient legacy tech, the hundreds of repeated steps, The varying processes, the insane amount some wafers can hold, and the lack of giving an idea of how long these take to make. One of the chips we made where I worked took 13 months to fabricate from start to finish. Maybe I'm just being pedantic, but given the massive shortage ongoing, it would've been nice to have a more detailed out on the process, so people know exactly *why* it's taking so long to sort that.

[@-BuddyGuy]

@@BT-ex7ko I work in the industry too. In fact it's so complex nobody really knows how the whole thing works. Everyone has their piece of it with the people looking at the overall process having a much higher level view. It also changes dramatically with each technology node

[@thecraggrat]

Actually only older/larger processes use aluminium as the conductor (>~180nm/0.18µm), below this current densities tend to require the use of copper plating metallisation to maintain reliability of the interconnects. Also evaporative metallisation hasn't been used since the late 70's on chips, sputtering is used for Al dep. Also the last layer is a passivation coat over the metal layers, either an oxide or nitride with a hole etched above the bond pads for connection to the package.

[@RealFunFuneral976]

I writing this message while inside the sub FAB of the new WOLFSPEED MVF in Marcy NY. Cheers.

[@yehiaelyamani6943]

I find it remarkable that computers are within affordable price ranges for ordinary people, given the complex, elaborate production processes involved

[@JeeTinator]

I’ve seen a microchip before when I pulled apart a really old ddr2 module. I loved the colors that thing emitted when you looked at it on certain angles.

[@jikjektv943]

Yes.. After assembly there is also called final test. Were as testing the chip from hot temp to called temp..

[@anonymous-sus406]

I got a bunch of silicon dies sitting in a jar that i took out of chips. Really cool

[@andrewgreen1232]

Worked at a machine shop we made fittings and tubes that flow the gases to do the etching in the microchips. They were polished to mirror finish on the inside so the gas atoms wouldn’t have a place to get trapped In the groves from machining processes. Also parts were packaged in a clean room. They had a wafer framed hanging on the wall assuming it was a scrap wafer.

[@thecraggrat]

Actually the polishing is to stop the generation of particulates in the gas lines. Particulates are the bugbear of semiconductor manufacture...

[@caeestevao]

The images a totally random. Why not draw schematics or simulations? This just seems like a guy reading an article in Google. Not youtube material

[@Elektrotechniker]

0:11 What the Heck did that guy do to this Mainboard?!

[@1pcfred]

Wires bad. Rip and tear!

[@Elektrotechniker]

@@1pcfred Look at the actual Board. It's all bent and messed up!

[@1pcfred]

@@Elektrotechniker yeah I don't think that one's getting fixed.

[@ovonic1mcfarlan640]

i worked with EUVL COATINGS FOR 20 YEARS. i developed a spinning device that runs in ultra high vacuum to spin 750 mm optics used in asml systems to make the smallest chips today. loved my work.

[@katakouzina]

👑👑👑

[@Bacano115]

you got a patent?

[@ovonic1mcfarlan640]

@@Bacano115 developed while working for thin film/ x-ray optic company so they own it but my name is on it.

[@springrollwang4441]

how dose it feel when the whole world is focusing on semi conductor shortage and realize how important it is?

[@thecraggrat]

Damn, you just made me stop and think how long the EUV steppers have been in development for. I'd also assumed that the coating would be deposited (like LPCVD or ALD) or sputtered onto the surface... What were you putting on that made you do spin coating? Was that with Carl Zeiss? From a very brief search it looks like the reflective elements for EUV are multilayer with cap to get them reflecting efficiently in the soft X-ray...

[@BullProspecting]

What is the black resin surrounding the BGA chip made of?

[@matthewwadwell6100]

I understood a little of the theory of how microchips were made. Even so, I barely understood what this video was talking about. I would NOT recommend this video to others, as if I (with my limited understanding) had trouble understanding it, I believe that a novice would find this video a waste of time.

[@fbiagentmiyakohoshino8223]

sounds like a you problem

[@matthewwadwell6100]

@@fbiagentmiyakohoshino8223 Possibly. But as I used to work in a company neutron doping silicon for the HV industry, I'm a little sceptical......

[@jonathanfulbright5217]

@@fbiagentmiyakohoshino8223 the narrator sounds like he's reading an article verbatim and the imagery on the video doesn't match what he is saying. He is just vomiting technical terms without defining them or explaining. This video is a waste of time because either you already know what he's talking about, or you don't, and won't even after watching this video.

[@crazybeast629]

@@jonathanfulbright5217 to me the funniest part is that he says that sand is the second Most popularly found element after oxygen because sand is not even an element

[@jamc666]

@@jonathanfulbright5217.. So true... I know just about the same about microchips now than 6 minutes ago. That was more or less a word salad to me.

[@RETROMachines]

My life is complete. I can die happy now.

[@ap8409]

I worked in a semiconductor fab in the late 90’s. I did parametric testing and also what was called back-grinding. Once the chip was done, the back was ground so the chip was a certain thickness.we worked with 6” silicon disks (wafers).

[@miguelmartinez-wo6jg]

Dope

[@ap8409]

@@miguelmartinez-wo6jg wow, brilliant post

[@BT-ex7ko]

Thats interesting! In the chips where I worked, we used the chemical etching tanks to thin them down. Probably was introduced as much cleaner way to thin them without possibly contaminating them.

[@ap8409]

@@BT-ex7ko backgrinding was very dirty but the chips were finished by then. We also coated them to protect them.

[@Masterj3712]

It does not matter Who makes the How it's Made, the info is crucial to us the viewers.😊

[@jamesfraser7483]

Great video. But the technology that is employed to project the image onto the silicone is far more impressive than any other part of the process. Speak to Zeiss in Germany. I've been there and the manufacturing and design of the projector lens set is astounding.

[@bluestar2253]

ASML + Zeiss = EUV da bomb!

[@Piddlefoots]

Not bad, lacks a little detail, but the channel looks new so a bit of time will likely improve the quality of content if you stick with it. The video is ok though, if you have some backround knowledge of whats being talked about you will probably not learn a huge amount, but the pictures are fascinating still.

[@MiniMii550]

Fun fact: they’re called microcrisps in the UK

[@thecraggrat]

Ho, Ho, Ho.... Mind you, I've always called them dice or die. 3" wafers were about the right size to be called a "microcrisp" ;-). Occasionally when a box was dropped, we either called them "dust" or "toast"

[@topdoted]

I use to work as a layout designer. It was the best job I ever had.

[@spammerscammer]

The old How it's Made was way better.

[@FuckMargaretThatchher]

Now are microchips Made? *shows pipes

[@tompower5666]

Sorry but for an average interested viewer this needs to be slower and more detailed in it's explanation. Virtually worthless for someone who has no technical knowledge. I stopped halfway through.

[@sinnyozzy]

I was just thinking the exact same thing. I'd have to pause it every 2 seconds to take any notes

[@devinstepp4205]

KZbin has a video speed adjustment. Just slow it down to .5 or .75

[@p.k.953]

Can anyone tell me what is the black material which is used to make microchips, ICs, general purpose components?

[@siriusgd4753]

I worked for Commodore Computers back in the '80s. I ran the Plasma Etcher.

[@clavo3352]

Lithography and photography are a part of the IC chip production process; is what I learned in 1981 in an electronics course I took. Of course there is also the chemistry as the introduction showed. it is an amazing technology which apparently we can only mostly use frivolously. I need a new lower back disc and it's impossible to get. This makes no sense.

[@es-yy2cm]

That is because people value profits rather than human life and wellbeing.

[@thecraggrat]

@@es-yy2cm No, it is because required foundational technology hasn't been invented yet...for example - new body parts, we are only now getting to the point where we will be able to print new body parts. Why? Because we needed to invent inkjet printers first, for which we needed micromachined print heads and IC's and computer control etc. to produce and run the printer, which means the whole semiconductor industry had to reach a certain point to be able to do this. From the basis of the inkjet printer, it then has to be extended into the 3rd dimension 3D print, coz after all body parts aren't flat. But then there is the whole body bit - life sciences needed to get to where we understand how the body works at the cellular level (DNA tech) so that we can make stem cells to make what we want, and these have to be able to be placed in a 3D matrix that can sustain them...Oh and we need to be able to image the parts we want so they fit the individual, so hello MRI & CAT scans. Without ALL of that you don't get to do the final, integrated, step. And hopefully this is not too far off being a common everyday thing, I could do with some nice new cartilage in my knees, rather than the slightly ropey stuff in there! Thinking of this, it will change things in many ways when it is available, for example the meniscus cartilage; when this wears it eventually leads to wear on the cartilage bearing surface of the knee, which then eventually leads to osteo arthritis, and eventually knee replacement surgery. Imagine if you can 3D print and replace the meniscus cartilage, then no osteo arthritis, and no knee replacement surgery from "worn out knees" Similarly for @clavo and his back.

[@NojRel]

The video doesn't match the words. There's no way any one listening will learn how micro chips are made

[@Paul-lm5gv]

I have a new appreciation for the word genius as whoever came up with this technology must have been a genius (or geniuses)! I am old enough to remember when transistor radios came out in the 50s and all of us kids were able to take our radio to school! No tubes and nothing to plug in!

[@charleslester5613]

I don't think this guy took a breath for the entire nine minutes. Periods and commas are used for a reason, people!

[@AAvfx]

I've really enjoyed your video. Thanks 👍👍👍

[@dovos8572]

i must say it sounds like a good researched video, but there are way too many details that get skipped or are sligtly wrong like the creating of silicon wavers. I'm not entirely sure about the other details but some seemed to not be researched longer than 15 min. it is astounding that you could say so much about the cleaness of the production room but not how the doping actually works and how it influences the silicon. (sure it isn't really needed in the topic but it shoud be correctly mentioned if the doping gets mentioned.) btw to all technologic fans that are eco freacs at the same time... silicon sand gets burned with tons of coal so that the SiO2 +C changes to SI+CO2 so that pure silicon remains. and if we are at it. Waver printing needs over a ton of water per hour printing. and that water is one of the purest H2O that we can create by using a lot of water from our fresh water supplies. another point that should have been in the video.

[@FlamSanagan]

If I ever get transported back in time, I'm going to have a blast explaining how these things are made

[@bryannotcliff]

i make microchips at my work, we do all these things essentially by hand. extrude the raw ceramic tape, laser-cut it, then fill/print/laminate layers (my job) in the clean room with conductive inks & pastes, then depending on the part we punch them all out individually or as a grouped wafer, then it gets fired into a solid piece. the process described in this video is way more automated than my experience; all of the machines we use are analog using dies, screens, & stencils (apart from the laser cnc). we also produce heat sinks, semiconductor circuits, transistors, diodes, pretty much anything that fuses silicon & metal

[@paulkazjack]

The machines build the chips but, who built the machines??

[@UhOhUmm]

There is a guy on youtube making older process microchips in his garage.

[@pow9606]

Some people using those chips. 😅

[@johnuferbach9166]

people with older machines...

[@ISCARI0T]

Now tell it in your own words

[@StarrDust0]

We humans have come up with amazing inventions, but imo nothing beats microchips. To think a few thousand years ago we were digging up copper with our bare hands to make tools...look at us now. As a kid I used to fiddle with electronics, but never understood the principles behind it...but after researching it, I realized it's all built on very simple ideas, there were some major leaps of logic that took place to get us here. Also without the drive for profit/capitalism, I don't think it would've advanced as fast as they have. Now we need to get ourselves to the next level and become a space-faring species.

[@iain4194]

It would help if you actually explained all this technical jargon instead of reciting it all from a wikipedia article. The only thing I learned here is that its impossible to teach something if you don't understand it yourself.

[@n3ttx580]

Talk a bit slower. It might seem all perfectly understandeable and whatever for you, but not everyone is technically competent and know every aspect or word, so they need some time to process it. Other than that, pretty good job there!

[@youneverknow111]

and english istn everyones first language,it help when they talk little slower

[@gupklar4815]

WAIT!..... you steal clips from youtube, put your logo on it and sell it as yours......great work!

[@1Tomrider]

As amazing as this is, think of the amazing thought processes that went on leading up to them!

[@user-or1lu3ku3m]

Where's the music, the rotating table with a chip on it, most importantly WHERE ARE THE PUNS?!?!

[@uhadme]

"microchips are everywhere" That is your opening? Your audience must be kindergarten students. THANKS, no thanks

[@planenerd9079]

Only 3 minutes in, and I'm not impressed with how the information was presented. It seems like it's the result of an assignment who's requirements were to make an instructional video that's at least 5 minutes long. There's a lot of words and phrases that are just shotgunned in the video without any demonstration or picture. You need to take time to at least show a picture of what "doping" is or explain what "P and N" type sides are. Also, an irrelevant nitpick: sand is not an element.

[@readman010]

Wait, this isn't the real How It's Made... IMPOSTER!

[@creagandubh4411]

I liked the SMT and TH / multiple footprint graphic and the P and N channel transistor explanation.

[@Xirru]

Thank you for sharing this amazing micro crisps recipe

[@christophercain7343]

This video is mostly inaccurate, and seems low effort and rushed. I work as a preventative maintenance technician for a microchip making company, and you didn’t even touch on thin films, didn’t explain CMP, Barely touched on the implanted machines, barely talked about etch, etc. there’s a lot of interesting stuff you missed

[@1953Johnnyp]

Always remember, making silicon wafers is FM. FM = F'in Magic!

[@drummergirl4239]

“This is how microchips are made!” *shows a microprocessor

[@herbhunter5520]

Keep going. You've got what it takes!👍

[@dhirendrapsingh6758]

Informative. Useful. Calming. Inspiring. Life-changing. Enjoyable. Heart-warming. Other.

[@MaxDev]

how is this "Life-changing"

[@pyrogonn9597]

@@MaxDev its probaly from these youtube surveys asking if the video was good and he just clicked it all

[@simonerachele6231]

@@pyrogonn9597 what ? so if you do answer, a comment like this one will be posted automatically?

[@TheFalconJetDriver]

In 1983-4 I installed Ion beam implantors. This what doped the silicon wafer! To create the covalent bond to conduct electricity. If one had clue about this process you would understand that so much is left out of this video. Gallium airside and Boron were used to dope I e wafers as well.

[@AbuGuroza]

i read in encyclopedia 2 decades ago and still not get it or believe it thanks for video, now my curiousity from my teenage is fullfilled

[@crackwitz]

5:50 "this changes the *conductivity* [by] fractions of a *micrometer*" conductivity isn't measured in length/thickness. poor quality video.

[@kwisclubta7175]

0:48 "silicon is the digital gold in the technology industry..." Um, what??? Silicon is a physical element; it's not digital at all! I know you think it sounds good, but it needs to also make sense. Edit: 1:01 Oh lord, I'm barely one minute into this thing and already I've heard more nonsense than I can handle! Sand is an element now??? And the "second most popularly" found element, at that!! 🤣😂🤣🤡🤡🤡 Seriously, WTF 🤦

[@lowlight1063]

so sad your comment is not at all popular in this section.

[@kwisclubta7175]

@@lowlight1063 LOL Ok, literally NO ONE'S comment is popular here because this video is not popular, and rightly so.

[@vibaj16]

obviously he meant silicon is an element, not the sand

[@kwisclubta7175]

@@vibaj16 Sorry, I thought it was obvious that I was criticizing the structure of the sentence, "silicon is made from sand, which is the second-most popularly found element..." If I say, "my hair is full of gel, which is making my hands sticky when I touch it," I am referring to the gel making my hands sticky, not my actual hair. If I say, "my hair is full of gel, which is long and beautiful," that is a grammatical nightmare of a sentence. It's called a "dangling participle."

[@robfriedrich2822]

It started in the 1960's. First application in consumer market were Stereo decoders for radio. With traditional parts they would need induction coils. Later these chips made electronic musical instruments smaller and cheaper, without these, a CD player would haven't been possible in consumer size.

[@mcoffroadinaz4075]

In 2022, this video's content on how the circuitry is made, is at least 5 generations old... and it's still very complex and modern looking. The geometry of the chips circuitry is so much smaller now too. Think original I-phone versus a 2022 model, or maybe think of a 80's 386i Computer versus a 2022 version. Or a 1990 camaro versus a 2022 corvette. The secrecy and competitive nature of this industry rivals anything you could imagine in the world. It's astounding how far the industry has changed since I first witnessed it 30 years ago. A human hair is approx 100microns in diameter. These bleeding edge companies are ramping 0.10 to 0.05 micro (or smaller) technology on a production level environment these days. It's astounding!

[@Fluffycakes84]

I'm a layout designer and the smallest I have worked in is the 22nm process which isn't the smallest and our wires are .06 microns. I draw it and it still blows my mind.

[@mcoffroadinaz4075]

@@Fluffycakes84 I misspoke micro's instead of nm. You nailed it with nm process. It's a crazy world inside the fabs.

[@Fluffycakes84]

@@mcoffroadinaz4075 I dont know what makes it a certain nm process honestly. It is what it is to me lol. I just know the bigger the number the older and bigger the devices. 22nm to 500nm is the range I've worked. The rules and how you draw them are night and day. My current project is in 180nm and the ENTIRE chip is 1mm x 2mm. Lol

[@45035]

Way above my pay grade. Outstanding shipmate. Press on. USS Kitty Hawk CV-63. Jan 1980 to July 1983.

[@OdysseyOfOrion]

When you are trying to hit your word quota on your essay

[@johnbrady3279]

I worked in several different clean rooms doing lpcvd and diffusion process

[@jhincauser4269]

ok now i learn how to make my own microchip

[@wintlock]

The information is good but the video is hard to follow with how fast the voiceover is The speed wouldn't be as much of an issue if there were some diagram to better show what you're explaining or any correlation at all between the image on screen and the words in the script It feels like I turned on text to speech while looking at Wikipedia

[@MichaelOfRohan]

Point blank mind blowing

[@anirudhapandey1234]

I am an VLSI engineer... I am part of step 1(designing) :D

[@springrollwang4441]

That's nice part, you don't need to wear clean suit and hold your bladder.

[@anirudhapandey1234]

@@springrollwang4441 sorry to hear the situation at Fabs 🤕

[@KyudoKun]

I don't understand anything but I still watched the whole video out of curiosity

[@danielxmiller]

I feel like 90% of the video references were from a video bank where he searched for words in his script at an attempt to match it. Became extremely confusing and isn't something you would do for a "how it's made" process.

[@ap8409]

Use to crack me up the things engineers sneak into the chips. Under the microscope you’d see little images or sayings. One I remember had “I’m a lumberjack and I’m ok”. Another had a cactus image. I remember seeing a Snoopy in one.

[@thecraggrat]

That would be the mask layout guys - not sure how much it happens now, but time was that in an "unused" area on the device the layout guys would produce a picture that they had separated different elements onto different masking layers, so you couldn't see the whole thing until the wafer had been through the whole process. Sometimes quite "extraordinary" things would get through as the layout was rarely looked at with all the layers overlaid.

[@spoonikle]

We dont use sand for semi-conductors. We mine high quality ores containing silicon instead of sand or other rocks. The energy cost of making high purity silicon from sand would more than quadruple the price of a wafer. metallurgical grade gravel, is already nearly 95% silicon and found in “rare”deposits. At least - rarer than sand. This means, habitat destruction to mine it where it is because we don’t have the luxury of choice

[@dwalton93]

Who makes the machines that make micro chips? These machines come from another galaxy.

[@victorbaker7957]

I know you are trying to cover a lot of complex process concepts in this video. but... its totally incomprehensible. I watched until the end and I have no idea what i watched LOLS

[@tariqzafarkhan]

a vast variety of technical approaches and they seems very useful but have a conflicts on there compatibility & galvanize the stimulations.

[@krissmith2396]

the fact that people were able to create this from scratch at one point, is mind blowing in itself. This tech is pretty old by now, it makes you wonder where we are at right now in tech advancement and how far behind the world is compared to what they have locked up because people that are dumb like me, aren't ready.

[@Hammerthumb1]

Looks like a 20-30 year old fab, but some of those still running. Probably a 436 nm G-line stepper. Currently 248 & 193 nm DUV scanners are mostly used. For cutting edge product(like Apple M1 & M2) EUV 13.5 nm light is used to expose. Also more automation and overhead transport systems deliver the wafer FOUP's to the machines.

[@BT-ex7ko]

I actually had the opportunity to work in a fab that was apparently the longest operating (the place apparently made tubes before that). We had 40 year old systems still, so to my knowledge, we did produce some legacy chips that were still needed due to the equipment we had available. It was wild seeing machines operating off of 1970's terminal computers, situated right next to a 2018, 20-million-dollar atomic force microscope.

[@gregornu]

@@BT-ex7ko Have you seen this video? kzbin.info/www/bejne/rqabd5xmqahsf6M

[@Rydurr]

Are these microchips for filling, or rinsing machines?

[@al-ayoungentstailorfasalia651]

زبردست

[@konozrashid887]

Please also make a video on how silicon is doped with other elements in detail.

[@genebronx5715]

This is alien 👽 tech slowly integrating 😳 we made a deal…

[@HongoSanti2]

Excellent explained

[@ccrecordings]

So you're telling me? My cpu is made of sand? Neat

[@Ekuy1]

mhm ah yes sand, the element

[@orclord5719]

Now we all can start our own set up and help bring chips back.