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This is so cool! Questions for engineers: How much work would it take to go from this process to producing a working chip in his garage, like a 6502 or somethi
by chongli 7y ago
This is so cool! Questions for engineers:
How much work would it take to go from this process to producing a working chip in his garage, like a 6502 or something? Would it be at all feasible? He did point out a ton of defects in the final product, probably due to dust or scratches in his equipment/materials. Would it be possible to clean this up enough to get 1-2 usable chips from a single sheet of 4x5 film? Without turning his garage into a clean room?
- bane 7y agoI can't answer most of this since I don't know, but the first 6502 was fabricated at 8 microns. I wonder if a chip made at 15-20 microns would work just as well?
- korethr 7y agoI don't see why not it wouldn't work, assuming you got the process right and produced them in a clean enough environment. Yields would probably be lower than that of a professional foundary during the 60s or 70s that was processing at the same feature size. Performance of your DIY 6502 would probably be lower as well -- requiring more power and producing more waste heat to run at a lower clock rate than that of an original. So would it work? Possibly. Work as well? Less likely. All IMO, of course.
- Cerium 7y agoHere is a blog on home IC production: http://sam.zeloof.xyz/first-ic/ http://sam.zeloof.xyz/first-ic/ Having done some work in a university lab, I have no desire to be involved in silicon work in a home environment. It requires dangerous chemicals, and lots of equipment and dedication. A short list of what I remember: - Spin coater - Some solution of exposure of masks - Various chemical baths (HH, piranha, etc) in a dedicated area. - Inspection microscope - Tube oven - Vapor deposition - A way to measure film thickness
- chongli 7y agoI wonder if at some point we'll develop new materials and techniques that make it easier to do this, with safer chemicals and less equipment. It may seem far-fetched but you never know. When I was a kid I would've thought it pretty far-fetched that people could 3D print ventilator valves at home that are actually saving lives during a pandemic.
- bkraz 7y agoSam Zeloof (also on YouTube) has already done it! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7E8-0Ou69hwScPW1_fQApA https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7E8-0Ou69hwScPW1_fQApA Check out all of his amazing work.