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Good question. I don't know but I know from another effort that was at Sun way back in the day it is really difficult to create curvature in a system that wants
by ChuckMcM 6y ago
Good question. I don't know but I know from another effort that was at Sun way back in the day it is really difficult to create curvature in a system that wants flat optical masks and flat processing.
There are at least two challenges, one is curve itself, and the other is laying out the sensor to be linear across the curved surface. I'm wondering if they are going to do a Hot Chips presentation, that has been where most of the coolest advances in chip making have been detailed.
A friend speculated they might be doing a mems sort of thing where they make a 'thick' chip and then etch down to the layers of sensors, perhaps polishing, as a glass lens might be made, but for me that seems like it would be too risky. Thinning and bending is a possibility of course you need to account for the final topology in your layout.
Definitely a fun puzzle to speculate about.
- m463 6y agoAlthough wafers seem easy to make flat, I wonder if lithography itself might work better on a curved target.
- bhouston 6y agothere are lenses in the lens assembly that flattens the image. Thus if you wanted to make curved wafers you could remove these. But then the curve would be across the water itself and maybe not what you want on the individual chip level.