chipmaking
Semiconductor production process
Chipmaking is the process of manufacturing semiconductor chips—the tiny integrated circuits that power computers, phones, and countless electronic devices.
The industry requires extraordinarily precise fabrication facilities and has become geopolitically significant as nations compete for chipmaking capacity: Taiwan dominates global chipmaking.
Metal casting facility
- lithographyGrease-based flat plate printing
- waferThin crisp disk
- etchingAcid-incised metal print
- photomaskPatterned plate for chip fabrication
cleanroom · deposition · sputtering · plasma · metallization · stepper · dielectric · yield
Thin crisp disk
- ingotCast metal block
- crystalOrdered-atom solid
- purityUncontaminated quality
- monocrystallineHaving unbroken crystal lattice
polysilicon · slicing · kerf · boule · annealing · silane · germanium · substrate
foundry
Metal casting facility
- lithographyGrease-based flat plate printing
- waferThin crisp disk
- etchingAcid-incised metal print
photomask · cleanroom · deposition · sputtering · plasma · metallization · stepper · dielectric · yield · front-end
wafer
Thin crisp disk
monocrystalline · polysilicon · slicing · kerf · boule · annealing · silane · germanium · substrate
transistor
Semiconductor signal switch
- resistorCurrent-limiting circuit element
- capacitorCharge-storing circuit element
- microprocessorCompact computing circuit
trace · routing · schematic · layout · node · amplifier · interconnect · via · flip-flop · register
nanometer
Metric unit, billion-fold smaller
chipmakingsoftware development
Creating computer programs
programming · coding · software engineering · application development · app development
chipmakingelectronics recycling
Processing discarded devices sustainably
chipmakinghandicraft
Manual skill or product
cottage industry · traditional craftsmanship · blacksmithing · woodworking · manual labor
chip, chips, chipped, chipping, chipper, make, makes, making, maker