Microchip: Nothing is difficult to understand

Why are microchips difficult to produce and need to produce in a clean environment? How big is its impact on human life today? . The simple explanation of an electronic engineer below will give you a more specific picture of these tiny chips. .

A computer memory IC taken via electron microscopy, then digitally colored (Photo: Nytimes)

Microchips, or integrated circuits, or ICs, are circuits containing transistor components that are connected in sizes ranging from a few millimeters to several microphones.

Microchip size is getting smaller, which means that the distance between semiconductor components is getting shorter. This also means that the process of communication between semiconductor components will be faster, leading to increased processing speed of the IC.

So what materials are made of materials and how are they made?

From a thin silicon substrate, people 'implanted' on different materials to create microchips with different properties. Such materials are usually alloys such as GaSb, GaAs, GaP . Depending on the application environment of microchip and selecting implant materials, of course the cost will be very different.

Thin silicon plates have been implanted with materials called wafer.

The wafer has an average size of 25.4mm (1 inch) - 200mm (7.9 inches). With the development of microchip technology today, the world famous chip manufacturers such as Intel, TSMC or Samsung have raised the size of wafer to 300mm (12 inches), even to 450mm (18 inches). ). The increased wafer size has made the cost of an IC very cheap. Thus, in the production process, if a larger wafer is produced, the production cost will be reduced (due to the saving of production materials).

How many types of ICs?

Illustration for 1 wafer.On a wafer contains a very large number of circuits.

When it comes to microchips (also called chips), people often refer to 8-bit, 16-bit, 32-bit chips and nowadays reach 64 bits.

It is possible to imagine a bit as a lane. So, if an 8-bit chip compares with a 32-bit chip, which chip will read and write data faster? Certainly, the bit has more lanes! Depending on the type of device, different chips will be applied. But now, usually 32 bits and 16 bits.

Particularly, 8 bits are still used in devices that do not require fast processing speed. Currently, some Vietnamese universities still use 8-bit chips to teach (because this is the foundation for higher technology).

The 64-bit chip is still in development. The problem that scientists face today is the phenomenon of heat generation (warming) when upgrading chips to 64-bit technology. Like when many lanes run too much, it will make the surrounding atmosphere heat up, but when it gets hot, people often get angry . very angry!

Why is it difficult to say IC production?

Rambus test chip (source: Rambus Inc.)

In computing language, there are only two values: 0 or 1, but when operating in practice (physical characteristics of materials), the problem of headache for microchip developers is the calculation of parameters such as : setting time (set up), maintenance (hold) . of devices.

The problem here is how to make microchips smaller and smaller, but the "open - close" time of semiconductor devices is getting faster and faster.

Just like when putting a dish in your mouth, to convert food into energy for your body, it takes a certain amount of time, how can this time be shortened but it can still be absorbed well, So the calculation of the parameters of the materials is very complicated, and requires the support of advanced equipment and specialized software (very expensive).

Microchip production is so difficult.

Why does chip / IC production need a clean environment?

When producing a device, one must provide the consumer with a copy of the technical information (datasheet) of the device. In that datasheet, it is required to provide users with basic parameters: voltage, amperage, set up time, hold . To get that parameter, in the chip manufacturing process, people The concentration of dust in the production environment must be controlled (how many dust particles and other impurities are there around the chip / device?). So you will see that chip production needs to be in a clean environment.

Photos in the laboratory of microchip manufacturing: Clean room view.(Photo: nhatban.net)

Thanks to the control of surrounding impurity components, manufacturers can accurately calculate the IC parameters.

It can be affirmed that microchip is changing the life around. You can imagine, a few years ago, the Nokia phone was very big and bulky, but today, with the development of microchip technology, people have made it smaller and bring more applications. more powerful (can update weather information, discount stores, listen to the most hit songs .) for human life. That's because microchip size is getting smaller.

Or if 10 years ago, Intel's P4 (CPU) processors were very expensive, now it has become very cheap and popular (even obsolete) after the arrival of Duo. Core. That's because microchip size is getting smaller.

If the last century, the concept of "online meetings, online offices, smart houses" is still quite strange, it has become popular today thanks to the development of the power of microchips. Right at the office, you can see what your pet dog is doing, you can check if you have locked the door not on the morning to rush out of the house .