This 22-year-old builds chips in his parents\u2019 garage

I assume it was the writer who mucked up the part about, "a form of crystalline silicon known as polysilicon". Polysilicon is the opposite of crystalline silicon, hence the "poly".

On a sunny day (Sat, 22 Jan 2022 10:08:49 -0800 (PST)) it happened Rick C snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote in snipped-for-privacy@googlegroups.com:

Quite possible, I do not know enough about that to make a judgement I like his projector into a microscope idea. Been thinking about using a DLP projector to project a pattern on photo-PCbs, people have done that,

There also is this guy who inspired me to buy the super cooler, he build, among other things, his own electron microscope.

Only claims 100 on a chip, but the metallization doesn't connect to that many; I'm not sure how complex the circuitry can be, but it looks like a rather simpler circuit, like a differential pair and some current mirrors. It could hold an op amp, that uses external bias resistors (don't see any sign of FET or CMOS or both NPN and PNP transistor types).

His basic idea, it seems, is that small-scale production is possible and instructive. Imagine a six-man shop that can produce integrated devices with quick turnaround. Would that be a useful addition to a maze of megacorporations with ever-changing off-the-shelf designs, big plants, and long turnaround, but cryptic spec sheets and big foundry toolchain complexities (and surcharges)?

For prototypes, heck yes. Bill Sloman can sell 'em some e-beam litho tools.

Would be awesome if we could have chips made to order the way we have PCB-s nowadays... Bill said the litho tool got lost but well, some knowledge on how it was made must have remained.

PCBs use a lot of inkjet printing nowadays. I'd expect that a crude IC process could be developed around inkjet.

Well I mean top or nearly top technology PCB-s, like 4 mil multiple layers 0.1mm drills, I suppose the equivalent of that today for silicon would be within the tens of nm. One would not be held hostage by the whims of some marketeers deciding which processor is to have a future...

I have not been making crude PCB-s since my 20-s, back then I did some using permanent markers etc. Helped learning the trade I suppose.

I think that some of the earliest ICs were patterned with silk screens. So were PCBs.

I remember the day when they took a photograph of what the PCB would be and then used the film like they now do after photoplotting (well, the mechanical photoplotters of some 30 years ago are gone I suppose, the Gerber format meant for them is pretty much alive though (back then I could implement it but I had no data about the excellon format for the drilling machines; I got hold of a punched tape and snooped it from it.. :-). Before that my first CPU board (early 80-s, I was in my late 20-s, came later to the party) was photographed on that whole-room camera, no plots yet. It took me months to "draw" it (actually I used thin red scotch tapes and stuck them on a plastic transparent millimeter "paper"). I was working as a turner back then, was convenient for cutting the scotch tapes to say 1mm or may be I went below that (scale for photo was 2:1), can't remember. Here is what remains of that first CPU board of mine, must be still somewhere around:

It's not amorphous (which is a true opposite solid state to crystaline) It's polycrystaline. So it's still crystalised silicon. It's significantly cheaper than monocrystaline silicon.

On a sunny day (Sat, 22 Jan 2022 12:06:14 -0800 (PST)) it happened whit3rd snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote in snipped-for-privacy@googlegroups.com:

<quote>

Then his homemade photolithography machine beamed on his design: a grid of 12 circuits, each with 100 transistors (and a dancing bear), 1,200 transistors in all. <end quote>

so 100 per circuit, 12 circuits on a 'wafer' ?

but the metallization doesn't connect to that many; I'm not sure how complex

He is now 22, wait a few more years what else he comes up with. And then China gets into it Maybe your own chip-making machine on ebay for $999.99 ..... :-)

On a sunny day (Sun, 23 Jan 2022 01:06:30 +0200) it happened Dimiter_Popoff snipped-for-privacy@tgi-sci.com wrote in <ssi2lo$r14$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me:

This was much faster, one day torn around:

all done in the evenings and weekends in the eighties.

concepts use peeseebee why !

My first graphics card for this system was made using the same wiring technology only I had got hold of some teflon wire, 0.5 or 0.7mm external diameter and the wiring was on the bottom side. Teflon made it much easier, no burnt insulation while the soldering tip could just go anywhere. Was a proud 320x240 pixels, 2 bits per pixel - on a mono screen it was just enough to write my first graphics editor and use it to design the next CPU board which got already photoplotted (it was still a 6809 one though). I think on that graphics card I had even put a pallete RAM in the form of a 74170.... Two bits in, was it 4 bits out, I don't remember.

On a sunny day (Sun, 23 Jan 2022 14:01:40 +0200) it happened Dimiter_Popoff snipped-for-privacy@tgi-sci.com wrote in <ssjg37$amt$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me:

stripped flatcable still works for me to this day, about 1 GHz board:

you look close on the right you see the RF part is not with flat cable note all the SMDs on the big chip adaptor. needs peeseebees ;-)

Very impressive !

At 22 years old, how does he pay for all that nice stuff he's got ? The HP gear and microscope, etc ?

Somehow I don't think he has to have a day job unless he just does this in his spare time.

boB

Not any longer. I only worked for Cambridge Instruments from 1983 to 1991. When I last saw an electron beam microfabricator it was at the University of New South Wales (being used by their quantum computer team) and it was a Raith machine.

Whose electron microscope column or column they actually use isn't spelled out on the website.

The machines that Cambridge Instruments sold went for about a million dollars each back then. It's not a high volume product, and it does require a lot of precision engineering, so the price won't have gone down all that much. Not really startup in a garage material. Class 10 clean areas aren't cheap either.

Very cool! In California, he would likely be jailed for having "gasp!" chemicals in his garage! Certainly must be making bombs...

He is a CMU student. Knowing first hand the amount of work that gets thrown at ECE students, I am surprised he has a lot of time to devote to his hobby. Yea, I wonder about the $s as well. J

On a sunny day (Mon, 24 Jan 2022 11:02:11 -0800) it happened wmartin snipped-for-privacy@wwmartin.net wrote in <ssmt3l$3g8$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me:

Yes this is a common problem with society these days, even kitchen knives are forbidden? It will all change after the next nu-culear war and making sausages on the hot plutonium.

A rich parent who is with it will be far happier seeing his money go into scopes and electronics vs drugs and rehab. A stint in rehab for kids of wealthy parents will cost more than his lab setup