Why are silicon wafers round if chips are rectangular?

[Hulk]

Just curious.

 

[firewolfsm]

Me too

 

[mruffin75]

I'm assuming it's because it's easier to make something perfectly flat if it's circular? It'd be harder to make something that perfect as a square (sure you could cut the edges off, but in reality..it was circular to begin with)..

 

[AmberClad]

I asked this yesterday in HT...

 

[hans007]

i think its because its like making pepperoni , its like a big log because of how crystals grow.

i mean if you took the log and made it into a square first, then you'd have all these left over bits, so it'd be even more wasteful. its not like you can melt all those back together into more crystal.

 

[JustaGeek]

And my little "theory" tells me that it is just easier to properly mix it and blend it in the round "pot", or crucible.

That's why all the pots and pans, and coffee mugs or drink glasses are round.

Easy to mix using the circular motion.

 

[Jeff7181]

They're spun, aren't they? Like the mirrors used in large telescopes.

 

[ChronoReverse]

Think of a hand-made candle. You dip and dip to "grow" the candle. In a somewhat similar manner, silicon is grown into a cylinder that's then sawed into the circular wafers.

 

[Duwelon]

Along similar lines, someone explain in caveman layman's terms how the chip die's themselves get made. I mean, what can possibly create and organize billions of tiny objects on a square inch. Lasers? Really tiny green men with even smaller tools?

 

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: Duwelon
Along similar lines, someone explain in caveman layman's terms how the chip die's themselves get made. I mean, what can possibly create and organize billions of tiny objects on a square inch. Lasers? Really tiny green men with even smaller tools?

Lemmings.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

Interesting subject. I'd love to learn more about this, too.

 

[Fike]

A good place to start would be photolithography. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photolithography . It is a lot like a photographic printing process with dozens of layers stacked on top of the other. Instead of a traditional printing 'negative' they use reticles that cost millions of dollars for each chip.

 

[bryanW1995]

Originally posted by: Jeff7181

Originally posted by: Duwelon
Along similar lines, someone explain in caveman layman's terms how the chip die's themselves get made. I mean, what can possibly create and organize billions of tiny objects on a square inch. Lasers? Really tiny green men with even smaller tools?

Lemmings.

chupacbras.

http://www.cuerochupacabra.com/

don't laugh, I ride my bike to that town sometimes. I'm going to start carrying a gun...

 

[dantonic]

It's a Dog

 

[Jeff7181]

Chupacbras must be Spanish for "rotting dog."

 

[Astrof]

cabra means goat......

chubacabra means goat sucker.........


wow......

 

[pm]

How chips are made - as described by Sematech - warning, site didn't work on Firefox for me. I had to switch to IE.

http://www.sematech.org/corpor...c/mfgproc.htm#steps1_2

But despite the fact that I had to change from my favorite browser, they did a very nice job explaining the process, I thought.

 

[Amaroque]

Thanks Patrick.