The lady bug and the microchip

Summary : This is a children's story about Little Lil the ladybug and her journey across a silicon wafer and down into a semiconductor integrated circuit. It was created to help kids get a visual sense out of what micrometers and nanometers are compared to the things they encounter everyday. The story is a series of images that zooms down on a ladybug crawling on a silicon wafer. The images were donated by Jim Bowen and the story written by Jan and Dan Hutcheson.

How a semiconductor waf ...

It Really Does Start With Sand . . . This series of images show how silicon wafers are made from sand, purifying the silicon and then growing single crystal ingots that look like huge sausages. ... See more

Bunny Suit History in S ...

24 May 2018

In 1968, standard clean room practices were lax. Facilities were kept reasonably clean, but employees wore their own clothes and the environment was not sterile. An early technician remembered “a couple of pe ... See more

Bill Tobey on Bringing ...

06 Dec 2006

Bill Tobey interview on his conceptualizing the wafer stepper in the late 1970s ... See more

Yan Borodovsky: Breakin ...

13 Sep 2007

Ever wonder how innovation really happens? Think it's someone sitting back and dreaming up an idea? In this video, Yan Borodovsky, describes how it starts with a nuisance that grows until you do something about ... See more

Minds & Machines: Do Yo ...

Making chips is about driving machines better than a Formula 1 to their limit. ... See more

Math, Science, & Your F ...

27 Apr 2006

Sound Boring? Hear how very successful people have used Math & Science to make their lives wild, fun, and challenging. Just in case those dreams of being a rock star or sports star don't pan out . . . watch thi ... See more

KULICKE & SOFFA: WIRE B ...

15 Jun 2006

Ever wonder how the nanochips you see in pictures wind up covered in plastic on a printed circuit board and how they connect nanometer scale lines to the big wires in the electronics you buy? ... See more