Essential Guide to Semiconductors, The

Developing Technology: Chips and Photography

If you're an amateur photographer, you'll already understand most of what's involved in making silicon chips. The technique is amazingly similar to the process of developing prints from film negatives. In both cases you start with a sharp negative image on film, which is then projected onto light-sensitive paper resting in a bath of special chemicals. You control exposure, light, and the chemicals to produce just the image and effects you want. You can also enlarge or reduce the image, if desired. Once you've made the first print, it's relatively easy to produce several more just like it.

If you substitute silicon for paper, you've got a pretty accurate description of how chips are made, too. It's ...