[clug] DIY chips. Yes, that's a Silicon Fab in his garage.

[steve jenkin]

This guy, Sam, built his first 6-transistor device in 2018, when he was 18, in last year of high-school.

He’s in 4th year Uni and has now built a working 100-transistor device.

He’s bought & repaired old test equipment and made his own equipment.
Doesn’t bother with a clean-room - all done on ’the workbench’.

Isn’t a production line, very definitely a hobby or “technology demonstration” - but proves that DIY _are_ possible.
He’s obviously thought about what goes into the chips and what they can be used for, before doing the design.

Kinda comparable with Fairchild circa 1960, but he can buy lots of the high purity things he needs, including 200mm wafers.

Props to Sam for doing what was thought impossible.

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"Z2" - Upgraded Homemade Silicon Chips
	05:45 min
	overview of process & equipment
	<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IS5ycm7VfXg>

Homemade 1000+ transistor array chip 
	[ 100 tx / chip, 12x chips per mini-wafer ]
	<http://sam.zeloof.xyz/second-ic/>

New homemade silicon chip - array of 100 transistors
	[ thread, a few more photos/comments ]
	<https://twitter.com/szeloof/status/1426320030292189186>

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WIRED article - paywalled, open in a private browser window

This 22-Year-Old Builds Chips in His Parents’ Garage
	Sam Zeloof combines 1970s-era machines with homemade designs. His creations show what’s possible for small-scale silicon tinkerers.
	<https://www.wired.com/story/22-year-old-builds-chips-parents-garage>

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--
Steve Jenkin, IT Systems and Design 
0412 786 915 (+61 412 786 915)
PO Box 38, Kippax ACT 2615, AUSTRALIA

mailto:sjenkin at canb.auug.org.au http://members.tip.net.au/~sjenkin