How are electronic chips designed?

Question

They look so complicated. How are people able to create a device that does what they want them to do with a green computer chip?

Answer 1

These are multi layer devices made on a microscopic scale, in the past, to make it possible the designs were made on large sheets of paper, photographed and reduced. Today the process will be done on CAD programs using libraries of sub circuits that are assembled in a building block fashion to make the finished article. Any small alterations will be made before final manufacture takes place.

Answer 2

green? That's likely the "solder mask" on a Printed Circuit Board.



Chips are about 1/4" of an inch square, and enclosed in black plastic, or ceramic material, and have 8 to 400 little metal legs or "leads". These get soldered onto a circuit board.



How are integrated circuit chips designed?



Some software, like this: http://www.staticfreesoft.com/

is used to draw regions of P or N type material, which form transistors and other microscopic components. These are then transferred to a wafer of silicon, and using a photo-lithography process (if I remember correctly), carefully controlled impurities are added to the silicon, to make the circuit chip.



How are PCBs designed? The designer draws or "captures" a schematic of not-so-microscopic transistors, resistors, capacitors, etc.



The schematic indicates where the signals will flow. This gets rearranged into a "board layout", which indicates physical placement of the parts, These often have leads or legs spaced on a 1/10 inch grid.



Once the board 'artwork' is done, it can then be transferred to a copper covered fibreglass board. For hobby or small prototypes, the board has a photosensitive "resist" overtop, and the artwork is printed on a tranparent sheet with a laser printer.



The board is exposed to ultraviolet light, which softens the resist where ever the laserjet ink is missing.



The soft resist is "developed" and rinsed away.



The hard resist protects the copper from "etchant", a chemical that eats away the unprotected copper.



Then, green "solder mask" is applied, to prevent solder from sticking in the wrong spots.



A final white layer of text might be added, to guide someone when placing parts.



Holes are drilled, parts are soldered into the holes, and then the board is tested, mounted, and ready for use.



A diploma in electronics technology from a community college is sufficient for etching boards.



A degree in electrical engineering from a university will introduce you to chip design.



If you pursue a masters degree in micro-electronics, you are likely to experience the option to design a chip, send the design for production, and have a microchip sent back for your thesis.





form a "trace" or wire, and it is exposed to

Answer 3

there a lot of electronics companies that work on that, its not easy at all , and most of chips and boards is made by machines , because of that the chips is so detailed and so slim nowadays.