TRYEngineering 2024 - 7

FABRICATION MISSION:
Clean Lab
Take on the role of semiconductor
engineers working in a foundry, or " Fab "
(short for Fabrication Facilities), where
you make microchips in a clean lab.
Explore how a chip is made by making
your own model with Play-Doh!
How are Chips Made?
What is a clean lab? In a clean lab, everything is ultra-clean. Why? Because even
a speck of dust can mess up the chips! That speck of dust can interfere with the
conductive network on a chip. Semiconductor engineers wear special suits (also
called bunny suits since they are often all white, like a bunny rabbit!) and work in a
room with air that is filtered to remove even the tiniest dust particles. It's a high-tech
space where cleanliness is king!
While we don't have a clean room here, we can learn what happens in 'fab' by using
a few fun materials like Play-Doh-with some real semiconductors mixed in-to
stand in for our silicon, masks, and tools in the real fab.
MATERIALS NEEDED
* Play-Doh
* Sandwich Bag
* Index Card
* Pencil
* Scissor
* Cup
* Tweezers
* Batteries and Battery
holder (4AA batteries)
* LEDs (5mm) - with
legs trimmed shorter
STEP 2
STEP 1
Wafer
Silicon is mined and then
made into an ingot. The ingot
is sliced into thin " wafers. "
MAKE: Begin with one
layer of Play-Doh as
the wafer.
Clean & Polish
The wafer is cleaned
and polished.
MAKE: Cut a sandwich bag to
match the size of your wafer.
Cover your wafer with it
to demonstrate the cleaning
and polishing process.
TRYEngineering 2024

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