Silicon Wafer - Transistor - 2 Inch, PNP, Planar Transistor

About this Artwork:

The background image of this artwork is of the chips on the silicon wafer in the center of this display. Each chip is a single transistor. Transistors are electronic switches that are the logic building blocks of today’s computers. These are PNP (as opposed to NPN) transistors. Transistors have three contacts. You see two of them as the two gold-colored aluminum contact pads. The third is actually the bottom of the chip. The blue and pink colors arise from the different types of silicon used in making the transistor. There are about 2,280 single transistor chips on this silicon wafer.

About Making Computer Chips:

Computer chips start as ordinary sand, which is silicon dioxide. The first step is to melt the sand in a furnace that reaches about 3200o F. The silicon is purified to create 99.9999% pure silicon. The silicon is broken up into chunks and melted in a crucible. A silicon crystal seed is dipped in molten silicon and slowly drawn out to create a cylinder of silicon. These silicon cylinders are some of the purest crystals on the planet. Once the silicon cylinder is grown to the desired diameter, it is sawed into wafers and polished to achieve a very flat mirror surface. Transistors, and other microelectronic parts, are built on the polished wafer in layers in a process called etching. The wafer is then sawed/diced into its individual chips. Each chip is mounted in an electronic package that protects it and connects it to the outside world. We essentially take a pile of sand and change it into thousands of dollars worth of computer chips.

Framing:  

The artwork is framed in an 8"x8" black shadow box frame, with glass. All framing materials are acid-free. A narrative about the artwork that includes the artist’s signature is placed on the back of the artwork.

Please note:  The look of the artifacts in the artworks may vary, each piece is unique.