We take electronics for granted in todays society. Microchips are in everything! Computers, TVs, Smart Phones, Microwaves even your car! If it plugs in and turns on there’s a good chance a microchip will be inside.
Have you ever wondered what is a microchip? I don’t want to cover the history of chips or integrated circuits (IC) in this article, however lets leave it as miniaturized electronic components on a die that is encased in a plastic shell. The components are usually transistors and millions of them can be on a die to compose a single chip.
Here is a great example of some “dead bug” socket style microchips.
These are older microchips and the there are a few where you can actually see the die through a small window. These chips were know as EPROMs and were programmable!
Actual Microchip Die!
This is the inside Die Chips found in sophisticated IC’s. The die was fully processed and the next step was to bond gold wires to the different connection points on the IC die and connect them to pins on a plastic IC package. This step was not done.
These are fascinating to study under a strong magnifying glass or microscope. Great for making “electronic jewelry”, study and training.
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