2019-09-02 Bloomberg Businessweek

22

o puter Chip

SiliconValleygetsitsname,

ofcourse,fromelement14,

theessentialstuffofthe

computerchip.Intheearly

daysofcomputing,thethree

partsofa chip—thewafer,

orsubstrate;thetransistors

layeredontop;andthe

wiresconnectingtoa circuit

board—requiredonlya

handfulofelements.Today,

chipmakersdrawona large

swathoftheperiodictable.

A chipjust 10 millimeters

widecanincludebillions

oftransistors.These

tinyelectricalswitches,

rapidlysignaling0 or

1, areetchedontothe

waferandmadeofsuch

materialsassiliconand

galliumarsenide.

May contain

or require

PRODUCT COURTESY ADVANCED SCIENCE RESEARCH CENTER AT THE GRADUATE CENTER, CUNY

Toincrease

processingspeeds,

chipmakershave

expandedtheir

repertoireofelements

toincludehafnium

andzirconium,while

improvingcircuit

designandtryingnew

etchingmethods.

Silicon,cheapand

ubiquitous,is still

themostcommon

wafermaterial.But

galliumarsenide,

aluminumoxide,and

indiumphosphideare

alsoused.

1

H

Hydrogen

2

He

Helium

6

C

Carbon

7

N

Nitrogen

16

S

Sulfur

17

Cl

Chlorine

15

P

Phosphorus

53

I

Iodine

18

Ar

Argon

8

O

Oxygen

9

F

Fluorine

12

Mg

Magnesium

13

Al

Aluminum

14

Si

Silicon

33

As

Arsenic

31

Ga

Gallium

22

Ti

Titanium

24

Cr

Chromium

27

Co

Cobalt

29

Cu

Copper

74

W

Tungsten

78

Pt

Platinum

79

Au

Gold

54

Xe

Xenon

49

In

Indium

40

Zr

Zirconium

41

Nb

Niobium

42

Mo

Molybdenum

44

Ru

Ruthenium

46

Pd

Palladium

PROP STYLIST: ANNA SURBATOVICH

By E. Tammy Kim

Photograph by Daniel Shea