Processors & Microfabrication
Having used the Macbook Pro M1 for a couple of months now, I have been thoroughly impressed with its performance. Combining this with all the news about the chip shortage, my curiosity about microchips and chip manufacturing has been piqued. Here is an interesting video I found about the M1 chip that seemed like a decent tour of the processor landscape, from how the ARM project was started, the basics of RISC vs CISC, Intel passing on the opportunity to fabricate iPhone chips, Apple becoming the biggest ARM licensee so that they can design their own chips, and so on. Highly recommended video!
What has TSMC, who is manufacturing these advanced chips, up to these days? CNBC reviews the massive investments they are making to address the chip shortage and stay competitive.
Naturally, the next question is what Intel is doing to catch up with this type of chip performance. Intel’s Process Roadmap to 2025: with 4nm, 3nm, 20A and 18A?! (anandtech.com) addresses this. CNBC also reviews the challenges facing Intel and their goals:
Intel is definitely putting their money where their mouth is!
Other Resources
I went in search of information about how chips are made. This video by Infineon is one of the more informative I’ve seen. The breakdown of the process (especially how a transistor works) is easy to understand. Great overview!
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