Silicon Zoo: artwork etched in silicon chips #Art #Microscopy
We know the A-Team is hiding out somewhere in the Los Angeles underground, but Mr. T has taken it to an extreme by shrinking himself and disappearing into an integrated circuit. He’s not alone, dozens of silicon chip dies have artwork etched on them in addition to the circuitry.
The Florida State University Molecular Expressions website provides a wide range of images of the things on chips, dubbed the Silicon Zoo.
Our search has led to a new collection of photomicrographs (photographs taken through a microscope) featuring many of the interesting silicon creatures and other doodling scribbled onto integrated circuits by engineers when they were designing computer chip masks. The tiny creatures are far too small to be seen with the naked eye, so we have provided high-magnification photomicrographs to share these mysterious wonders with our visitors. Engineers designing modern computer chips have a very rich sense of humor as you will discover when you visit our Silicon Creatures Gallery that we keep corralled in the Silicon Zoo. We hope you enjoy your adventure!
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