Semiconductor 101
A six-part introduction to how chips are made and why the industry works the way it does. Written for engineers moving into semiconductors, investors and policymakers, and students, by people who have worked inside fabs.
From sand to silicon: what a chip actually is
What a semiconductor is, how sand becomes a wafer, what a transistor does, and the main families of chips.
Semiconductor 101 · Part 2Inside a fab: how a wafer becomes a chip
The cleanroom, the six process steps that repeat for every layer, and what it takes to keep a fab running.
Semiconductor 101 · Part 3Fabs, OSATs and ATMP: India's chip projects explained
The semiconductor value chain, its four business models, and where India's approved projects fit.
Semiconductor 101 · Part 4What “28 nm” or “3 nm” really means
Why node names stopped being measurements, how the transistor changed shape, and why mature nodes are a sound starting point for India.
Semiconductor 101 · Part 5Beyond the fab: the supply chain every fab needs
The materials, chemicals, gases, parts and services a fab consumes every day, and why so much of it has to be local.
Semiconductor 101 · Part 6Yield: the number that decides whether a fab makes money
How yield is measured, why big chips are expensive, what defects cost, and how fabs raise yield faster. Includes an interactive calculator.
Semiconductor learning for teams
We are building a semiconductor learning programme for companies, institutions and government teams entering the industry, based on the fundamentals courses our founders have taught inside fabs.