The nitty gritty of semi conductors

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Sceadwian

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I've been studying electronics for a while now, and find myself drawn to understanding more of the actual molecular and atomic properties of semi conductor electronics and modern integrated circuit manufacturing. I work in the plating field and while related they're massively different. I however am not in college and don't possess any 'ins' into the field in even the most remote way.

I'm in western New York state and aside from some experimental/pure research work done at the U of R (quantum/optical computing) and RIT (lasers) there's very little in the way of local resources as far as actual industry goes. I'm a meat and potato's kind of guy so I want know know more about how this stuff is done on a mass scale in order to make it as affordable as it's become in recent years, as well as how the economy of it has allowed more money to be spent on research and development.

Can anyone recommend any trade publications that I could obtain a sample issue of for free, or sites that go into some detail about the actual inner workings of an IC's fabrication and underlaying development processes?

Perhaps something simple like a 555 timer, or digital logic chips and buffers. Sites that can provide microscopic views of chips and the various junctions and manufacturing methods used to create them.

Finding microscopic views of most modern chips is daunting in the least as they're usually under lock and key to house any trade secrets and prevent reverse engineering. I'm not interested in that though, just the basics to get some footing.
 
Well...you kind of answered a few of your own questions didnt you? It's only affordable because it's done on a massive scale. It is done on a massive scale because there is high demand for the product, which means more money goes into R&D to try and make even more money.

If you want some conceptual basics about IC manufacture trying Googling a bit about photolithography and etching. Just a few searches and bits and pieces here and there sounds like all you want (kind of like how many of us don't know much more about how cars are made in factories other than they run down an assembly line with robotic arms.)
 
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