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Home-made SSI chips

J

JJ

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hi all!
Please don't laugh.. I'm serious.

After having made PCB's with the photographic-like technique, and
being very pleased with the resolution I've been able to achieve,
I was wondering what would it take to make my own SSI chips?

Of course I'm not talking about 90 nM resolution.. but something
like 0.1 millimeters (at best). I have a 2400²dpi laser printer.

How does one make a transistor? Is this technology reachable from
the (enthusiast) hobbyst? Where could I find the necessary materials?

Thanks!
John
 
G

Geoffrey G. Rochat

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hi all!
Please don't laugh.. I'm serious.

After having made PCB's with the photographic-like technique, and
being very pleased with the resolution I've been able to achieve,
I was wondering what would it take to make my own SSI chips?

Of course I'm not talking about 90 nM resolution.. but something
like 0.1 millimeters (at best). I have a 2400²dpi laser printer.

How does one make a transistor? Is this technology reachable from
the (enthusiast) hobbyst? Where could I find the necessary materials?

Thanks!
John

Well, the chances of homebrewing a conventional monolithic chip are pretty
close to nil, unless you've got a diffusion furnace. Precision
photolithography is only one bit of the magick {sic} that goes into those
things. Homebrewing thick-film hybrids would seem to be attainable using
extended PCB techniques, and adding silk-screening and pottery-firing skills
on top, although I don't know of anyone who's done so. (And I would be
fascinated to find out if somebody has!) There was an article in the
Amateur Scientist column of Scientific American many years ago (Perhaps the
'70s?) on homebrewed thin-film FETs using glass as a substrate, and if you
can find the article maybe that will get you started. Take a look at the
Society for Amateur Scientists, and in particular look for the CD-ROM by
Shawn Carlson that is a compendium of all the old Amateur Scientist columns:

http://www.sas.org/

There's also a fellow, H. P. Friedrich by name, who is writing a series of
books about his deep homebrewing efforts. In the first, "Voice of the
Crystal", he describes making radios from scratch; not quite mining the raw
minerals, mind you, but close. His second book, not yet published, will be
"Instruments of Amplification." In it he describes his work homebrewing
vacuum tubes and point-contact transistors. His site is:

http://www.mindspring.com/~pfriedr/index.htm

There is also a fellow, Steve Hanson of Amherst, NH, who publishes a
newsletter called The Bell Jar on homebrew vacuum techniques:

http://www.belljar.net/

So, yes John, your interests are crazy. But there are a bunch of people out
there who share your crazy interests, some of whom are actually doing
things. Not everybody's laughing.
 
J

John Robertson

Jan 1, 1970
0
Amazing, this book by Friedrich looks like something out of the early
1900's. I have a nice ancient encyclopedia that describes how to make
crystal sets and making your own coils etc...fascinating. and old
electronic magazines from the same period that cover similar items
like making tubes in your basement (using mercury to create the
vacuum) and other really safe things.

John :-#)#

(ps, like 7's?)

Well, the chances of homebrewing a conventional monolithic chip are pretty
close to nil, unless you've got a diffusion furnace. Precision
photolithography is only one bit of the magick {sic} that goes into those
things. Homebrewing thick-film hybrids would seem to be attainable using
extended PCB techniques, and adding silk-screening and pottery-firing skills
on top, although I don't know of anyone who's done so. (And I would be
fascinated to find out if somebody has!) There was an article in the
Amateur Scientist column of Scientific American many years ago (Perhaps the
'70s?) on homebrewed thin-film FETs using glass as a substrate, and if you
can find the article maybe that will get you started. Take a look at the
Society for Amateur Scientists, and in particular look for the CD-ROM by
Shawn Carlson that is a compendium of all the old Amateur Scientist columns:

http://www.sas.org/

There's also a fellow, H. P. Friedrich by name, who is writing a series of
books about his deep homebrewing efforts. In the first, "Voice of the
Crystal", he describes making radios from scratch; not quite mining the raw
minerals, mind you, but close. His second book, not yet published, will be
"Instruments of Amplification." In it he describes his work homebrewing
vacuum tubes and point-contact transistors. His site is:

http://www.mindspring.com/~pfriedr/index.htm

There is also a fellow, Steve Hanson of Amherst, NH, who publishes a
newsletter called The Bell Jar on homebrew vacuum techniques:

http://www.belljar.net/

So, yes John, your interests are crazy. But there are a bunch of people out
there who share your crazy interests, some of whom are actually doing
things. Not everybody's laughing.

(Please post followups or tech enquires to the newsgroup)
John's Jukes Ltd. 2343 Main St., Vancouver, BC, Canada V5T 3C9
Call (604)872-5757 or Fax 872-2010 (Pinballs, Jukes, Video Games)
www.flippers.com
"Old pinballers never die, they just flip out."
 
N

N. Thornton

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hi all!
Please don't laugh.. I'm serious.

After having made PCB's with the photographic-like technique, and
being very pleased with the resolution I've been able to achieve,
I was wondering what would it take to make my own SSI chips?

Of course I'm not talking about 90 nM resolution.. but something
like 0.1 millimeters (at best). I have a 2400²dpi laser printer.

How does one make a transistor? Is this technology reachable from
the (enthusiast) hobbyst?

No. To roll your own you'll need to look at other types of amplifier,
eg:
carbon amplifier
valve
magamp
and one I dont know the name of, a motor powered one.

It is possible to make a point contact transistor at home, but not
easy, and have yo have the semicon already made for you: eg from a
glass diode.

Regards, NT
 
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