Did you know that a semiconductor manufacturing cleanroom is 10,000 times cleaner than a hospital operating room? Why? One speck of dust could ruin a microprocessor during production.
Here are more fun facts from the SEMI Foundation that help illustrate the amazing world of microelectronics and the central role of chips in our lives:
- It takes about 3 months to make a microchip. Production requires mega factories, ultra clean rooms, multimillion-dollar machinery, robotics, and lasers.
- A single smartphone today has over 100,000 times the processing power of the computers used by NASA to land a person on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969.
- Semiconductor dimensions are often referred to in nanometers. How tiny is a nanometer? If a nanometer and meter were objects, a nanometer would be a 10-cent coin and a meter the planet Earth.
Do you have a fun fact to share? We invite SEMI members to share fun facts about the industry or their company. We’ll consider your tidbits for inclusion in future blog articles and or posting on social media. Complete our survey form or email semifoundation@semi.org.
Learn more about the SEMI Foundation and its initiatives to promote industry awareness and help provide a path for those interested in rewarding careers in microelectronics.
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Margaret Kindling is Senior Program Manager for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the SEMI Foundation. She promotes inclusion and diversity through managing programming at the annual Women in Semiconductors and the SEMICON West Workforce Development Pavilion. She also manages the Manufacturing Ownership Diversity (MOD) Working Group.