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Semitree

Semiconductor Manufacturing Explorer

How does a chip get made? Follow the full journey — from raw silica sand to a packaged, tested chip — one process at a time. Tap any step to see what it does, why it's needed, how it works, and the equipment, defects, concepts, and tools behind it.

Following SEMICON India 2026? See how the event’s manufacturing themes map to these steps.

At every step: Learn → Understand → Explore → Calculate

  1. 1LearnRead the lesson behind the step.
  2. 2UnderstandFollow the related concepts.
  3. 3ExploreSee equipment, materials & industry.
  4. 4CalculateRun the tool that models it.

  1. Material preparation

    Turning sand into a defect-free, polished single-crystal wafer.

  2. 1Raw materialSilica sand and the carbon that reduces it.
  3. 2SiliconPurifying to electronic-grade polysilicon.
  4. 3IngotGrowing a single crystal.
  5. 4WaferSlicing and polishing the substrate.

  6. Wafer fabrication (front-end)

    Building the transistors and wiring, layer by layer, on the wafer surface — repeated hundreds of times.

  7. 5OxidationGrowing a silicon-dioxide layer.
  8. 6DepositionAdding thin films of material.
  9. 7PhotoresistCoating a light-sensitive film.
  10. 8LithographyProjecting the pattern — the pacing step of Moore's Law.
  11. 9EtchingRemoving material through the resist openings.
  12. 10DopingImplanting impurities to set conductivity.
  13. 11CMPPlanarizing the surface between layers.
  14. 12MetrologyMeasuring and inspecting every layer.
  15. 13InterconnectWiring the transistors together.

  16. Test & assembly (back-end)

    Testing, cutting, packaging, and final-testing the finished dies.

  17. 14Wafer testTesting each die before dicing.
  18. 15DicingCutting the wafer into individual dies.
  19. 16PackagingProtecting and connecting the die.
  20. 17Final testThe last quality gate before shipping.
  21. Packaged, tested chip — ready to ship.