Physics of Computer Chips - Computerphile 

"You don't understand it, you get used to it" sooo relatable

Phil, aren't you too large to call yourself a nanoscientist?

"You don't understand it, you just get used to it" Probably one of the best physics quotes ever

How do the individual atoms feel about being manipulated?

My favorite connection from physics to electronics, is the fact that quantum tunnelling effects are at the heart of how flash memory and EPROMS work.

I don't always watch computerphile (over my head) but you could put Phil Moriarty in a video about paint drying and I would watch it........oh wait.

Why don't they just download more RAM into the electron beam to make it go faster?

It seemed like the video ended while he was still explaining something.

I want more of this guy. He could start his own channel and just talk and I think he'd have thousands of subscribers;)

More of this guy please.

This is one of my all time favorite videos on RU-vid! I have watched this video about 7 times now and I just absolutely love how well Mr. Moriarty explains the semi-transistor manufacturing.

Being a chemist, just having listened to a physicist, talking about mechanics, for the purpose of computing, I just realized that the electron couldn't care less about how it's manipulated and by whom.

This was a really informative video. Some illustrations/animations to visualize what he said would have made the video even better, although I understand that they take quite some time to make.

Prof Moriarty is one of my favorite guests on any of the “phile” videos. Awesome guy and very good at breaking things down to a level I can understand.

I love how excited he gets to answer each question and you can tell it’s genuine too

I usually just understand 25% of these talks but just love this channel and will keep coiming back to it again and again. Thank you for this!

One of my favorite Computerphile videos. Great explanation of concepts I've always wanted to understand. Thank you!

hi there camera man!

That was a brilliantly clear and energetic overview of modern chipmaking. Professor Moriarty explained how a Silicon transistor works, but didn't label it as such. The Silicon substrate is formed into the transistors by adding impurities (doping).

2019 update: 5nm in the works, 7nm in production (AMD Ryzen 3000 series, e.g.)

Wow, that was was barely within what I could follow all the way through. The few times I started to get lost he stopped and explained it a bit more. Very well done, and I even picked up a few new things.

these videos are like the best thing in my life sometimes. thanks for continuing to make them. :)

Very good speaker, very well explained, and engaging. This really helped me understand exactly what the subject was about. I'd love to have this guy as a teacher.

Watching this in 2019, they are now manufacturing 7nm microprocessors, how things move on.

I really admire Phil Moriarty's ability to talk around naming concepts like quantum tunneling, and keep his talk on track even with tangential questions.

This is brilliant! I would be really glad if you made more videos on this topic

This material is way over my head, but this video was fascinating. Thanks for putting it together.

The physics and technology in making the 13.5nm light that is talked about here is some of the most advanced applied physics in industial RnD going on im the world today. Primarily this work is done close by to you, in The Netherlands. I would love to see you or Brady make a video on it. great job on videos. From another Irish physicist.

Nice to see you again Dr Phil!

Great video; thanks Computerphile and Dr. Moriarty :)

Really like how you explain things, hope you do more videos in the immediate future!

this was incredible to watch. the passion and conviction he showed was amazing

This is probably my favorite video on the channel.

"If you find that confusing.. Good" - soo funny and soo true

This man is brilliant and captivating. Would definitely enjoy more videos featuring him.

This is a great effing interview.. awesome enthusiasm and passion.

I learned SO much from this. Thank you. I also love his passion. It excited me to learn this.

Moriarty is one of my favorite science communicators

please, more on the physics of computer hardware! there's been so many amazing inventions and discoveries through the years in the semiconductor industry so we can use computers as we know it...

I can never get enough of Professor Moriarty. Such a fantastic and interesting person!

God, I love how professor Moriarty explains stuff !

This is my favorite video in a while.

Love this guy and his energy. Great talk as well.

Videos like this immunize me from the Kruger-Dunning Effect.

Physics AND computer science, all with Professor Moriarty. Great combo, I really enjoyed this episode. Thanks guys!

Really cool to see semiconductor fab processing explained here!

this is great info, since I come from a physical science background this shows the application of what I learned, wish they had a class on the physics of computers

To elaborate on the "Layers" question, yes, it's very much done in layers. In fact, even the first layer wasn't fully described here. After the exposed (or unexposed, depending on the process) areas of the polymer are washed away, another layer of some material is applied. Then the places where the polymer remained are washed away, leaving the new material only in the gaps. The material can be dopants for the underlying silicon, metal layers to connect components, insulating layers to separate things, etc. It can even be exposed to etchants, rather than a new material, to remove whatever layer is showing.

This interview elevated my understanding of how we're able to manipulate atoms. Thank you.

I brought up the fact that Chemistry and Physics and ultimately everything that follows is a seamless whole just divided into digestible parts to a chemistry instructor once, and he almost flipped his lid. It was almost the same reaction from the physics department, yet they worked together constantly on things, though the chemists tend to be more reserved and the physicists tended to let their reservations go a bit, especially on things that went "boom". Nice to hear the Professor say nearly the same thing, about the relationship.

This guy is awesome! It's very obvious he's gushing with knowledge and enthusiasm of his subject.

I love how you can see how passionate this man is about what he does.

Welcome back professor. I had wondered about your absence.

It is so amazing to see Prof Moriarty talk about computer science. *beaming* :D

You're a gifted explainer of these topics.

I freaking love this video, man.

It's very interesting to dive into the physics and chemistry of electronic computing, it's not a subject I've explored much as a computer scientist.

Nice to see Phil again. :3

The energy of his explanations.... HE should be duplicated in the kindergarten, school, high school... NOBODY cannot be energized and curious the way he is talk and explain things! His energy in language would make me a damn poet!!

I don't know why but he reminds me of Roy from The IT Crowd Just of course more intelligent than, "Hello IT, have you tried turning it off and on again?"

I really liked this sort of unplanned interview

This is awesome! More videos like this please!

Great video, I'd love to see more like this

I could listen to this guy for hours

Three years ago they were talking about 14 nm, today we're talking about 5 nm; so this video becomes history in less time than it would take to study Electronics.

This was a really good video. Lots of detail. Could you do a video about error checking/handling in chips (CPU's). I read a few years ago that now CPU's are becoming smaller, there are more errors in the calculations. I would love to know how manufacturers get around the errors.

Phil Moriarty is badass

great stuff, hoping for more stuff about chip manufacturing and such :)

You said the wavelength is a limit but the nobel prize last year was for the invention of microscopes which overcome this wavelength barrier. I think they used the light emitted by proteins and blocked the light emitted by neighbouring proteins so that the resolution was down to one protein. There might be a way to use that for making smaller chips.

I have been searching for this video. Thanks! RU-vid! For putting it into Recommendation.

Big man working on small stuff, respect

I'd love to hear Prof Moriarty talk about spintronics and photonics if you have him on again.

This guy is magic, and clearly loves his stuff. Excellent.

great video, we need more low level hardware videos like this

I love how excited he got for the silicon question.

My "like" happened at 7:05. The "quantum computing" question wasn't very well informed, though it may have highlighted a common misconception. The answer, spurred from the question, about how "classical" computing must necessarily exploit the quantum nature of matter if it intends on reaching ~1nm scale features is totally spot on. Looking forward to the next ~5min of video!

I can listen to this man for hours ...

Great video... More of Professor Moriarty!

Just a silly question: doesn't diffraction screw up with the lithographic process considering that light has to go through such tiny apertures?

Watched extra bits, still want more.

Fascinating stuff!

I swear every time a computerphile video ends, when I hear those beeps, I start singing "Askepios" by the Mars Volta. I love it. At the end of each video I literally start singing "I'll be there waiting..." and start asking myself "damn what song is that?"

I always enjoy Moriarty's videos =)

This makes me so excited/happy!! :D

I loved this! So informative :)

My fiancé worked for Intel, he was sent around to various clean rooms and such to work on the computers that were running the electron scanning microscopes that they were using for debugging chips. The whole process is pretty cool to me, as I just stopped learning the abstractions of the CPU at the logic gates, and VHDL design. A curious wonder, what kind of feature size would a hobbyist be able to achieve? I mean, there's that guy who built a macro-computer by using full chips for his transistors, and I know most of us are better off using FPGAs anyways. But say someone wanted to get into etching their own silicon, what do you think would be the range of quality that they could get to?

Amazing video. Learned a lot.

I thought that the wave interference of the photons (as in, interference you see with the double split experiment) would be come a problem. But instead you could create a mask that actually utilizes this phenomenon to create interference patterns that match the target pattern on your silicon sheet.

"Quantum Mindset" #bandname

We missed you!

Congratulations! A very successful comback.

Great video, thanks!

I see Phil Moriarty. I watch. I upvote

Amazing video! I have a question about Professor Moriarty's explanation of how the semiconductor industry is able to create such precise patterns on transistors. When the two offset masks are placed over the silicon wafer and light is shown, how is it that the light is able to deterministically etch a pattern? Why would it not behave like a wave/particle in the double slit experiment and defract into a probabilistic wave pattern on the wafer?

Professor Moriarty. Who's first thought isn't Sherlock Holmes.. :) Sorry just had to mention it.

This guy won't shut up. I love it!!!!

I'm just glad there's someone that can see that physics chemistry and computer science are integral to each other than the normal 'brinksmanship' that you see in these fields.

best video i'm seen on computer chips

i love this guy he explains so well.get him on the show more often plz

silicon is reflective? MIND BLOWN.