Chip art, also known as silicon graffiti, is the microscopic artwork printed onto integrated circuits during manufacturing. It was originally used for copyright protection, but is now valued for its creativity and uniqueness. Some companies prohibit it due to concerns about interference, but the Smithsonian National Museum of American History collects examples for its silicon art exhibit. The art is created using photolithography and can range from simple line drawings to complex designs. A microscope is needed to view and photograph the drawings, which can be as small as 0.002 inches tall.
Integrated circuits are commonly called integrated circuits, chips or microchips. These are tiny electrical circuits that power products like cell phones, computers, and just about any electronic device. The microscopic artwork in the form of drawings and words that is printed onto a chip during manufacturing is known as chip art. This type of art is also called chip graffiti, silicon graffiti, silicon art, and silicone doodles. Designers have often added chip art to circuit boards to mark them as their own, much in the same way artists sign their paintings and drawings.
One of the main reasons designers started using chip art was to be able to detect if another designer or manufacturer has copied their product. Many integrated circuit companies used chip masks or similar patterns for their circuits before 1984. If someone’s chip art showed up on another company’s microchips, however, that was a clear sign that they had completely stolen the entire design. . The United States passed an overhaul of its copyright laws in 1984, making chip designs automatically copyrighted, so each company had to create their own unique chip frameworks.
Chip art is no longer required for copyright protection, but some designers still include it. Despite this, some companies have regulations that prohibit adding artwork to integrated circuits. The concern is that the designs are somehow interfering with how the chips work. While many IC companies don’t want these signatures on their circuits, others value chip art for its creativity and uniqueness. The Smithsonian National Museum of American History, for example, has collected a series of chip art photographs and continues to collect examples for its silicon art exhibit.
Chip art is printed onto the chips using photolithography, which uses light to etch patterns. Each IC can go through the etching process more than a dozen times, so adding a symbol or word to the chip generally doesn’t require a separate process or add to the cost. Images appear as simple line drawings, although some drawings can be complex. The art can range from a word or phrase to popular cartoon characters, animals, symbols and company logos.
A microscope is needed to view and photograph the drawings. Early artworks, made when chips were much larger than they are today, were often no more than 50 micrometres in height. This means that the entire doodle might be only 0.002 inches (0.0058 mm) tall, which is a fraction of the width of a human hair. Today’s technology allows the circuitry and graphics on the chip to be even smaller.
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