"Z2" - Upgraded Homemade Silicon Chips
What it is
Sam Zeloof shows the upgraded second iteration of his homemade silicon integrated circuit fabrication process, producing chips with around a thousand transistors in his garage. It is a short overview of what the home fab can now do.
Why Hacker News recommends it
HN uses it as the go-to proof that small-scale, hobbyist chip fabrication is real, and as an entry point to the topic.
- 4 people recommended it
- 4 different months
- 1 strong recommendations
- first 2021, last 2026
What HN commenters said
“It's fantastic and I highly recommend watching it.”
Homemade chip fabrication in a garage.
tnorthcutt, 2021-11 · Strong recommendation · in “How to make a CPU – a simple picture-based explanation”
“A guy named Sam Zeloof is fabbing functional chips in his garage.”
Garage fabbing of functional chips.
tanseydavid, 2022-02 · Recommendation · in “The Semiconductor Ecosystem Explained”
“This video shows more detail on the rest of the process in a home lab”
More detail on the process in a home lab.
reedlaw, 2023-10 · Recommendation · in “How to Make a CPU – A Simple Picture Based Explanation”
“It’s a thoroughly interesting video”
High schooler builds a semiconductor fab in a garage.
ghghgfdfgh, 2024-05 · Recommendation · in “How to build a $20B semiconductor fab”
Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.
Topics: diy chips, semiconductor fab, integrated circuits, hardware, garage lab
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