Microchip engineers may not seem like creative types, but they've been quietly using silicon as a canvas for decades. When magnified 1,000 to 5,000 times, some semiconductors reveal tiny works of art etched there by their makers. Godzilla, dragons, and dinosaurs jostle for space with Ultraman, the Poopster, and lines from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Chipworks, an Ottawa-based reverse engineering and patent intelligence firm, has cataloged a trove of engravings while examining chips for its clients. Sadly, it's a disappearing art form. As manufacturing becomes more automated, would-be Leonardos have dwindling opportunities to express themselves. Whereas half of all chips used to be decorated, now only two in 10 are; a few standouts from Chipworks' online gallery are shown here. Oh, and if you're wondering about that fabled Pentium chip etching, Bill Sux, Chipworks says it's purely an urban myth.
- Todd Jatras
START
My Summer Home Is an Ice Station
Should I Bank My Baby's Cord Blood?
Silicon as Canvas
