Computer Chip Thermochemistry: 
     How Can We Create an
     Integrated Circuit from Sand? 
     Module written by Melonie A. Teichert, Angelica M. Stacy, Alice C. Rico,
     Susan E. Kegley, Jennifer G. Loeser, Marco Molinaro, and Susan E. Walden. 
     Applets programming by Cora Estrada and Toshiro Horie.
     Circuit images by Marco Molinaro, Susan Walden and Sue Whitmore.

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    Session 1: How can we create an integrated circuit from sand?
    Introduction

      Exploration 1A: What are your initial ideas?
      Exploration 1B: What are integrated circuits?

        Comparing Macro and Micro Electronic Circuit Components
        How Small is Small?
        Self-Assessment

      Exploration 1C: How are integrated circuits built?

        Using Photolithography
        Making a Capacitor
        Making a Transistor
        Self-Assessment

    Session 2: Why doesn't elemental Si exist in nature?
    Energy Transfer

      Exploration 2A: What are your initial ideas?
      Exploration 2B: How is energy transferred?
      Exploration 2C: What is meant by energy content?
      Exploration 2D: What evidence do we have for conservation of energy?

    Session 3: How can silicon be extracted from sand?
    Enthalpy

      Exploration 3A: What are your initial ideas?
      Exploration 3B: How much heat do you need to supply to extract Si?
      Exploration 3C: How much heat is needed to decompose Si02 relative to other oxides?

    Session 4: How can we reduce the heat required to extract Si?
    Calorimetry and Hess's Law

      Exploration 4A: What are your initial ideas?
      Exploration 4B: How is the enthalpy change of a reaction related to temperature change?
      Exploration 4C: How much heat is needed to raise the temperature of a substance?
      Exploration 4D: How do we measure the enthalpy change of a reaction?

    Session 5: How can you remove a contaminant from the Si surface?
    Entropy and Disorder

      Exploration 5A: What are your initial ideas?

        Eating Pizza
        Breaking a Bottle
        Bouncing Balls
        Burning Paper
        Foam Cup and Acetone
        Precipitation of Lead Iodide
        Self Assessment

      Exploration 5B: In what directions do chemical reactions become more disordered?
      Exploration 5C: How do we calculate entropy changes?
      Exploration 5D: Why do systems tend toward disorder?

    Session 6: How do you form SiO2 layers on Si?
    Gibbs Free Energy and Spontaneity

      Exploration 6A: What are your initial ideas?
      Exploration 6B: Under what conditions will the formation of SiO2 be spontaneous?

        Enthalpy vs. Entropy Graphing Tool
        Self Assessment

      Exploration 6C: What is the relationship between temperature and spontaneity?
      Exploration 6D: How quickly will a spontaneous reaction occur?

    Session 7: How do you control the thickness of the insulating SiO2 layer?
    Extent of Reaction

      Exploration 7A: What are your initial ideas?
      Exploration 7B: Why don't reactions go to completion?
      Exploration 7C: How do non-standard conditions affect the extent of reaction?

        Extent of Reaction Simulator
        Self Assessment

    Session 8: How can we react selectively with portions of a Si wafer?
    Bond Enthalpy

      Exploration 8A: What are your initial ideas?
      Exploration 8B: How much energy is involved in the making and breaking of chemical bonds?
      Exploration 8C: How can bond enthalpies be used to calculate DHrxno?

    Session 9: How do we use thermodynamics in the production of integrated circuits?
    Production

      Project 1: Finding a viable sequence of tasks to produce an integrated circuit
      Project 2: Finding a viable sequence of tasks to produce a complex pattern on a metal substrate


    Copyright © 2004 by the trustees of Beloit College and the Regents of the University of California. This Module has been developed under the direction of the ChemLinks Coalition, headed by Beloit College, and the ModularChem Consortium, headed by the University of California at Berkeley. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation grants No. DUE-9455918 and DUE-9455924. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation, Beloit College, or the Regents of the University of California.

    Published through exclusive license with W. W. Norton.
    Computer Chip Thermochemistry: How Can We Create an Integrated Circuit from Sand? ISBN 0-393-92433-5


    Computer Chip Thermochemistry | ChemConnections