Tech

Low on gas: Ukraine invasion chokes supply of neon needed for chipmaking

Enlarge / Technicians inspect a semiconductor wafer during testing in the cleanroom at the Tower Semiconductor Ltd. plant in Migdal HaEmek, Israel. (credit: Bloomberg | Getty Images) Russia’s invasion of Ukraine threatens to pile further pressure on chip manufacturing as a squeeze on the supply of rare gasses critical to the production process adds to […]

Tech

This 22-year-old builds chips in his parents’ garage

Enlarge / Sam Zeloof completed this homemade computer chip with 1,200 transistors, seen under a magnifying glass, in August 2021. (credit: Sam Kang) In August, chipmaker Intel revealed new details about its plan to build a “mega-fab” on US soil, a $100 billion factory where 10,000 workers will make a new generation of powerful processors […]