Plays with YouTube's privacy-enhanced embed

How are Microchips Made? 🖥️🛠️ CPU Manufacturing Process Steps

Name: How are Microchips Made? 🖥️🛠️ CPU Manufacturing Process Steps
Description: Branch Education walks through a semiconductor fab and the dozens of steps used to turn silicon wafers into microchips, with 3D animation. It covers lithography, deposition and etching at a high level.

Branch Education Explainers

Open on YouTube First HN thread

2 HN users recommended this explainer in 2 different months between 2024 and 2025.

2007–2026

2 recommendations 2 citations HackerTube score 2

Pointed to as a clear visual reference for chip manufacturing steps.

Branch Education walks through a semiconductor fab and the dozens of steps used to turn silicon wafers into microchips, with 3D animation. It covers lithography, deposition and etching at a high level.

Pull quote: “the Branch Education YouTube channel has great videos detailing the manufacturing process as well” (HN, 2025)

Also tagged: semiconductor manufacturing, chip fabrication, lithography, cpu, wafers, branch education

What Hacker News said

4 labeled comments from the HN archive; up to 20 are kept per video, favoring different commenters. Each one links back to the original thread.

Recommends throwaway31131 June 2025 under How Are Transistors Assembled Inside a CPU? [video]

Related video from the same channel while waiting for lithography one

In the description they say a video on lithography is on the way. In the mean time maybe this one from the same channel: [this video] Great channel

View on Hacker News

Recommends itopaloglu83 November 2025 under “One Student One Chip” Course Homepage

Channel with great videos on semiconductor manufacturing process

Just to add to this, the Branch Education YouTube channel has great videos detailing the manufacturing process as well, here's one for starters: [this video]

View on Hacker News

Citations, criticism and jokes

Cites it epoxia August 2024 under Japan on edge of EUV lithography chip-making revolution

Cited as source for chip fabrication process figures

The graphic from the OIST in the link makes reference to both the reduced power needed and reduced capital costs, less mirrors & cheaper EUV light source. Also, less power -> less heat -> less cooling. I scoured for some other info as well: A single chip would go through a photo-lithography tool about 80 times. A photo-lithography tool can work on approx. 125 wafers per hour (5 FOUPS). A wafer contains ~230 chips. Current EUV light source requires a 20kw carbon laser. [this video] [link]

View on Hacker News

Cites it Kye November 2025 under TSMC Arizona outage saw fab halt, Apple wafers scrapped

Shows the manufacturing steps, though not identical to TSMC's

A video showing those steps, for the curious: [this video] It's probably not 100% identical to TSMC's process.

View on Hacker News