How are computer chips made?

Question

I mean they are all made of metals, how do these metals store information and such?

Answer 1

chemical properties

Answer 2

Actually silicon or GaAs (Gallium Arsenite). Various areas of the surface are doped with n-type and p-type materials. Wikipedia has more information on the materials used.

The basic component for circuits is a field effect transistor. Current flows when there is a voltage applied to a gate.

Memory circuits basically use a complicated arrangement of field effect transistors, with a feedback mechanism. Voltage applied means a 0, no voltage applied means a one. The circuit is driven by a clock signal and every cycle the value is read from the memory circuit and reapplied to the memory circuit.

I'm sorry but this is stuff that is taught in 4th year Electrical Engineering, and without a diagram it's hard to explain any better.

Answer 3

computer chips are made of a variety of materials. Some metals, some metal oxides. Some conduct electricity, some are semiconductors, some are insulators.

look here for general process of manufacturing chips
http://smithsonianchips.si.edu/ice/cd/BT/SECTION2.PDF

as to storage of data, memory cells take many forms. magnetic, dram and sram, and rom for examples. typical on chip memory storage is done with capacitors within a memory cell (1 capacitor, 2 transistors and a diode or two I believe) that can store the equivalent of 1 bit (a zero or a 1).

Answer 4

They are not all made with metals:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semiconductor_fabrication
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integrated_circuit

Memory in integrated circuits are of three basic forms:
> As mentioned, in dynamic random access memory (DRAM), which is the main program memory in a PC, signals are stored as charge on capacitors

> Flash memory also stores charge, but in floating chunks of polysilicon surrounded by silicon dioxide

> Other static memory uses Set-Reset flip-flops to store data:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flip-flop_%28electronics%29

Answer 5

you don't need to know about semiconductor manufacturing processes to answer your question. yours is more a question of microelectronic circuits, especially memory.

the simple, brief answer is charge storage on a capacitor