The silicon wafer is usually patterned with the mask set to make hundreds or thousands of the same IC.

Each of these ICs are then cut out of the wafer and are called dies.

The die is then somehow packaged. Often they are mounted to a leadframe and then moulded into a plastic packaging to make them larger and easier to handle.

Leadframe

Image from Sergei Frolov

Read more about how the dual in line package was created (DIP) in this Hackaday article

The Google shuttle will provide a type of packaging called Wafer Level Chip Scale Packaging.

Course feedback

This course is an incredible opportunity to make a step into a very very different field.

Erik Van Zijst