The Silicon Zoo—World's Smallest Folk Art, or Microscopic Graffiti?

From a buffalo basking on a buffer, to a Concorde concealed on a CAM, the Silicon Zoo documents and celebrates the tiny artwork, love notes, and other microscopic doodles tucked away in the nooks and crannies of IC chips.

Alan Lomax would have been proud. While it is almost unknown outside the world of IC design, there is a long-standing tradition of designers sneaking small pieces of art, puns, poems, and love notes into the tiny unused areas of microchips. With many examples of this unknown art form on chips dating as far back as the early 70s, it seemed that much of these tiny expressions of humanity were doomed to be lost as the equipment they are in is scrapped.

Now thanks to the Silicon Zoo's efforts to preserve and document them, we have the beginnings of a collection of this unique form of folk art. The Zoo makes efforts to preserve both the images as well as to ferret out stories of the people behind the icons. Take a few minutes out of your busy day to view a detailed picture of the space shuttle that takes up less than 20 µm, marvel at a microscopic rose, or laugh at the graffiti left behind by a disgruntled worker after a disagreement with his supervisor. It's all there, and more at:

micro.magnet.fsu.edu/creatures/index.html

The 2nd Shift—Human Factors Archive

Guides and Experts   Analog Avenue   EDA Tools   PLD   DSP   EDA   Embedded Systems   Power   Test

		Click here to get your listing up.