But unless you're inside the fab you won't see any sign of them, day or night. To the average passerby the fascinating conversion of sand into slivers of processed silicon might as well be alchemy. It is the virtual invisibility of the semiconductor manufacturing process that has caught the attention of The Tech Museum of Innovation. Since opening its doors in November 1990, the museum in downtown San Jose has featured a mock cleanroom as part of its microelectronics exhibit, one of the institution's six interactive attractions designed to enthrall visitors and educate them about the technological wonders affecting their lives. The museum will house an improved cleanroom exhibit measuring 1200 sq ft, three times larger than the current one.
Chip technology is vital to our area.
The chips leave the fabs in tiny trucks. You hardly ever notice that they're here. You could spend your whole life in Silicon Valley and never see anything to do with chip fabrication. The challenge for the director of technology development and his staff was in determining the best approach for demystifying the alien world of the cleanroom. Then they'll notice that at the back of this homey area is a glowing space.