The process of reproducing the chip's circuitry pattern onto the wafer surface by using ultraviolet light and stencils or masks to transfer the image photomechanically. Grown on a wafer during chip fabrication to serve as an insulating layer. The cylinder is sliced into thin wafers which are used for making computer chips. Intel uses wafers of pure silicon cut from a silicon ingot to make microprocessors. Silicon, the primary ingredient of beach sand, is a semiconductor of electricity.
Semiconductors are materials that can be altered to be either a conductor or an insulator.
UV light is used to expose patterns on the layers of the microprocessor in a process much like photography.