Processor Production

[mayorredbeard]

If anyone has any information regarding processor production that would be great. Some things i'm interested in specifically:

- I know that the gates and transistors are 'etched' onto a silicone chip, but what does etched mean? Does etched mean engraved? Does etched mean that a machine places/draws tiny metal transistors on the chip?
- Any information regarding Silicon-Germanium-On-Insulator. Google and wikipedia don't seem to have a lot on the subject.
- If Silicon-Germanium-On-Insulator technology is used by companies like INTEL and AMD
- When the architechture for a new processor is being deisgned, what software does an engineer use to design it?
- In regards to 90nm, 65nm, and the next step, 45nm technology what are the physical limitations regarding the width of transistors. Why can't processor manufcatures operate using 25nm technology?
- Whats an address bus?
- Whats a data bus?

 

[PerfectSK]

This should help for some of the stuff. HowStuffWorks is a great website, you can find a lot of info on stuff you didn't know.

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/microprocessor.htm
http://computer.howstuffworks.com/diode.htm

 

[mayorredbeard]

i was able to find a site that answered a lot of my questions:

http://www.gamezero.com/team-0/articles/math_magic/micro/

Howstuffworks does have a lot of cool stuff. And those articles are really interesting.