How can a chemical engineer help to make a chip or microprocessor?
A Chemical Engineer plays a very vital and important role in the process and manufacturer of the microprocessor. Making microprocessors is a complex, demanding process involving more than 3,000 steps. Microprocessors are built by layering materials on top of thin rounds of silicon, called wafers, through various processes using chemicals, gases and light. Under the guidance of a Chemical Engineer, in an operation called “doping,” the exposed areas of the silicon wafer are bombarded with various chemical impurities called “ions,” which provide positive and negative charges, thereby altering the way the silicon in these areas conducts electricity. The electrical charges help the transistor to turn on and off, thereby passing electrical current through the transistor’s gate. To sum up… Chemical Engineering is considered one of the base engineering disciplines with applications in nearly every facet of life. The development and production of food, medicine, fuels, semiconductors, micropr