TheRetroArcade
Veteran
Posts: 1,989
Joined: Feb 2026
Joined: Feb 2026
Knocking up a cleanroom isn't as hard as you might think, the rest of the job, however...
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Want to add more newsletters?
Every Friday
GamesRadar+
Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.
Every Thursday
GTA 6 O'clock
Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.
Every Friday
Knowledge
From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.
Every Thursday
The Setup
Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.
Every Wednesday
Switch 2 Spotlight
Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.
Every Saturday
The Watchlist
Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.
Once a month
SFX
Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!
OK, everyone relax. You know this chip-making malarkey that's pushing the stock prices of companies like Nvidia, ASML and TSMC into orbit, in part thanks to the AI boom and resulting chip crisis? It isn't so complex after all. Someone's built a semiconductor-class cleanroom in a wooden shed in their backyard. DIY chip building, here we come, people.
Well, kinda. There might be a few more hurdles to vault once the cleanroom itself is sorted, but hold that thought. As spotted by Hackaday, the aptly monikered YouTube channel Dr.Semiconductor takes us through a backyard cleanroom build, and it turns out not to be nearly as difficult as you might think.
Cleanrooms, in a modern chip-manufacturing context, are typically located inside huge factories comparable in size to a sports stadium. They're essentially large spaces within the factory walls containing manufacturing tools and very clean air where chips are actually produced. A single tiny spec of dust can ruin a whole chip, so scrubbing the air in these facilities is absolutely critical. Not to overemphasise the point, but the air needs to be incredibly clean.
You might, therefore, think that a plain wood shed in someone's garden is an inauspicious start. Surprisingly, it seems you'd be wrong. Dr.Semiconductor used mainstream and widely available materials for the build.
We're talking insulation, framing to support HEPA filters, heating and cooling kit, and so on. Inside the wood shed, some dry wall (known as plasterboard in the UK) makes up the cleanroom structure, coated in epoxy for a smooth, particle-free surface. Two zones are required: a "gowning" area and the cleanroom itself. You can't just walk straight into a clean room, you "transition" into it.
But the main trick is positive air pressure. This means the air pressure inside the clean room is higher than the outside world, preventing air and thus contamination from entering. This is done using "cleanroom grade" HEPA air filters to scrub air inside the clean room and also pull a little from the outside and scrub that to sustain the positive pressure. Air in the cleanroom itself is scrubbed hundreds of times per hour.
Once up and running, Dr.Semiconductor used a particle detector to measure 40 particles per cubic foot (am I allowed to say, as a Br...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Want to add more newsletters?
Every Friday
GamesRadar+
Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.
Every Thursday
GTA 6 O'clock
Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.
Every Friday
Knowledge
From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.
Every Thursday
The Setup
Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.
Every Wednesday
Switch 2 Spotlight
Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.
Every Saturday
The Watchlist
Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.
Once a month
SFX
Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!
OK, everyone relax. You know this chip-making malarkey that's pushing the stock prices of companies like Nvidia, ASML and TSMC into orbit, in part thanks to the AI boom and resulting chip crisis? It isn't so complex after all. Someone's built a semiconductor-class cleanroom in a wooden shed in their backyard. DIY chip building, here we come, people.
Well, kinda. There might be a few more hurdles to vault once the cleanroom itself is sorted, but hold that thought. As spotted by Hackaday, the aptly monikered YouTube channel Dr.Semiconductor takes us through a backyard cleanroom build, and it turns out not to be nearly as difficult as you might think.
Cleanrooms, in a modern chip-manufacturing context, are typically located inside huge factories comparable in size to a sports stadium. They're essentially large spaces within the factory walls containing manufacturing tools and very clean air where chips are actually produced. A single tiny spec of dust can ruin a whole chip, so scrubbing the air in these facilities is absolutely critical. Not to overemphasise the point, but the air needs to be incredibly clean.
You might, therefore, think that a plain wood shed in someone's garden is an inauspicious start. Surprisingly, it seems you'd be wrong. Dr.Semiconductor used mainstream and widely available materials for the build.
We're talking insulation, framing to support HEPA filters, heating and cooling kit, and so on. Inside the wood shed, some dry wall (known as plasterboard in the UK) makes up the cleanroom structure, coated in epoxy for a smooth, particle-free surface. Two zones are required: a "gowning" area and the cleanroom itself. You can't just walk straight into a clean room, you "transition" into it.
But the main trick is positive air pressure. This means the air pressure inside the clean room is higher than the outside world, preventing air and thus contamination from entering. This is done using "cleanroom grade" HEPA air filters to scrub air inside the clean room and also pull a little from the outside and scrub that to sustain the positive pressure. Air in the cleanroom itself is scrubbed hundreds of times per hour.
Once up and running, Dr.Semiconductor used a particle detector to measure 40 particles per cubic foot (am I allowed to say, as a Br...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?