But making them is a long process compromising a great many steps.

但是，製作它們是一個漫長的過程，需要經過許多步驟。

First, the silicon dioxide in the sand has to be converted into pure silicon.

首先，沙子中的二氧化硅必須轉化為純硅。

After that, it is cut into wafer-thin discs, in diameter and less than a millimeter thick. In our clean room, up to 35,000 chips are then made from each of these discs.

然後，將其切割成直徑小於一毫米厚的薄片。在我們的無塵室中，每個圓片最多可製成 35,000 個芯片。

In numerous process stages, the wafers are given their characteristic surface structure.

在眾多加工階段中，晶圓的表面結構各具特色。

After coating with a photoresist layer, the wafer surface is exposed, developed, and etched.

塗上光致抗蝕劑層後，對晶片表面進行曝光、顯影和蝕刻。

This results in the desired conductor structure - such structures are hundreds of times finer than a human hair. Dopants are then implanted in the material to increase the electrical connectivity of parts of the semiconductor.

這樣就形成了所需的導體結構--這種結構比人的頭髮還要細幾百倍。然後在材料中植入摻雜劑，以提高半導體各部分的電氣連接性。

In subsequent phases, this and other process steps are repeated until the entire layout of the chip has been deposited on the wafer.

在隨後的階段中，將重複這一步驟和其他工藝步驟，直到整個芯片佈局沉積在晶片上。

This involves heating the wafer to more than 1,100 degrees Celsius, in some cases, up to 27 times. Up to 200 measurements are done and up to 26 exposures.

這需要將晶片加熱到 1100 攝氏度以上，有時甚至要加熱 27 次。測量次數多達 200 次，曝光次數多達 26 次。

All in all, this can mean as many as 700 processing steps and 14 weeks processing time.

總之，這意味著多達 700 個處理步驟和 14 周的處理時間。

Once this is completed, the microchip is assembled from as many as 30 such layers, like a mini skyscraper.

完成後，微型芯片由多達 30 層這樣的層組裝而成，就像一座小型摩天大樓。

Each layer has its own function - interconnecting them makes the microchip highly complex. Semiconductor chips - the building blocks of our future.

每一層都有自己的功能--它們之間的相互連接使微型芯片變得非常複雜。半導體芯片--我們未來的基石。