In a surprising turn of events, a Reddit user, AVX512-VNNI, claims to have stumbled upon an entire TSMC wafer in a dumpster. The wafer, which appears to be fully intact, was allegedly discarded at TSMC’s Fab 16 chip factory in Nanjing, China. While the discovery may seem insignificant at first glance, it has sparked a fascinating discussion about chip manufacturing and the processes involved.
For those unfamiliar with the term, “chip binning” refers to the process of testing newly manufactured silicon to determine how many of the important bits work and how high the thing will clock. However, in this case, it seems that TSMC may have taken the notion a bit too literally.
The discovered wafer, which contains scores of chip dies, is not a production wafer but rather a test wafer. It features dummy circuitry layouts used to evaluate the performance and calibration of the lithography machines that etch the patterns onto the wafer. While it may not be possible to cut up the wafer into usable GPUs, the discovery has led to an entertaining discussion about the best way to do so.
Some Reddit users have jokingly suggested using diamond-tipped pizza slicers to cut the wafer into individual chips. However, as one user pointed out, the process requires much more sophisticated equipment and expertise. A clean room with absolutely zero dust, a special wire cutter, and an assembly machine with submicron precision are just a few of the requirements.
An alternative solution, as suggested by another user, would be to wire up the whole wafer as a single chip, a concept known as “wafer-scale” computing. While this approach would eliminate the need for cutting the wafer into individual chips, it would require a significant amount of thermal paste and would likely have substantial power requirements.
The discovery of the TSMC wafer has not only provided a glimpse into the world of chip manufacturing but has also sparked a lively discussion about the complexities involved. While the authenticity of the discovery cannot be verified, it has undoubtedly generated interest and curiosity among tech enthusiasts.
