Powers of 10: Salute your shorts!

[Andy Resnick]

This series images an integrated circuit designed by "ISG Broadband", which has since been acquired by another company:

The 1:1 image is followed by epi-DIC images using 4X, 16X, 40X, and 80X Epiplan POL lenses:

DSC_0719.jpg (246.65 KiB) Viewed 599 times

DSC_0706.jpg (284.02 KiB) Viewed 599 times

DSC_0707.jpg (136.45 KiB) Viewed 599 times

There appears to be something...

DSC_0709.jpg (100.2 KiB) Viewed 599 times

DSC_0710.jpg (156.69 KiB) Viewed 599 times

Huh, an American flag. Except this flag never existed. Aside from the incorrect number of stripes (which could be waved away by counting the gaps), the number of stars (39) never appeared. On November 2, 1889, both North and South Dakota were admitted as states, bringing the number from 38 to 40.

Not sure why this design decision was made....

[josmann]

Really cool!

Are there finer features than the dots that make up the flag elsewhere on the circuit? Could be a process limitation?

[Andy Resnick]

No, what you see is all there is. I don't think it's a process limitation- all they needed to do was add another row at the top and they would have had an actual 50-state US flag.....

[apochronaut]

2 rows. Then the number of stripes would need to be 15 including the interspaces. I don't think history is the strong suit of S.V.

[PeteM]

Could be the chip designer left off the eleven Confederate states? I doubt he (most likely he vs. she in 2003) didn't know there were fifty.