Chip 101

New to chips? Start here.

How chips work, in pictures.

36 short lessons for people new to the chip industry. One question per page, in plain English. Free, with no sign-up.

Start learning See an example lesson
laptopCPU
A picture from the lesson “What is a CPU?”

The format

One question.
One page.

Each lesson answers one question in one sentence. Then a few pictures show how it works, one step at a time.

1. Take 22. Add 33. Show it5ProgramCPUResult
It follows a recipe, one step at a time. A program is a list of tiny steps, called instructions, like a recipe. The CPU reads a step, does it, then reads the next one.

Plain English

Short sentences.
Every word explained.

Written for readers who speak English as a second language. Each technical word comes with a plain meaning.

1 secondwork moves on every tick3 billion ticksevery second, at 3 GHz
Billions of steps every second. A clock inside the chip ticks very fast, and the CPU's work moves forward on every tick. 3 GHz means 3 billion ticks a second.

Words to know

Clock speed (GHz)
How many times a second the CPU's clock ticks. 1 GHz is one billion ticks a second.
Core
One complete worker inside a CPU. More cores can do more jobs at once.

Everyday pictures

New ideas, drawn with things you know.

A program is a recipe. A core is a cook. Each lesson ties a new idea to something from daily life, so it stays with you.

1 core8 cores
Many cooks in one chip. Today's CPUs hold several cores. Each core is a cook of its own, so eight cores can work on eight jobs at once.

The course

From your first chip to the test lab.

Six sections, in learning order. Start at the top, or go straight to the question you have today.

  1. 01

    Chips from zero

    What a chip is, what it is made of, and the main kinds of processors.

    7 lessons
  2. 02

    Inside a modern processor

    The parts, signals and software that every power feature depends on.

    6 lessons
  3. 03

    How chips save power

    The main tricks a chip uses to spend less energy without feeling slow.

    6 lessons
  4. 04

    Sleep and safety limits

    How a computer sleeps, and how limits keep a chip cool and safe.

    4 lessons
  5. 05

    The test lab

    The machines, settings and tools used to test a new chip.

    6 lessons
  6. 06

    Working in chip validation

    How a power-management validation team turns all of this into daily work.

    7 lessons

Check yourself

One question to make it stick.

Every lesson ends with a short question. Try the one from “What is a CPU?”

A CPU runs at 4 GHz. About how many ticks is that each second?

Show the answer

About 4 billion. Giga means billion.

Start with the first question.

What is a chip? The answer takes a few minutes, and the pictures do most of the work.

Start learning See an example lesson