This image of Waldo from the "Where's Waldo" children's book series was the first silicon artwork found by Silicon Zoo curator Michael Davidson.
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Chip art: Thor
This image of Thor, god of thunder, appears in a Hewlett-Packard chip. It's drawn with an unusual method: Tiny dots appear where "via" wires extend downward through the chip to connect different layers. This is the largest chip image in the Silicon Zoo.
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Chip art: Marvin the Martian
Marvin the Martian appears on an image sensor chip used on the Mars rovers.
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Chip art: Cheetah
This cheetah appeared in a Hewlett-Packard memory controller chip. This art was problematic: The cheetah's aluminum spots flaked off, causing short circuits elsewhere on the chip.
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Chip art: fine print
Catchphrases appear in this chip's mock fine print, including "Keep away from fire," "Not for resale" and "No purchase necessary."
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Chip art: Mickey Mouse watch
A rendition of a Mickey Mouse watch is shown on a Mostek 5017 alarm clock chip.
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Chip art: sailboat
This sailboat, from a 1970s Texas Instrument chip, is the earliest example of chip artwork found so far.
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Photos: two-headed ram
In a burst of symbolism, Intel engineers crafted an image of a shepherd looking after a two-headed ram. The real purpose of the Intel 8207 chip: a dual-port RAM (random access memory) controller.
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Chip art: Cyrillic note
A chip used in Digital Equipment's MicroVax 3000 and 6200 minicomputers carries a message in Russia's Cyrillic alphabet: "VAX--when you care enough to steal the very best." The message was intended for technicians on the other side of the Cold War who might try to reverse-engineer the VAX designs by looking closely at the originals.
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Chip art: tiny train
A tiny train rides "tracks" that are used in charge-coupled devices to convert electrical signals into digital information.
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