[adminscoffee]

yeah you are onto something. massive supply chains have a ton of carbon footprint. which some people that doesn't matter but for someone like myself, i am a bigger fan of less carbon emissions. i wonder if there is a way we can build an etching machine and print chips somehow, the process seems a little clearer after watching this simplified video. i think it can be done, everything complex is just a bunch of simple steps, solve each step and get closer to the goal. might be fun to create a github type community where people push their ideas to a source control platform where others can chime in and give their input. so like open source chip manufacturing, kinda like how 3d printers started out with makerbot and other open source printer projects.

i think it can be done and it would be fun. we have to filter out people who have a vested interest in chip manufacturers because they may try to over complicate the process to protect their purse. so like a vouch system, where we know the people coming in have the right heart and won't purposely screw up moral

[cinntaile]

I think it's extremely unlikely that a small scale DIY process would be more energy efficient than using existing fabs.

[Chris2048]

> massive supply chains have a ton of carbon footprint

Are you talking about distribution? Because I would have thought the small size/weight of wafers would mean those costs would be fairly small. Maybe (silicon) packaging could be done locally, but even then packaged chips weigh little.

[wrycoder]

While energy, and thus CO2, is a significant part of solar cell production (because of the sheer scale), the attributed CO2 output of the chip industry is tiny compared to the commercial value of the chips produced.

[lookingforsome]

so carbon tax would be effective in this scenario?