Skip to main content
Ch.12 - Solids and Modern Materials
Chapter 12, Problem 132

Look up the diameter of a silicon atom, in Å. The latest semiconductor chips have fabricated lines as small as 14 nm. How many silicon atoms does this correspond to?

Verified step by step guidance
1
Step 1: Look up the diameter of a silicon atom, which is approximately 2.7 Å (angstroms).
Step 2: Convert the diameter from angstroms to nanometers. Recall that 1 Å = 0.1 nm.
Step 3: Calculate the number of silicon atoms that fit into 14 nm by dividing 14 nm by the diameter of a silicon atom in nanometers.
Step 4: Set up the division: Number of silicon atoms = 14 nm / (diameter of silicon atom in nm).
Step 5: Perform the division to find the number of silicon atoms that correspond to the 14 nm line.