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Semiconductors & chip manufacturing: videos Hacker News recommends
Semiconductors: chip fabrication, lithography, ASML, TSMC, transistors, FPGAs, ASIC design, diodes and LEDs, solar cells, how chips are made. Below: every video in this topic that at least three HN users linked with real commentary, in at least three different months (14 talks, 11 explainers, 7 documentarys), best-scored first, with the comments on each video page.
- 19 HN recommenders 18 months 2016–2024A Andor Gafotas · talkHN repeatedly calls it the best in-depth introduction to IC manufacturing, a sense-of-awe talk by an independent engineer, while wishing for an updated version.
- 11 HN recommenders 8 months 2022–2025Commenters repeatedly point to it whenever EUV, ASML or chip manufacturing comes up, as a clear and astonishing explanation of one of the hardest engineering problems in chipmaking.
- 8 HN recommenders 8 months 2020–2023HN cites it whenever chip architecture, Moore's Law or CPU design comes up, as an unusually deep and accessible view from a top designer.
- 7 HN recommenders 8 months 2019–2025U UC Berkeley EECS · talkThe go-to citation in Moore's Law threads, a convincing counterargument from a top CPU designer.
- 10 HN recommenders 7 months 2024–2026HN recommends it as a gripping story of single-minded persistence against the herd, and as the back story behind modern LED lighting.
- 5 HN recommenders 5 months 2025–2026HN users recommend it as an excellent, accessible overview of how modern chips are produced and why EUV matters.
- 6 HN recommenders 5 months 2022–2023HN repeatedly recommends the series as a gripping account of scientific fraud, and cites it whenever research misconduct comes up.
- 5 HN recommenders 5 months 2016–2023HN treats Hamilton's annual talks as the best window into how AWS regions and hardware are actually built.
- 5 HN recommenders 4 months 2022–2023Commenters recommend it as a clear, well-animated explanation of memory, especially for visual learners.
- 4 HN recommenders 4 months 2021–2026S Sam Zeloof · demoHN uses it as the go-to proof that small-scale, hobbyist chip fabrication is real, and as an entry point to the topic.
- 5 HN recommenders 4 months 2019–2023S Seeker · documentaryHN links it in semiconductor threads as an accessible overview of why EUV lithography is so hard.
- 3 HN recommenders 4 months 2020–2021R Robert Baruch · tutorialHN recommends the series as a practical introduction to nMigen and formal verification for CPU design.
- 3 HN recommenders 3 months 2025–2026HN sends people here as the most straightforward and detailed starting point for understanding EUV lithography.
- 4 HN recommenders 4 months 2020–2023HN commenters prefer it over other transistor explanations as an enlightening starting point that leads into building logic gates and a CPU.
- 2 HN recommenders 3 months 2020–2023HN commenters point to it whenever the question is how far hardware can be trusted, including FPGAs, supply chain attacks and firmware TPMs.
- 3 HN recommenders 3 months 2014–2025Regarded as a favorite practical walkthrough of chip decapping, linked in threads on die shots, hardware backdoors and key extraction.
- 3 HN recommenders 3 months 2022–2023T TechTechPotato · interviewHN recommends it as an interview dense with insight from Keller, worth hearing in full even for non-engineers.
- 5 HN recommenders 3 months 2026HN commenters recommend it as the accessible deep-dive on EUV lithography and why chip manufacturing is so hard.
- 2 HN recommenders 3 months 2014–2021HN recommends it as a great walkthrough of chip reverse engineering and the story of Visual 6502.
- 4 HN recommenders 3 months 2022–2024Frequently recommended as a good, approachable overview of ASML and semiconductor equipment.
- 3 HN recommenders 3 months 2012–2023Recommended as a rare, inspiring history of the foundry business and the relationship between Chang and Huang.
- 4 HN recommenders 3 months 2021–2024HN recommends it as a highly informative look at micro-etching glass and the smallest Tesla valves.
- 3 HN recommenders 3 months 2018–2022R RC286 · documentaryRecommended in documentary and semiconductor-history threads as a detailed look at Japan's chip industry.
- 3 HN recommenders 3 months 2010–2023HN points to it as the classic example of home-made semiconductors and a fun way to go down to the transistor level.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2013–2021HN likes Ellsworth as a hardware tinkerer, and cites the video as proof that transistors can be made with low-tech, DIY fabrication.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2020–2021HN commenters cite it as an informative talk from a leading researcher in reversible computing, mainly in threads on reversible computers and energy efficiency.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2022–2023HN commenters point to it as a clear explanation of why fabs aren't being built for older process nodes.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2016–2018HN commenters cite it for the claim that process scaling beyond 28nm is uneconomic and for dark silicon.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2018–2021H HACKADAY · talkRecommended as a clear account of the craft of reading chips from photographs.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2023–2024HN commenters share it in chip fab and industrial espionage threads as a well-researched account of East Germany's failed microelectronics effort.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2022–2024Recommended as a high-level, in-depth take on SMIC's 7nm progress and Asian chip manufacturing.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2024–2025Pointed to as a clear visual reference for chip manufacturing steps.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2021–2025HN uses it as the source on India's early fab attempts, in threads about India's semiconductor ambitions.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2024–2025A ASML · demoHN links it to show the sheer complexity of EUV machines, especially when discussing whether competitors can challenge ASML.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2020–2021D der8auer · demoHN cites it as visual evidence that nm node names are marketing labels and for its neat electron microscope comparison.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2020–2024F FOSSi Foundation · talkHN commenters point to it for Google's reasons for backing open silicon and for background on the open-source chip design workflow.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2020–2025Cited as an accessible way to make lithographic masks at home, in threads about hobbyist chip fabrication.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2022–2023HN points to it as an excellent history of how Japan entered chips, including government-coordinated cooperation like the VLSI project.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2021–2025Used to support the argument that chip engineers see plenty of scaling headroom left.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2023T Tenstorrent · talkHN commenters cite it as a thoughtful talk from a legendary chip architect, both for the s-curves view of progress and for concrete technical details on semiconductor scaling.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2019–2025C Chisel · talkPointed to as a rare first-hand account of a real, shipping ASIC built in an open-source HDL, useful in HDL and FPGA choice discussions.
- cited 3× 0 months 2022–2024Cited as a neat demonstration that diodes work in both directions in semiconductor and LED discussions.
- cited 4× 0 months 2015–2020S SPIETV · talkHN cites it when arguing Moore's Law is really about price per transistor and that this economic trend has stalled.
- cited 4× 0 months 2022T Tenstorrent · talkHN cites it as a source on Tenstorrent's wide-issue RISC-V Ascalon CPU in RISC-V threads.
- cited 5× 0 months 2014–2023HN points to it as the example of someone making integrated circuits at home.
- cited 3× 0 months 2024–2025B Breaking Taps · documentaryHN points to it as an example of hobbyist, at-home integrated circuit fabrication.
Questions
What is the most recommended semiconductors & chip manufacturing video on Hacker News?
Indistinguishable From Magic: Manufacturing Modern Computer Chips by Andor Gafotas: HN repeatedly calls it the best in-depth introduction to IC manufacturing, a sense-of-awe talk by an independent engineer, while wishing for an updated version.
How is this semiconductors & chip manufacturing list ranked?
By HackerTube's score: the number of distinct months in which an HN comment recommended the video, plus half a point for every month with a strong recommendation. One viral thread counts less than steady recommendations over years.
Where do the videos come from?
From every Hacker News comment between 2007 and 2026 that linked a YouTube video, labeled by an AI model as a recommendation, a citation, a joke or a criticism. The list is published by HackerTube under ODC-By 1.0; this edition adds indexable pages and the comment context.
Video list and Hacker News comment labels from HackerTube (prompted by @karpathy), released under ODC-By 1.0, built on the open-index/hacker-news archive. Hacker News data is provided by Y Combinator; comments remain the work of their authors. Video titles, channel names and thumbnails belong to their creators and are shown via YouTube. HackerTube Watch is an unofficial edition. Data export of 2026-10-31.