Apple A19 SoC die shot • Hacker News Board

muricula wrote: post #8

Does anyone know what the block dot at 12 o'clock on the image is? https://chipwise.tech/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/A19_SoC_die...

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Re: Apple A19 SoC die shot

#26

Post by [deleted] » Tue, Sep 23, 2025, 10:32 PM UTC

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Re: Apple A19 SoC die shot

#27

Post by NetMageSCW » Tue, Sep 23, 2025, 10:34 PM UTC

brcmthrowaway wrote: post #11

Zee2 wrote: post #4

It’s still my strongly held belief that things like this are one of humanity’s grandest achievements.

Nah, NVIDIA GPU has way more raw computational power & smarts.

See how fast it is running on 8 watts.

Re: Apple A19 SoC die shot

#28

Post by bigwheels » Tue, Sep 23, 2025, 10:35 PM UTC

nomel wrote: post #2

Is there a link to a version that isn't almost entirely compression artifacts? This definitely isn't the original, since the blue text at the bottom right isn't even legible.

+1, it's pretty fuzzy. Maybe chipsandcheese or hotchips will do an independent imaging?

The A19 appears to be remarkably intricate chip.

Re: Apple A19 SoC die shot

#29

Post by hmottestad » Tue, Sep 23, 2025, 10:36 PM UTC

Anyone interested in more info and detailed videos should check out Geekerwan: https://youtu.be/Y9SwluJ9qPI

English subtitles are recommended, unless you are better at Chinese than I am.

Re: Apple A19 SoC die shot

#30

Post by bigwheels » Tue, Sep 23, 2025, 10:38 PM UTC

itopaloglu83 wrote: post #18

temp0826 wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's definitely an "on the shoulders of giants standing on the shoulders of giants" thing. Insane breakthrough technologies on top of other insane breakthroughs. Firing lasers at microscopic molten drops of metal in a controlled enough manner to get massively consistent results like what??

It’s a mind blowing achievement, nothing below sorcery if you think about it. ASML machines are hitting tin droplets with 25kW laser 50,000 times a second to turn them into plasma to create the necessary extreme ultraviolet light, and despite generating 500W of EUV, only a small fraction can reach the wafer, due to loses along the way. I believe it was like 10%. Here’s an incredible, very detailed video about it: htt…

That is a really cool video, thank you!

Maybe the high water usage is at some other stage? Or intermediate preceding stages? I'd love to understand more end-to-end, as surely it isn't as easy as popping a wafer in a semi-truck trailer sized lithography machine.