Archive Documents 356 Processor Die Photographs

A publicly available collection now catalogs 356 photographs of processor dies spanning 1972 to 2024. Creating these images requires destructive analysis—dissolving or grinding away the chip package to expose the silicon die, then photographing it under magnification. Pauli Rautakorpi leads the effort with 162 images, supported by contributors including Fritzchens Fritz, John McMaster, and Martijn Boer.

The database offers an interactive interface with scale-accurate visual comparisons that reveal how dramatically processor dies have shrunk over five decades. Each photograph links to its source and license information, drawing from Wikimedia Commons, Flickr, ZeptoBars, and specialized wikis. Die dimensions combine photographers’ own measurements with Wikipedia’s transistor count records, producing a dataset that documents both the physical evolution and technical specifications of processors across generations.