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Sheets.works has published an interactive collection of 356 processor dies photographed between 1972 and 2024 and shared publicly. The archive credits 18 named contributors and 18 additional photographers, links each image to its source and license, and shows 114 dies at a common scale where size data is available.
Sheets.works has assembled 356 photographs of processor dies—the silicon at the heart of a chip—dating from 1972 to 2024, creating an interactive catalogue of images that photographers have made available to the public. The project links each image to where it was published and displays its individual license, while a scale view compares 114 dies whose dimensions are known.
The catalogue records images from Pauli Rautakorpi, who contributed 162, and the photographer known as Fritzchens Fritz, who contributed 68. John McMaster contributed 36, Martijn Boer 20, Cole L 16 and ZeptoBars 10. The list also credits Sean Riddle, Antoine Bercovici, Ken Shirriff, Mister rf, Epop, InfoSecDJ and Nick V. Chernyy, among others. The report says 21 images came from 18 other photographers.
According to sheets.works, seeing a processor die requires removing or otherwise clearing away the chip’s package and photographing the remaining silicon through a microscope. The project lets readers open individual images at a larger size. Its true-scale view includes 114 processors with size information, making differences in physical dimensions visible across chips from several decades.
Die dimensions are drawn from photographers’ notes, while transistor-count information is taken from Wikipedia tables, the report says. Each photograph retains its own license, displayed with the image, and links back to its source. Those sources include Wikimedia Commons, Flickr, ZeptoBars, Siliconpr0n and the CPU Graveyard wiki. Sheets.works says that when a processor is absent, it means a free photograph of it has not been released to the project’s collection.
A Public Record of Silicon Design
The catalogue brings scattered chip photographs into one place, letting readers compare processors across a 52-year span without treating every image as though it had the same origin or reuse terms. For researchers, hobbyists and anyone interested in computing history, the linked sources and license details provide a route to inspect the original material rather than relying only on a cropped image in a chart.
The common-scale display adds a physical dimension to the historical record. Processor development is often discussed through transistor counts, product names or performance claims; showing dies at the same scale makes their physical sizes directly comparable for the subset with measurements. The archive does not claim to represent every processor ever made: it documents photographs that have been shared freely and for which the project has identified material to include.
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How the Die Images Are Made
A processor’s die is the piece of silicon that carries its circuitry, enclosed within a protective package in a finished chip. The sheets.works description says that photographers expose the die by sanding or dissolving away the package, then use a microscope to photograph the silicon. The resulting images can reveal the layout of the chip, but the catalogue’s purpose, as presented, is to collect and compare photographs rather than offer a technical analysis of every design.
The project relies on material already published by photographers and communities, rather than claiming to have photographed the listed processors itself. Its source list includes personal collections and public repositories, and the images’ licensing terms remain attached individually. That distinction matters: inclusion in an index does not mean every picture has the same license or can be reused under identical conditions.
“These are the 356 processors they have photographed, from 1972 to 2024.”
— Sheets.works
Gaps in Coverage and Measurement
The source material does not establish that the 356 entries cover every processor photographed or every image made available online. The collection is limited to photographs identified and included by Sheets.works, and the report says a missing chip indicates that no free photo has been released; it does not provide a complete list of chips searched for or explain how that status was checked.
Only 114 of the 356 dies appear in the common-scale view because the project says their sizes are known. The source does not specify the measurement method or uncertainty for each dimension. Nor does the report give a publication date for the catalogue or describe an update schedule, so it is unclear when new photographs or corrected measurements may be added.
Sheets.works does not announce a deadline, planned expansion or next milestone in the supplied report. The catalogue’s stated approach points to future additions depending on photographers publishing images that can be shared freely and on the project incorporating them with their source and license information. Readers can use the individual source links to check the original photographs and the terms attached to them.
Key Questions
What does the catalogue contain?
It lists 356 processor-die photographs dated from 1972 to 2024, with interactive image views, source links and individual license information.
Who contributed the most photographs?
According to the sheets.works contributor list, Pauli Rautakorpi contributed 162 images, followed by Fritzchens Fritz with 68 and John McMaster with 36.
Can every die be compared at the same scale?
No. The common-scale display covers 114 processors for which the project says size information is available. The other entries are not included in that view.
Does inclusion mean a photograph is free to reuse?
No. Sheets.works says each photograph has its own license, shown when the image is opened. Users should check the terms for the specific image before reusing it.
Why might a processor be missing?
The project says a missing chip means it has not found a freely released photograph of that processor for the collection. The report does not give a full search record for absent chips.
Source: sheets.works
