Background information
Virtual RAM won’t save smartphones from the memory crisis
by Jan Johannsen
YouTuber builds RAM in his garden shed – and it works
22.4.2026
Translation: Patrik Stainbrook
RAM is expensive, and the market’s firmly in the hands of three major companies. In response, one YouTuber took action: building his own RAM – in his garden shed.
Three companies dominate the global RAM market: Micron, Samsung, and SK Hynix. Ever since the AI boom caused demand to skyrocket, prices have soared. And new production facilities don’t spring up overnight. YouTuber Dr. Semiconductor begins his latest video by analysing the situation. His solution: to manufacture RAM himself. To do this, he turns his garden shed into a clean room and begins building RAM from scratch.
How does RAM work?
Before getting started, Dr. Semiconductor explains the basics. A DRAM chip consists of an array of tiny cells. At each intersection, there’s a transistor and a capacitor. The transistor switches and the capacitor stores a charge. If it’s charged, it represents a 1; if it isn’t, it’s a 0. Since a capacitor will lose charge on its own, it has to be refreshed regularly – hence the name: Dynamic RAM.
Dr. Semiconductor plans to build a 5×4 array of these cells, with transistors just under the one-micrometre mark. That’s extremely ambitious for a home build.
Layer by layer, until you have a chip
The manufacturing process is kind of like assembling a multi-layer sandwich. It all starts with a silicon wafer, which is cut and cleaned using a diamond cutter. Dr. Semiconductor then heats the chips to 1,100 degrees Celsius – a temperature close to liquid lava. This creates a protective glass layer.
Next comes photolithography: using a photosensitive resist and UV light, he exposes patterns on the surface with micrometre-scale precision – similar to analogue photo printing. He then applies phosphorus to specific areas to form the electrical inputs and outputs of the transistors. Instead of expensive ion implantation, he uses a phosphorus solution he developed himself – a useful alternative in his shed.
After further oxidation at 950 degrees Celsius and etching the contact openings, he applies aluminium. It’s sprayed through a stencil, just like paint. Wherever the photoresist is removed, the desired circuit pattern remains.
It works – with some limitations
Dr. Semiconductor tries out his finished chip under a microscope using ultra-thin test prods – with surprising results. The transistor switches with precision, and the capacitor reaches a capacitance of 12.3 picofarads – almost exactly the theoretical ideal value. In a DRAM cell, the capacitor charges to three volts in a few hundred nanoseconds.
But there are drawbacks: a charge lasts only two milliseconds, whereas commercial RAM lasts over 64 milliseconds. As a result, the chip needs to be refreshed much more frequently. In addition, the transistor exhibits a punch-through effect at higher voltages, which limits its operation to lower voltage ranges.
Doom doesn’t run yet – but it’s a start
This result is both absurd and fascinating: according to the creator, it’s the first time anyone has built functional RAM at home. However, a fully functional memory module requires a large array of cells and the appropriate control electronics.
But Dr. Semiconductor is already planning the next step: he wants to connect the cells into a larger array and connect it to a PC. We’ll have to wait a little longer for that video, however. In the meantime, you can check out how he built his clean room:
Kevin Hofer
Senior Editor
kevin.hofer@digitecgalaxus.chFrom big data to big brother, Cyborgs to Sci-Fi. All aspects of technology and society fascinate me.
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