dan> A while back we had a discussion about the "perfect" pinhole, and
dan> how to make it. Why not think in terms of growing them in a
dan> silicon chip? The dimensions could be precisely controlled.
dan> For all we know, Intel throws out latent pinhole cameras
dan> as defects all the time.
dan> It would be worth a call to someone in the industry.
As someone involved in the industry, I am not aware of any
techniques used which require the formation of holes in the silicon
through the entire wafer. I would actually be surprised if it were
possible on a commercial scale.
Integrated circuit manufacture generally relies on etching of
grown/deposited layers, and "doping" (ion bombardment). I'm not
intimately familiar with the latest DRAM technology out of Japan and
other deep trench techniques, but I do know that none of them create
holes through the substrate.
In any case, the holes would be cylindrical, which is
undesirable for pinhole photography (or so I'm told :-)).
cheers
-steve