This unique method of fabricating silicon creatures was developed by Hewlett-Packard's CPU design team in Fort Collins, Colorado. Additional details are discussed below the applet window.

We have arbitrarily termed this method the Sunken Via Method because of the slight dents that occur in the metal covering the vias (contact shafts between metal layers) that render the image. This is the safest technique yet devised (of which we are aware) for patterning these silicon doodlings. The vias that reside in the silicon dioxide between two metal layers become filled with metal to permit contact (and subsequent grounding) of the layers.

Silicon Zoo occupants who were made by this method include the Hummingbird, the Con Artist, the Sundial, the Rolex, and the Thunderbird.