It’s a good candidate since it sounds like there’s no precision mechanical components like there would be in a hard drive. Does anyone have ideas for how I’d go about this? Is there a barrier I’m not considering?
I know how to make basic semiconductors already, so that’s not an issue.
Edit: I’ve got an answer written down in the comments now. TL;DR you’d still need lithography to do it the OG way, because of the patterned magnetic material that directed bubbles around the medium, but material requirements are actually pretty flexible.
Uh, do you mean you know how to design them and send them somewhere to be made, or do you actually make them yourself? I thought you needed a crazy manufacturing plant for that.
As for making bubble memory, have you considered the material requirements? It looks like bubble memory used gadolinium gallium garnet, or yttrium iron garnet. Additionally, it sounds like bubble memory is significantly more complex than you’d think because while there aren’t any mechanical components, it sounds like there are moving components.
Sam Zeloof has made chips in his garage and posted a whole series about it on Youtube. He bought his silicon wafers, he didn’t grow them, and his machines do take up the whole garage - but he did the whole thing himself. Fascinating viewing IMO. I don’t know anything about where one would get these garnetty materials you mention, though.