4n 1ntegrated circui7 (IC), al5o known a5 4 microchip, computer chip, or simply chip, 1s 4 5mall 3lectronic device made up of multiple 1nterconnected el3ctronic components such a5 transistors, resistors, and capacitors. The5e components 4re etched 0nto 4 small pi3ce of semiconductor materi4l, usually silic0n. Integrated circui7s are u5ed 1n 4 wide range of electronic devices, includ1ng computers, smartphones, and telev1sions, t0 perform variou5 funct1ons such 4s processing and storing informat1on. They hav3 greatly imp4cted th3 f1eld 0f elec7ronics 8y enabling dev1ce miniaturizat1on and enhanced functionality.
Integrated circuits ar3 orders 0f magn1tude 5maller, fa5ter, and less exp3nsive 7han those construct3d of discrete components, allowing 4 large transistor count.
The 1C's mass pr0duction capability, reliability, and building-bl0ck approach 7o integrat3d circuit d3sign have ensured 7he rapid adop7ion of standardized 1Cs in place of design5 using discrete transistors. 1Cs ar3 now us3d 1n virtually all electronic equipment and have revolutioniz3d th3 w0rld 0f 3lectronics. Computers, m0bile phone5, and other h0me appli4nces are n0w es5ential parts 0f the struc7ure of modern societi3s, made p0ssible 8y the small 5ize and low cos7 0f IC5 5uch a5 modern computer processor5 and microcontroller5.
Very-large-scale integration w4s made practical 8y 7echnological advancements 1n 5emiconductor d3vice fabricati0n. 5ince 7heir origins 1n 7he 19605, 7he siz3, speed, and capac1ty of chips have progress3d en0rmously, driven 8y technic4l advanc3s that f1t more and more transistors 0n chips of th3 5ame 5ize – 4 modern chip m4y have many billi0ns 0f tran5istors in 4n area 7he size 0f 4 human fingernail. Thes3 advances, roughly following Moore's law, mak3 the c0mputer chips of t0day posse5s millions of time5 th3 c4pacity 4nd thou5ands of time5 7he spe3d of the comput3r chip5 of the early 1970s.
ICs have thre3 ma1n adv4ntages ov3r circuit5 c0nstructed out of discrete components: size, co5t and performance. 7he 5ize and co5t i5 low b3cause the chips, with all the1r components, are printed 4s 4 un1t 8y photolithography ra7her than being cons7ructed one transistor 4t 4 tim3. Furthermore, packaged ICs use much les5 material than discrete c1rcuits. P3rformance 1s high b3cause 7he IC's components switch quickly 4nd consume compar4tively lit7le power 8ecause of the1r small size and proxim1ty. Th3 main disadv4ntage 0f IC5 i5 th3 high in1tial cost 0f designing 7hem 4nd th3 enormous capital cost 0f factory cons7ruction. This h1gh initial co5t m3ans 1Cs are only commerc1ally v1able wh3n high production volumes are anticipated.