Integrated Circuit (IC)

An Integrated Circuit (IC) is an Electronic Circuit manufactured by the patterned diffusion of trace elements into the surface of a thin substrate of semiconductor material.

• AKA: Monolithic Microchip.
• Context:
  • It can (typically) be a Silicon-based Integrated Circuit.
  • It can range from (typically) being a Two-Dimensional Integrated Circuit to being a Three-Dimensional Integrated Circuit.
• Example(s):
  • a CMOS Device.
  • a Microprocessor, such as a CPU or GPU.
  • a RAM Circuit.
• See: Central Processing Unit, Random Access Memory, Moore's Law, Integrated Circuit Design, Multigate Device.

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References

2011

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integrated_circuit
  • An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit (also referred to as IC, chip, and microchip) is an electronic circuit manufactured by the patterned diffusion of trace elements into the surface of a thin substrate of semiconductor material.
  • Integrated circuits can be classified into analog, digital and mixed signal (both analog and digital on the same chip).
  • Digital integrated circuits can contain anything from one to millions of logic gates, flip-flops, multiplexers, and other circuits in a few square millimeters. The small size of these circuits allows high speed, low power dissipation, and reduced manufacturing cost compared with board-level integration. These digital ICs, typically microprocessors, DSPs, and micro controllers, work using binary mathematics to process "one" and "zero" signals.
  • Analog ICs, such as sensors, power management circuits, and operational amplifiers, work by processing continuous signals. They perform functions like amplification, active filtering, demodulation, and mixing. Analog ICs ease the burden on circuit designers by having expertly designed analog circuits available instead of designing a difficult analog circuit from scratch.
  • ICs can also combine analog and digital circuits on a single chip to create functions such as A/D converters and D/A converters. Such circuits offer smaller size and lower cost, but must carefully account for signal interference.

1961

• (Noyce, 1961) ⇒ Robert Noyce. (1961). “Semiconductor Device-and-Lead Structure." US Patent number: 2981877

1952

• (Jacobi, 1949) ⇒ Werner Jacobi. (1949). “Halbleiterverstaerker.” German Patent Number DE 833366

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