An integrated circuit is a microelectronic device or element. Using a certain process, the transistors, resistors, capacitors, inductors and other components and wiring needed in the circuit are interconnected and made on a small piece or several small pieces of semiconductor wafer or dielectric substrate.
And then packaged in a tube shell to form a microstructure with required circuit functions; All the components are integrated in structure, which makes electronic components take a big step towards miniaturization, low power consumption, intelligence and high reliability.
An integrated circuit is represented by the letter "IC" in the circuit. Inventors of integrated circuits are jack kilby (Ge-based integrated circuits) and robert noyce (Si-based integrated circuits). Today, most applications in the semiconductor industry are silicon-based integrated circuits.
Characteristics of integrated circuits:
Integrated circuits have the advantages of small volume, light weight, less lead-out wires and solder joints, long service life, high reliability, good performance, and low cost, which is convenient for mass production.
It is not only widely used in tape recorders, televisions, computers and other industrial and civil electronic equipment, but also widely used in military, communication and remote control fields. Using integrated circuits to assemble electronic equipment, the assembly density can be several tens to several thousand times higher than that of transistors, and the stable working time of the equipment can also be greatly improved.