Integrated circuit

"Silicon chip" redirects here. For the electronics magazine, see Silicon Chip.
"Microchip" redirects here. For other uses, see Microchip (disambiguation).

Wide angle shot of the memory microchip shown in detail below. The microchips
have a transparent window, showing the integrated circuit inside. The window
allows the memory contents of the chip to be erased, by exposure to
strong ultraviolet light in an eraser device.

Integrated circuit from an EPROM memory microchip showing the memory

blocks, the supporting circuitry and the fine silver wires which connect the
integrated circuit die to the legs of the packaging.

An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit (also referred to as IC, chip,

ormicrochip) is an electronic circuit manufactured by lithography, or the patterned
diffusion of trace elements into the surface of a
thin substrate of semiconductor material. Additional materials are deposited and
patterned to form interconnections between semiconductor devices.

Integrated circuits are used in virtually all electronic equipment today and have
revolutionized the world of electronics. Computers, mobile phones, and other
digital home appliances are now inextricable parts of the structure of modern
societies, made possible by the low cost of production of integrated circuits.