Full Form of IC, its types and application.

Safalta expert Published by: Saumya Sahoo Updated Sat, 27 Aug 2022 04:45 PM IST

IC stands for an integrated circuit. A large number of tiny MOSFETs (Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors) are integrated into a small chip. This allows circuits that are orders of magnitude smaller, faster, and cheaper than circuits built from discrete electronic components. The mass manufacturability, reliability, and building-block approach to integrated circuit design of ICs have led to the rapid adoption of standardized ICs in place of discrete transistor designs. Used in virtually all electronic devices today, ICs have revolutionized the world of electronics. Computers, mobile phones, and other consumer electronics are now an integral part of the fabric of modern society, made possible by small, low-cost ics such as modern computer processors and microcontrollers. 
Technological advances in the fabrication of metal-oxide-silicon (MOS) semiconductor devices have made very large-scale integration practical. Since its inception in the 1960s, chip size, speed, and capacity have evolved significantly due to technological advances that have allowed more and more MOS transistors to fit on the same size chip. The size of a human nail. These advances, which roughly follow Moore's Law, mean that today's computer chips are millions of times more powerful and thousands of times faster than the chips in the early 1970s. ICs have two main advantages over discrete circuits: cost and performance. Chips are less expensive because they are printed with all components as a unit using photolithography instead of being built transistor by the transistor. In addition, packaged ics use far less material than discrete circuits. IC components are small and close together, so they switch quickly and consume relatively little power, resulting in high performance. The main drawback of ICs is the high cost of designing the ICs and manufacturing the required photomasks. This high initial cost means that the IC will only become commercially viable if mass production is anticipated.

Invention and history

Invented in 1947, the transistor (a portmanteau of Transfer and Resistance) paved the way for the modern computer age. In the early days, each transistor was housed in a separate plastic case, and each circuit consisted of separate transistors, capacitors, and resistors. Due to the size of these components, early ICs could only hold a few of them (wired together) on the circuit board. Over time, the development of solid-state electronics made it easier to reduce the size of components. In the late 1950s, his inventors, Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments, Inc. And Robert Noyce of Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation, discovered a way to place thin metal traces in devices and make them act as wires. Their solution to the problem of wiring between small electrical devices was the beginning of the development of modern ICs.

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What are the types of ICs?

ICs can be linear (analog), digital, or a combination of both, depending on the intended application. An analog or linear IC has a continuously variable output depending on the input signal level. Theoretically, such an IC can reach an infinite number of states. In this type of IC, the output signal level is a linear function of the input signal level. Ideally, when plotting the instantaneous output against the instantaneous input, the plot will appear as a straight line. Analog ICs typically use fewer components and are fairly simple. Linear ICs are used as audio frequency (LF) and radio frequency (RF) amplifiers. Operational amplifiers (op amps) are common devices in these applications. Another common application for analog ICs is temperature sensors. Linear ICs can be programmed to turn on or turn off various devices when the signal reaches a certain level. These include:
  • An air conditioner
  • Heater
  • Oven
  • Unlike analog ICs, digital ICs do not operate over a continuous range of signal amplitudes. Rather, it works only at some defined (discrete) level or state.
The basic building blocks of digital ICs are logic gates that operate on binary data that the signal has only two different states, called low (logic 0) and high (logic 1). Digital ICs are used today in an increasing number of applications including Computer corporate network modem frequency counter Mixed ICs incorporate both analog and digital design principles. It works like this, digital to analog converter analog to digital converter Clock/Timer IC.

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Modern Integrated Circuits:

Design and Build Over the past half-century, ICs have evolved significantly with higher speeds, larger capacities, and smaller sizes. Compared to the early days, today's ICs are incredibly complex, allowing billions of transistors and other components to fit on one tiny piece of material. Modern ICs consist of one piece, with individual components embedded directly in the silicon crystal and not simply attached. IC is based on several levels of abstraction. The semiconductor wafers that makeup ICs are fragile and contain many intricate connections between many layers. The combination of these wafers is called a chip. With millions or billions of components on a single chip, it is not possible to place and connect each component individually. The chip is too small to solder and connect. Instead, designers use specialized programming languages to create tiny circuit elements and combine them to incrementally increase the size and density of on-chip components to meet application needs.
ICs have been "wrapped" to turn delicate little chips into black chips and now form the basis of hundreds of devices including:
  • Computer
  • Mobile phone and
  • Smartphone car and plane amplifier
  • Network switch Other electronics: washing machines, toasters, microwave ovens, televisions, etc.

What are the types of ICs?

ICs can be linear (analog), digital, or a combination of both, depending on the intended application. An analog or linear IC has a continuously variable output depending on the input signal level. Theoretically, such an IC can reach an infinite number of states. In this type of IC, the output signal level is a linear function of the input signal level. Ideally, when plotting the instantaneous output against the instantaneous input, the plot will appear as a straight line. Analog ICs typically use fewer components and are fairly simple. Linear ICs are used as audio frequency (LF) and radio frequency (RF) amplifiers. Operational amplifiers (op amps) are common devices in these applications. Another common application for analog ICs is temperature sensors. Linear ICs can be programmed to turn on or turn off various devices when the signal reaches a certain level. These include:
  • An air conditioner
  • Heater
  • Oven
  • Unlike analog ICs, digital ICs do not operate over a continuous range of signal amplitudes. Rather, it works only at some defined (discrete) level or state.
The basic building blocks of digital ICs are logic gates that operate on binary data that the signal has only two different states, called low (logic 0) and high (logic 1). Digital ICs are used today in an increasing number of applications including Computer corporate network modem frequency counter Mixed ICs incorporate both analog and digital design principles. It works like this, digital to analog converter analog to digital converter Clock/Timer IC.

What is the Full form of IC?

IC stands for an integrated circuit. A large number of tiny MOSFETs (Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors) are integrated into a small chip. This allows circuits that are orders of magnitude smaller, faster, and cheaper than circuits built from discrete electronic components. The mass manufacturability, reliability, and building-block approach to integrated circuit design of ICs have led to the rapid adoption of standardized ICs in place of discrete transistor designs. Used in virtually all electronic devices today, ICs have revolutionized the world of electronics. Computers, mobile phones, and other consumer electronics are now an integral part of the fabric of modern society, made possible by small, low-cost ics such as modern computer processors and microcontrollers. 

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