Electronic Components: Integrated Circuits

INTEGRATED CIRCUITS

1. INTRODUCTION

An integrated Circuit also known as an IC or a chip, is a set of electronic circuits and components containing many diodes, transistors and resistors etc fabricated on a small plate of semiconducting material like silicon. Actually it s a miniaturized form of electronic circuit. It is called as an ‘integrated circuit’ as all the components and circuits including base material are etched in a small piece of semiconducting plate. Its not like an assembled device in which components are made independently and then joined together.

ICs have revolutionized the technological world today. Ranging from a common wrist watch to PCs, children electronic toys to robots the use of IC is spread all around. In a nutshell we can say that today every electronic device contains integrated circuits.

2. BIRTH OF IC

Experimental discoveries led to know that semiconductor devices could work much better than vacuum tubes. So with the advancement of technology fabrications of semiconducting devices were done; large numbers of tiny transistors were incorporated in a small chip. This was the birth of IC.

The first integrated circuits were manufactured by the two scientists - Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce independently around 1960s. Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments made a ‘solid circuit’ using germanium (Ge). And Robert Noyce of Fairchild Semisonductor; made ‘unitary circuit’ using silicon (Si).

3. ADVANTAGES OF IC

Low cost and high performance

High reliability

High processing speed

Reduce the size of devices

Gadgets become simpler to use

Trouble free service is provided

4. LEVELS OF INTEGRATION

Depending upon the no. of components integrated on a sing...

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...he applied input signal.

At present most of the linear ICs are operational amplifiers and are used in amplifiers, active filters, integrators, differentiators and in other applications.

DIGITAL ICs: : Digital Ics are a complete network in itself and so require only a power supply, input and output..They are used to form complex circuits such as counters, gates, multiplexers etc.

digital circuits work only at two levels HIGH and LOW, in binary system we call it 0 and1( 0 for LOW and 1 for HIGH).They can be easily designed and are produced in lagre quantities.

6. FABRICATION TECHNIQUE

7. DEVICE IDENTIFICATION

There are four things to know to identify an IC which is marked on the face of it. The four things include the device type, manufacturer’s identifying initials, date code i.e. year and the week of manufacture.