Applications For Integrated Circuits Information Technology Essay

Applications For Integrated Circuits Information Technology Essay An integrated circuit is the name for collections of electronic components imbedded onto a single piece of silicon. Silicon is the base for most transistors, diodes and other semiconductors. It can also be used as a resistor, capacitor and coil. Each IC is designed to carry out certain tasks and the circuit is designed accordingly. The circuit is then printed or etched onto the silicon substrate and then into a plastic or ceramic enclosure. Applications Applications for integrated circuits are as varied as the imagination of the designers. Within limits, anything that can be designed and built with discrete components can be put into an IC. Audio amplifier, video processors, logic, memory, switches, radio frequency encoders and decoders are just a few examples. The range of IC applications is vast and growing daily. One of the major applications is computing. Computers that once had thousands of transistors have been reduced to a handful of ICs. The early computers that were the siz e of a building are now outperformed in almost every way by laptops and even handheld computers because of the use if ICs As ICs are developed, the design costs and production costs of equipment are reducing. Reliability increases as large parts of the final product are enclosed in single packages, reducing assembly errors, connection problems and size of circuit boards. It is now rare to see any electronic equipment that does not have at least one IC. Indeed, some have only one IC and require no other components of any kind. The real answer to the question is to look around. Wherever electronics are used, there is probably an IC inside Many integrated circuits can be found in almost every  electronic device. They function as timers, amplifiers, logic units, counters, calculators, temperature sensors, and radio receivers. Integrated circuit of  Atmel  Diopsis 740System on Chip  showing memory blocks, logic and input/output pads around the periphery Microchips (EPROM  memor y) with a transparent window, showing the integrated circuit inside. Note the fine silver-colored wires that connect the integrated circuit to the pins of the package. The window allows the memory contents of the chip to be erased, by exposure to strong  ultraviolet light  in an eraser device. In  electronics, an  integrated circuit  (also known as  IC,  chip, or  microchip) is a miniaturized  electronic circuit  (consisting mainly of  semiconductor devices, as well as  passive components) that has been manufactured in the surface of a thin  substrate  of  semiconductor  material. Integrated circuits are used in almost all electronic equipment in use today and have revolutionized the world of electronics.  Computers,  cellular phones, and other  digital  appliances  are now inextricable parts of the structure of modern societies, made possible by the low cost of production of integrated circuits. A  hybrid integrated circuit  is a miniat urized electronic circuit constructed of individual semiconductor devices, as well as passive components, bonded to a substrate or circuit board. A monolithic integrated circuit is made of devices manufactured by diffusion of trace elements into a single piece of semiconductor substrate, a chip.