INTEGRATED CIRCUITS1. INTRODUCTIONAn integrated circuit, also known as an IC or chip, is a set of circuits and electronic components containing many diodes, transistors and resistors, etc., fabricated on a small plate of semiconductor material like silicon. In fact, it is a miniaturized form of electronic circuit. It is called an “integrated circuit” because all the components and circuits, including the base material, are etched into a small piece of semiconductor plate. It is not like an assembled device in which the components are manufactured independently and then assembled. Integrated circuits have revolutionized the technological world today. Whether it is an ordinary wristwatch, a PC, children's electronic toys or robots, the use of integrated circuits is widespread everywhere. In a nutshell, we can say that today every electronic device contains integrated circuits.2. BIRTH OF ICEExperimental discoveries revealed that semiconductor devices could perform much better than vacuum tubes. Thus, with the advancement of technology, the manufacturing of semiconductor devices has been carried out; a large number of tiny transistors have been incorporated into a small chip. This is the birth of integrated circuits. The first integrated circuits were made independently by the two scientists, Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce, in the 1960s. Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments made a "solid-state circuit" using germanium (Ge). And Robert Noyce of Fairchild Semiconductor; made a “unit circuit” using silicon (Si).3. ADVANTAGES OF ICLow cost and high performanceHigh reliabilityHigh processing speedReduce device sizeGadgets become simpler to useHassle-free service is provided4. INTEGRATION LEVELSDepending on no. of integrated components on a single... middle of paper ...... it applied the input signal. At present, most linear integrated circuits are operational amplifiers and are used in amplifiers, active filters, integrators, differentiators and in other applications. DIGITAL ICs:: Digital integrated circuits constitute a complete network in itself and therefore only require a power supply, an input and an output. They are used to form complex circuits such as counters, gates, multiplexers, etc. Digital circuits only work at two levels HIGH and LOW, in binary system we call it 0 and 1 (0 for LOW and 1 for HIGH). They can be easily designed and are produced in large quantities.6. MANUFACTURING TECHNIQUE7. DEVICE IDENTIFICATIONThere are four things to know to identify an IC that is marked on its front panel. The four elements include device type, manufacturer's identifying initials, date code i.e. year and week of manufacture..