Integrated circuits: What are they, what are they for and what types exist in computing?

At the end of the 1950s, the integrated circuits of small size, which were known by the name of chips and which are essential for carrying out any type of project, thanks to their multiple functions. It should be noted that the chips are essentially used to store a large number of transistors that intertwine with each other to perform different electronic activities.

They are found in a ceramic or plastic capsule, having metal guides on the outside that are called pinswhich are linked on the inside.

If at any time you have wondered what they are used for, you are not the only one, which is why here we will reveal to you what you can use this small piece for, as well as what its different Benefits. In addition, we will inform you of some of its particularities and performancejust as we give you some tips to apply when being handled.

What is an integrated circuit and what is it used for in electronics and computing?

The integrated circuit (IC) is commonly known as a chip, that is, it is a small device that stores millions of capacitors and transistors. They are generally used to communicate one circuit with another or with some explicit application.

This can be implemented to use as:

• a loudspeaker
• An oscillator.
• A timer.
• A meter.
• A computer memory.
• A microcomputer.

Now, these devices are classified as linear or digital, although that will depend on the use you want to give it. On the other hand, an integrated circuit is made up of several small elements, so today it is possible that integrate a transistor with a chip and form a microchip.

The microchip, for its part, is a device with thousands of receivers that are formed in a silicon sheet that has a very minimum dimension.

History and evolution of the chip. How were they before and how are they now?

The chips were created in the year 1958 by the engineer Jack St. Clair Kilby, being that at that time it was very common to use electronic elements known as “vacuum ducts”, which were the light bulbs that were used regularly in televisions and radios. Thus, as a result of this, the first circuit was generated integrated compositewhich only took up a little space.

Later, on September 12, 1958, this Jack Kilby invention was tested with resounding success, since it had been designed by means of a small square germanium pelletwhich is a metallic and crystalline chemical component.

The aforementioned component had a length of at least 6 mm and only had one transit, a capacitor and 3 resistors. Now, this great invention started the age of the microelectronic devices. Its shape was very small, so it began to be called a chip.

Then, in the year 2000, this inventor received the award Nobel Prize in Physics for having created this technological instrument. Integrated circuits were designed after various types of experiments, which led to the discovery that semiconductors perform actions similar to vacuum tubes.

Its shape has been designed smaller and smaller, as its manufacturers multiply their transistors every 18 months, just as the moore’s law.

What are the main characteristics of an integrated circuit?

Among the main characteristics of integrated circuits are:

FAN-OUT

What are each of the numbers? charges that focus the output of the gates without neglecting their main function. The outputs of the aforementioned gates provide an amount restricted of current, where its operation is not maneuvered correctly, for which it is said that it is overloaded.

power dissipation

This is the force that is needed to be able handle the gatewhich is represented in milliwatts and indicates the power that it must have.

Propagation Delay

This is the period in which the broadcast conversion and a signal to enter and exit at the moment the binary signals change their value.

noise margin

Is he sound voltage that is added to the input signal of the chip, which does not cause a modification when it is not required. It is usually expressed in volts, and there are also 2 types of noise that must be taken into consideration: DC noise and AC noise.

Types and classification of microchips, what are all the ones that exist?

Within the types of microchips we have:

monolithic circuits

They are made with a single crystal that is made of silicon.

Hybrid thin film circuits

It is a circuit very similar to the monolithic circuit, since it has parts that are difficult to make.

analog and digital

They are commonly used and are divided into analog chips, with which the intensity of the signals is increased. There are also digital ones that are like an analog brain that serves as if it were a nervous system. These types of chips are used to develop complex systems.

Microprocessor

This model helped to make the personal computersbeing that today they contribute to the development of cell phones, since it helps to carry out several essential functions.

Main limitations of integrated circuits in computing What can and cannot do?

Integrated circuits have certain restrictions physical and economic in its improvement, which are impediments that have made these devices not be improved with accuracy.

power dissipation

These devices emit force, at the moment in which each of its elements are united in a correct size. Likewise, this force can increase when the material is heated. substratumcausing devices to fail.

Likewise, in various circumstances it has a positive feedback system, so that the more the temperature rises, much more current will be obtained, which is known by the name of thermal runaway.

If this type of runaway is not limited the devices can be destroyed. Well, sound amplifiers and tension mechanisms are prone to these circumstances, so it is recommended that they have a thermal protection.

Power circuits, infallibly, are those with the highest level of force that must be dissipated. That is why your capsule It has metallic elements inside the chip, so that you can have a thermal conduit and thus send the heat to the heatsink or to the environment as such.

The minimization of thermal resistance and the new capsules made with silicone mean that there is more heat dissipation in tiny capsules.

That is why digital circuits make it possible to solve difficulties when there is a supply voltage, since low consumption technologies are used, such as CMOS.

Displacement and parasitic self-inductions

This essentially refers to the electrical junctions that exist in the chips, in the capsules and in the circuits where they are installed, thus limiting their execution. Whether minimal pills are used, their capacity is diminished and their autoinduction.

Component Limits

Among the elements that make up some of the limitations that make the chips not work correctly are:

• resistors, which are unnecessary because they require a lot of space, which is why small values ​​and MOS technologies are used.
• capacitors, where very small percentages can be used since it covers a lot of surface, such as for example; where a strategic speaker µA741 and its balance reservoir takes up a large portion of the chip.
• inductors are generally used for radio frequency circuitssince they are hybrids and usually do not integrate.

Integration density

When integrated circuits are developed, the difficulties are piling up, so that several numbers of its elements when having the final version cannot be executed correctly. By the time the chip completes a larger number of devicesthose with difficulties minimize the functional chip balance.

Reason why if a memory circuit is used thousands of transistors are implemented, because more are created than are needed, so the interconnection can be different for what is makes specific organization difficult.

A lack of flexibility

If an integrated circuit does not have the elasticity Inconveniences are caused in the hardware of the system, so it is difficult to update the programs that you want to use.

In case you want to perform an update, the system must be fully developed, since if this is not executed, you will have an obsolete equipment, that is why to solve this inconvenience empty grooves have been created.

That is why users can increase the functionality of your devices, as well as its performance, without having to buy a new system. This is the reason why in order to have a good power for upgrade devices it is essential that there is limited functionality, so it is necessary that in the end a completely new system is created.