What is an Integrated Circuit?

Integrated circuit or IC or microchip or chip is a microscopic electronic

circuit array formed by the fabrication of various electrical and electronic
components (resistors, capacitors, transistors, and so on) on a semiconductor
material (silicon) wafer, which can perform operations similar to the large
discrete electronic circuits made of discrete electronic components.

Integrated Circuits

As all these arrays of components, microscopic circuits and semiconductor

wafer material base are integrated together to form a single chip, hence, it is
called an integrated circuit or integrated chip or microchip.

Electronic circuits are developed using individual or discrete electronic

components with different sizes, such that the cost and size of these discrete
circuits increase with the number of components used in the circuit. To
conquer this negative aspect, the integrated circuit technology was developed
– Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments developed the first IC or integrated circuit in
the 1950s, and thereafter, Robert Noyce of Fairchild Semiconductor solved
some practical problems of this integrated circuit.

Types of Integrated Circuits

The different types of an integrated circuit which includes the following
Digital Integrated Circuits
This kind of IC has two defined levels:1’s and 0’s which implies that they work
on binary mathematics wherein 1 stands for on and 0 stands for off. Such ICs
are accomplished diligently as they contain more than millions of flip flops,
logic gates, and whatnot, all incorporated into a single chip. Examples of
digital IC include microcontrollers and microprocessors.
 Logic ICs
 Memory Chips,
 Interface ICs (level shifters, serializer/de-serializer, etc.)
 Power Management ICs
 Programmable Devices
Analog Integrated Circuits
The analog integrated circuits work by tackling continuous signals and are
capable of performing tasks such as filtering, amplification, demodulation, and
modulation, etc. Sensors, OP-AMP’s are essentially Analog ICs.
 Linear IC’s
 RF IC’s
Mixed Signal
When the digital and analog ICs are used on a single chip; the resultant IC is
known as mixed-signal integrated circuits.

 Data Acquisition ICs (including A/D converters, D/A converter, digital

potentiometers)
 Clock/timing IC’s
Uses of Integrated Circuits
The integrated circuit uses a semiconductor material (read chips) as the
working table and frequently silicon is selected for the task.
Afterward, electrical components such as diodes, transistors, and resistors, etc.
are added to this chip in minimized form. Electrical components are joined
together in such a way that they are able to carry out multiple tasks and
calculations. The silicon is known as a wafer in this assembly.
Why is Integrated Circuits Important?
The IC or integrated circuit includes thousands to millions of electronic
components such as resistors, transistors & capacitors which are fabricated
onto a single chip. At present, almost every device like cell phones, TVs,
computers, digital watches utilizes integrated circuits because of their tiny size
as well as high efficiency & reliability. So, without using ICs, electronic
gadgets will become slow and bulk. So this is the reason to use the integrated
circuits in different applications.

Advantages
The advantages of the integrated circuits include the following.

 Small size
 Power consumption is less
 Reliability
 Less cost
 Less weight
 Replacement can be done very easily
 More consistent
 Improved operating speed & performance
 It operates at high temperatures
 Appropriate for small signal operation
Disadvantages
The disadvantages of the integrated circuits include the following.

 The integrated circuit handles simply a limited amount of power.

 The power dissipation is restricted to 10 watts
 In this, high rating PNP assembly is not achievable.
 High voltage operation & less noise are not simply obtained.
 A low-temperature coefficient cannot be achieved
 The indicators/ coils cannot be made-up.
 Delicate

Advantage of Ic
1. The entire physical size of IC is extremely small than that of discrete circuit.
2. The weight of an IC is very less as compared entire discrete circuits.
 3. It’s more reliable.
4. Because of their smaller size it has lower power consumption.
5. It can easily replace but it can hardly repair, in case of failure.
6. Because of an absence of parasitic and capacitance effect it has increased operating speed.
7. Temperature differences between components of a circuit are small.
8. It has suitable for small signal operation.
9. The reduction in power consumption is achieved due to extremely small size of IC.
Dis-advantages of IC
1. Coils or indicators cannot be fabricated.
2. It can be handle only limited amount of power.
3. High grade P-N-P assembly is not possible.
4. It is difficult to be achieved low temperature coefficient.
5. The power dissipation is limited to 10 watts.
6. Low noise and high voltage operation are not easily obtained.
7. Inductors and transformers are needed connecting to exterior to the semiconductor chip as it
is not possible to fabricate inductor and transformers on the semiconductor chip surface.
8. Inductors cannot be fabricated directly.
9. Low noise and high voltage operation are not easily obtained.

Advantages and disadvantages of integrated circuits

Integrated circuit (IC), sometimes called as a chip or microchip that can work as an amplifier, oscillator,
timer, microprocessor, or even memory of a computer. An IC is a small wafer, usually made of silicon, can
be a function as an amplifier, oscillator, timer, counter, computer memory, or microprocessor. This post
gives information about the pros and cons of integrated circuits called ICs to better understand this topic.

Advantages of ICs:

 It is more reliable
 The entire physical size of IC is the extremely small size
 Low power consumption because of their small size
 It can easily replace but it can hardly remain in case of failure
 It has suitable for small signal operation
 Greater ability to operate at extreme temperature
 When the absence of parasitic and capacitance effect has an increased operating speed
 The wight of an IC is very less as compared entire discrete circuits
 Close matching of components and also a temperature coefficient because of bulk production in
batches
 Improved functional performance as some complex circuits can be fabricated for achieving better
characteristics
 The reduction in power consumption is achieved due to the extremely small size of IC

Disadvantages of ICs:

 If one component in an integrated circuits fails, it means the whole circuit has to be replaced
 It is difficult to be achieved low-temperature coefficient
 It can be handled an only a limited amount of power
 Coils or indicators cannot be fabricated
 Low noise and high voltage operation are not easily obtained
 The power dissipation is limited to 10 watts
 Inductors cannot be fabricated directly
  High-grade P-N-P assembly low-temperature coefficient
 Operation at low voltage as IC function at fairly low voltage
 Voltage dependence of resistor and capacitors
 A large value of saturation resistance of transistors
 Integrated circuits are not flexible
 It is impossible to fabricate transformers
 The IC will not work properly if wrongly handled or  it must be exposed to excessive heat
 The power that integrated circuits can produce is limited and calls for extension
 Higher values of capacitance discrete components exterior to the IC chip are connected

Integrated circuit (IC), sometimes called as a chip or microchip that can work as an amplifier, oscillator,
timer, microprocessor, or even memory of a computer. An IC is a small wafer, usually made of silicon, can
be a function as an amplifier, oscillator, timer, counter, computer memory, or microprocessor. This post
gives information about the pros and cons of integrated circuits called ICs to better understand this topic.

Advantages of ICs:

 It is more reliable
 The entire physical size of IC is the extremely small size
 Low power consumption because of their small size
 It can easily replace but it can hardly remain in case of failure
 It has suitable for small signal operation
 Greater ability to operate at extreme temperature
 When the absence of parasitic and capacitance effect has an increased operating speed
 The wight of an IC is very less as compared entire discrete circuits
 Close matching of components and also a temperature coefficient because of bulk production in
batches
 Improved functional performance as some complex circuits can be fabricated for achieving better
characteristics
 The reduction in power consumption is achieved due to the extremely small size of IC

Disadvantages of ICs:

 If one component in an integrated circuits fails, it means the whole circuit has to be replaced
 It is difficult to be achieved low-temperature coefficient
 It can be handled an only a limited amount of power
 Coils or indicators cannot be fabricated
 Low noise and high voltage operation are not easily obtained
 The power dissipation is limited to 10 watts
 Inductors cannot be fabricated directly
 High-grade P-N-P assembly low-temperature coefficient
 Operation at low voltage as IC function at fairly low voltage
 Voltage dependence of resistor and capacitors
 A large value of saturation resistance of transistors
 Integrated circuits are not flexible
 It is impossible to fabricate transformers
 The IC will not work properly if wrongly handled or  it must be exposed to excessive heat
 The power that integrated circuits can produce is limited and calls for extension
 Higher values of capacitance discrete components exterior to the IC chip are connected

Digital Integrated Circuits

The integrated circuits that operate only at a few defined levels instead of
operating overall levels of signal amplitude are called Digital ICs and these
are designed by using multiple numbers of digital logic gates, multiplexers, flip
flops, and other electronic components of circuits. These logic gates work with
binary input data or digital input data, such as 0 (low or false or logic 0) and 1
(high or true or logic 1).

Digital Integrated Circuits

The above figure shows the steps involved in designing typical digital
integrated circuits. These digital ICs are frequently used in
computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors, computer networks, and
frequency counters. There are different types of digital ICs or types of digital
integrated circuits, such as programmable ICs, memory chips, logic ICs,
power management ICs and interface ICs.
Analog Integrated Circuits
The integrated circuits that operate over a continuous range of signals are
called Analog ICs. These are subdivided into linear Integrated Circuits (Linear
ICs) and Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits (RF ICs). In fact, the relationship
between the voltage and current may be nonlinear in some cases over a long
range of the continuous analog signal.

Analog Integrated Circuits

The frequently used analog IC is an operational amplifier or simply called an

op-amp, similar to the differential amplifier, but possesses a very high voltage
gain. It consists of a very less number of transistors compared to the digital
ICs, and, for developing analog application-specific integrated circuits (analog
ASICs), computerized simulation tools are used.

Linear Integrated Circuits

In an analog integrated circuit, if a linear relation among its voltage as well as
current exists then it is known as linear IC. The best example of this linear IC
is.741 IC, is an 8-pin DIP (Dual In-line Package) op-amp,

Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits

In analog IC, if a non-linear relation among its voltage & current exists then it
is called radiofrequency ICs. This kind of IC is also known as a radio
frequency integrated circuit.

Mixed Integrated Circuits

The integrated circuits that are obtained by the combination of analog and
digital ICs on a single chip are called Mixed ICs. These ICs functions as
Digital to Analog converters, Analog to Digital converters (D/A and A/D
converters), and clock/timing ICs. The circuit depicted in the above figure is an
example of the mixed integrated circuit which is a photograph of the 8 to 18
GHz self-healing radar receiver.

Mixed Integrated Circuits

This mixed-signal Systems-on-a-chip is a result of advances in the integration

technology, which enabled to the integration of digital, multiple analogs, and
RF functions on a single chip.

Advantages
The advantages of types of Integrated circuits are discussed below.

Power Consumption is Low

Integrated circuits use less power to work properly due to their less size and
construction.

Size is Compact
A small circuit using ICs can be obtained for a given functionality as compared
with the discrete circuit.

Less Cost
As compared with discrete circuits, integrated circuits are available in less
cost due to their fabrication technologies as well as usage of low material.

Less Weight
The circuits which use integrated circuits are less weight as compared with
discrete circuits

Operating Speed is Improved

Integrated circuits work at high speeds due to their switching speeds as well
as low power consumption.

High Reliability
Once the circuit uses low connections, then integrated circuits will provide
high reliability as compared with digital circuits.

 The size of the IC is small but thousands of components can be

fabricated on this chip.
 By using a single chip, different complex electronic circuits are designed
 Because of the bulk production, these are available with less cost
 Operating speed is high because of the lack of parasitic capacitance
effect.
 From the mother circuit, it can be changed easily
Disadvantages
The disadvantages of different types of integrated circuits include the
following.

 The heat cannot be dissipated at a necessary rate due to its small size
and overflow of current can cause the IC damage
 In Integrated circuits, the transformers, as well as inductors, cannot be
incorporated
 It handles a limited range of power
 Assembly of high-grade PNP is not achievable.
 A low-temperature coefficient cannot be achieved
 The power dissipation range is up to 10 watts
 High voltage and low noise operation cannot be obtained