What is the relationship between chips, semiconductors and integrated circuits?
There is a close relationship between chips, semiconductors and integrated circuits.It can be said that a semiconductor is a material, a chip is a carrier of electronic components manufactured using semiconductors, and an integrated circuit is a technology and product that integrates multiple electronic components onto a chip.
Chip is the collective name for semiconductor component products. It is the carrier of integrated circuit (IC, integrated circuit) and is divided into wafers.
Integrated circuits refer to active devices, passive components and their interconnections that make up a circuit and are fabricated on a semiconductor substrate or an insulating substrate to form a structurally closely connected and internally related electronic circuit. It can be divided into three main branches: semiconductor integrated circuits, film integrated circuits, and hybrid integrated circuits.
Semiconductors are the basic materials needed to make chips and integrated circuits. A chip is a carrier made of semiconductor material on which multiple electronic components are integrated. These components can be transistors, resistors, capacitors, etc. and are used to perform various circuit functions.
Integrated circuits are technologies and products that integrate multiple electronic components onto a single chip. By integrating these components onto a chip, complex circuit functions can be implemented in a smaller, more efficient space. The invention and development of integrated circuits has greatly improved the performance of electronic devices and played an important role in computers, communications, consumer electronics and other fields.
Therefore, semiconductors are the basic materials for chips and integrated circuits. Chips are the carrier of integrated circuits, while integrated circuits are technologies and products that integrate multiple electronic components on a chip to achieve various functions. The relationship between them can be understood as a hierarchical relationship from materials to products.
What is the difference between integrated circuits and chips?
1. Different emphasis
Integrated circuits focus on electronic circuits, which are the underlying layout and are broader in scope.
A chip is a fingernail-sized, square or rectangular object with pins.
2. Different production methods
The raw materials for chip manufacturing are wafers (silicon, gallium arsenide), and then photolithography, doping, packaging, and testing can complete the production of the chip. Chip manufacturing must use advanced equipment such as photolithography machines and etching machines.
Integrated circuits use a wider range of raw materials and processes. They only need to shrink the complete circuit (including transistors, resistors, capacitors, inductors and other components), connect them together through wiring, make them on a semiconductor wafer or dielectric substrate, and then package them in a inside the tube shell. For integrated circuits, photolithography machines and etching machines are not necessary.
3.Different packaging
The most common chip packaging is DIP packaging, also called dual in-line packaging technology and dual-inline packaging. The number of pins in this package generally does not exceed 100, and the pitch is 2.54 mm.
Integrated circuits are put into protective packages to facilitate handling and assembly onto printed circuit boards and to protect the device from damage. A large number of different types of packages exist.
Simply put, chip packaging is more regular and the method is more concentrated. Integrated circuit packages have different sizes and shapes, and there are more methods.
4.Different functions
Chips are designed to package more circuits, which can increase the number of transistors per unit area, thereby enhancing performance and increasing functionality.
All the components in the integrated circuit are structurally integrated, making electronic components a big step forward in miniaturization, low power consumption, intelligence and high reliability.