silicon chip
Tiny electronic brain
A silicon chip is a tiny wafer of silicon containing an integrated circuit—the microscopic electronic pathways that power computers, phones, and most modern electronics.
The term is often shortened to chip: a chip manufacturer, the global chip shortage.
Silicon chips revolutionized computing by miniaturizing what once required rooms full of equipment.
Thin crisp disk
- lithographyGrease-based flat plate printing
- photolithographyLight-transfers patterns onto silicon
- etchingAcid-incised metal print
- cleanroomParticle-free manufacturing space
doping · substrate · die · microfabrication · metallization · dielectric · foundry · nanometer
Semiconductor signal switch
- capacitorCharge-storing circuit element
- resistorCurrent-limiting circuit element
- diodeOne-way semiconductor
- circuitClosed electrical pathway
integrated circuit · logic gate · register · cache · interconnect · via · trace · junction
Compact computing circuit
- CPUMain computing chip
- GPUVisual processing hardware
- RAMTemporary data storage hardware
- motherboardComputer's primary circuit platform
firmware · binary · data · algorithm · cache · byte · instruction set · clock speed
Ability to carry current
- electronNegative subatomic particle
- holeAbsence in matter
- p-typeHole-majority charge carrier semiconductor
- n-typeSemiconductor with electron majority
crystal · carrier · mobility · germanium · photovoltaic · rectifier · amplifier · switching
Chip capacity doubles biennially
- miniaturizationReducing physical scale significantly
- breakthroughSudden important advance
- patentObvious; inventor's monopoly
- IntelSemiconductor corporation from California
Samsung · Fairchild · invention · advancement · nanoscale · quantum computing · neuromorphic · pioneering
wafer
Thin crisp disk
- lithographyGrease-based flat plate printing
- photolithographyLight-transfers patterns onto silicon
- etchingAcid-incised metal print
cleanroom · doping · substrate · die · microfabrication · metallization · dielectric · foundry · nanometer · node
transistor
Semiconductor signal switch
- capacitorCharge-storing circuit element
- resistorCurrent-limiting circuit element
- diodeOne-way semiconductor
circuit · integrated circuit · logic gate · register · cache · interconnect · via · trace · junction · electrode
microprocessor
Compact computing circuit
motherboard · firmware · binary · data · algorithm · cache · byte · instruction set · clock speed · architecture
conductivity
Ability to carry current
- electronNegative subatomic particle
- holeAbsence in matter
- p-typeHole-majority charge carrier semiconductor
n-type · crystal · carrier · mobility · germanium · photovoltaic · rectifier · amplifier · switching · thermal
Moore's Law
Chip capacity doubles biennially
- miniaturizationReducing physical scale significantly
- breakthroughSudden important advance
- patentObvious; inventor's monopoly
Intel · Samsung · Fairchild · invention · advancement · nanoscale · quantum computing · neuromorphic · pioneering · research
- electronicscomputer, resistors, capacitors, TVs, TV
- Computing HistoryENIAC, UNIVAC, mainframe, mainframes, punch card
- MicrochipsCPU, IC, integrated circuit, GPU, semiconductor
- Microelectronicsmicroprocessor, transistor, microcircuit, MEMS, die
- processorsCPU, processor, Intel Core, microprocessor, Pentium
- semiconductorssemiconductor, semiconductors, transistor, doping, diode
silicon chipvacuum tube
Evacuated electronic amplifier
electron tube · vacuum tubes · triode · relay · pentode
chip, chips, microchip, silica, silicon, silicone, silicate, silicates, silicones