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IC Full Form

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What is the Full Form of IC ?


The full form of IC is Integrated Circuit. It is a microchip that contains thousands of electronic components which are made of millions of transistors, resistors, and capacitors. Integrated Circuit(IC) consists of many components or units which are grouped together to perform a specific function. IC is used in almost every electronic device that uses semiconductor components. Semiconductors are conduction in which there is a free flow of electrons in one direction through a wire, but not the other way around. IC is a tiny chip that takes up the functions of an oscillator, amplifier, microprocessor, timer, and even computer memory. Constructed with a semiconductor material, it houses an assortment of microscopic elements like diodes, transistors, resistors, and capacitors. All these components are integrated to form a singular unit on the silicon IC. 


Function of IC 

Nowadays, all the electronic appliances that we use daily in our homes contain integrated circuits in it. For example- Televisions, Laptops, Cell phones, Tablets, etc. The primary function of an integrated circuit is to control the flow of electricity through different components in an electronic device. IC full form is Integrated Circuit because it is a microchip that contains thousands of electronic components, which are made of millions of transistors, resistors, and capacitors. It can be smaller than a grain of rice and can hold more electronic components than any other previous technology. The first IC was developed by Jack Kilby in 1958. He received a patent for his invention in 1960. In 1969, Robert Noyce, also from Texas Instruments, developed a way to make multiple circuits on the same IC. He called his design an integrated circuit based on Kilby's name for his invention.


Integrated Circuit Design

There are two types of Integrated Circuits-

  1. Digital ICs- These are mainly used in all electronic appliances which have to do with numbers or digits like computers or machines that use digits for their major calculation.

  2. Analog ICs- These are mainly used in electronic devices that don't have to do with numbers or digits, like a sound system that produces sound waves from an electrical signal. One example of Analog IC is a microphone preamplifier circuit. This type of circuit has a high impedance which means it can take a weak signal and amplify it without adding noise to the signal.


Applications of IC

There are a number of applications for integrated circuits. Here are some examples:

  • Computers

  • Cell Phones

  • Television

  • Laptops

  • Tablets

  • Cars

  • Aircrafts

  • Medical Devices


A Brief Look into the History of the Integrated Circuit

The rise of the Integrated Circuit that is the full form of IC, dates back to 1958. Jack Kilby, in the year 1957, proposed the primitive idea to the US Air Force. He successfully demonstrated its functions on the 12th of September 1958. It can be said that the very first customer of the IC was the US Air Force. The invention of the Integrated circuit fetched Kilby a Nobel Prize in Physics. Experimenting with improved production methods, Robert Noyce came up with the first authentic monolithic IC chip, exactly six months after Kilby. 


Let us Get to Know the Classifications:

The Integrated Circuits that is the IC full form, has undergone various development procedures to finally get classified into:

  • Small Scale Integration (SSI): This variety contains 100 transistors per chip. Early aerospace projects used the Small Scale Integration Circuits. 

  • Medium Scale Integration (MSI): This comes with more than hundreds of transistors. The number can rise to a thousand. Going through a lot of modifications, by the end of the 1960s, the chip came with hundreds of MOSFETs 

  • Large Scale Integration (LSI): By the mid of 1970, large-scale integration (LSI) came into being with more than thousands of transistors per chip; hundreds of thousands can be the number. 

  • Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI): The Very Large Scale Integration circuit came into existence around 1980, holding transistors numbering up to hundred thousand to one million per IC 

  • Ultra-large Scale Integration (ULSI): These are the ICs with millions or billions of transistors 


Further, you will find two more varieties, such as the Digital IC and the Analogue IC or even a combination of the two, making the new 3rd variety. 


Let us Look at the Good Side of the ICs:

To sum up the goodness of the Integrated circuit, or to say the full form of IC, we can say the following:

  • You can rely on them

  • It increases the operating speed as the parasitic and the capacitance effect are absent in them

  • Due to its compactness, it feeds on low power. 

  • They are light in weight

  • These are perfect for small signal operations


Some of the Disadvantages

Every good thing comes with a downside too. We have jotted a few of the disadvantages of the IC down below:

  • Only a limited amount of power can be handled by them

  • You cannot engineer the indicators or the coils

  • It does not exhibit low voltage and low noise

FAQs on IC Full Form

1. What is the Work of the IC?

Integrated Circuit. An integrated circuit, or IC, is a small chip that can function as an amplifier, oscillator, timer, microprocessor, or even computer memory. An IC is a small wafer, usually made of silicon, that can hold anywhere from hundreds to millions of transistors, resistors, and capacitors. 

2. What is IC on TV?

An integrated circuit (IC), sometimes called a chip or microchip, is a semiconductor wafer on which thousands or millions of tiny resistors, capacitors, and transistors are fabricated. Linear ICs are used as audio-frequency (AF) and radio-frequency (RF) amplifiers. 

3. How to Identify Integrated Circuit Chips?

The IC chips can be identified in the following ways:

  1. Identify the manufacturer first. Sometimes the company name is printed on the IC, but others may be obscure symbols. 

  2. Look up data sheets in the manufacturer's printed catalog. This may be most beneficial when trying to identify an obsolete part. 

  3. Lookup a part number in an electronic retailer's catalog

4. What is the full form of IC?

The full form of IC is Integrated Circuit. IC is used in practically every electronic gadget. A Brief Look Into the History of the Integrated Circuit: Let us Get to Know the Classifications: Further, you will find two more varieties, such as the Digital IC and the Analogue IC, or even a combination of the two, making the new 3rd variety. ICs are perfect for small signal operations. You cannot engineer the indicators or the coils. It does not exhibit low voltage and low noise. They are light in weight and compact. Students who are in the process of studying ICs, let us help you study better. We have a wide range of free notes, tutorials and video lectures for your Engineering Classes and ECE project needs.  We also provide you with high-quality notes, study material, Ebooks, and so on for the school exam and competitive examination.

5. When was the Integrated Circuit first developed?

The Integrated Circuit was first developed in 1958 by Jack Kilby. It can be said that the very first IC was made and used by Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments. A Brief Look Into the History of the Integrated Circuit: Let us Get to Know the Classifications: Further, you will find two more varieties, such as the Digital IC and the Analogue IC, or even a combination of the two, making the new 3rd variety. ICs are known to feed on low power They are known to be light in weight and compactness. You can rely on them. The IC is one of the most important developments of the 20th century. As a result, many integrated circuits today are in fact smaller than a grain of sand.

6. How does the IC circuit work?

Integrated Circuits, or ICs for short, are circuits that have been created in such a way that they can be fitted into and printed on a semiconductor chip. This process where many components of a circuit are manufactured onto the surface of a single small piece of semiconducting material is known as 'semiconductor integrated circuits.' IC was first developed in 1958 by Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments, and since then, they have become an essential part of modern electronics. The key advantage that ICs offer over other types of electronic circuitry is their high level of integration. This means that a large number of individual electronic components can be packed into a very small space, which is why ICs are so important in modern electronics. The first ICs had a limited number of transistors, but as technology has progressed, the number of transistors that can be packed onto a chip has increased dramatically, to the point where we now have chips with billions of transistors. This increase in integration has allowed for the development of increasingly complex electronic circuitry in a variety of different fields

7.  What are the uses of IC?

There are many diverse applications for Integrated Circuits. Firstly, it must be understood that all ICs contain transistors that can be used to amplify or switch electrical signals. The type of transistor contained within the chip will vary according to the specific application, but it is the transistor that gives ICs their unique functionality. Secondly, ICs can be used for memory storage. This is where data is stored in an electronic form and can be accessed and manipulated by a computer. The amount of data that can be stored on an IC chip has increased dramatically over the years, and now we have EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory) and FLASH memory which can hold vast amounts of data. Finally, ICs are often used in the amplification stages of audio equipment. This is because integrated circuits offer high levels of amplification while also requiring very little power, allowing for relatively small battery-powered audio devices such as iPods and MP3 players. So, those are some of the most common uses for us. As you can see, they are highly significant in the world of modern electronics.

8. What are some importantly integrated circuits?

Some examples of particularly significant ICs are the microprocessor chip and the microcontroller chip. These chips were developed in 1971 and 1972 by Ted Hoff, an engineer at Intel, who designed one of the first single-chip central processing units (CPU) and microcontrollers, respectively. Since their development, these two components have become essential parts of modern computers and other devices such as digital watches and microwave ovens. Other important ICs include the random access memory (RAM) chip, which is used for temporary data storage in computers and other devices, and the flash memory chip, which is used for permanent data storage in a wide variety of applications. So, as you can see, integrated circuits are essential components in a wide range of modern electronic devices.