Description

<style>.e_editor{font:14px/24px Roboto,Helvetica,Tahoma,Arial,'Microsoft YaHei','b8bf53';}.e_editor div,e_editor p,e_editor td,e_editor th,e_editor li{font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-style:inherit;font-family:inherit;}.e_editor ul{margin:-10px 0 20px;}.e_editor li{padding:5px 0;}.e_table{width:96%;border-collapse:collapse;empty-cells:show;}.e_table th,.e_table td{padding:5px;border:2px solid #eee;}.e_img{padding:10px 0;text-align:center;}.e_p{line-height:20px;padding:0 0 20px;text-indent:0em;}</style> <div class="e_editor"> <div class="e_img" style="text-align:left;"> <span style="font-family:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-style:inherit;font-weight:inherit;text-indent:0em;">Are you curious about the integrated circuit?</span> </div> <div class="e_p"> Back in the days when I studied microelectronics, I made my own integrated circuit. That was an incredible experience! I learned so much. And it gave me a pretty good insight into what this component is. </div> <div class="e_p"> An integrated circuit is simply any type of circuit, made to fit onto a chip. Sometimes, we call it a chip, a microchip or an IC (Integrated Circuit). </div> <div class="e_p"> <h2> What It Does To Your Circuit </h2> </div> <div class="e_p"> An integrated circuit is any kind of circuit that is integrated onto a chip. Therefore, what it does to your circuit depends on the type of circuit. It can be an amplifier, a radio transmitter, a microcontroller or any other circuit you can think of. </div> <div class="e_p"> The chip I made was a Ultra-Wideband (UWB) Radar chip. It’s a really cool technology. Check out some of the radar circuits I have made using this technology. </div> <div class="e_p"> By making a circuit on a small chip, it’s much easier to make advanced projects. Let’s say you want to make a tracking device for your car. You can find a GPS chip for positioning, a GSM chip to send text messages, and a microcontroller chip to control everything. Then create a printed circuit board design to connect them all. </div> <div class="e_p"> Integrated circuits make your life building circuits, so much easier. </div> <div class="e_p"> <h2> How Do You Make an Integrated Circuit? </h2> </div> <div class="e_p"> You create an integrated circuit by drawing different rectangles in a computer program for designing chips. The different rectangles represent different types of material. This sounds a bit weird. But every component is made up from different materials. So, you actually design every component from scratch by putting together different materials. Here is the chip I designed back in 2008: </div> <div class="e_p"> The layout of the integrated chip I made in 2008. </div> <div class="e_p"> This design is then transferred to a silicon wafer by using a complex process of etching and stereolithography. (Learn more about this process here) </div> <div class="e_p"> <h2> How To Figure Out What a Specific Chip Does </h2> </div> <div class="e_p"> If you have an integrated circuit, but you don’t know what it does, don’t worry. Usually it very easy to figure out what it does. Just take the model number that you find on the top, and type it into Google with “datasheet” after. </div> <div class="e_p"> Usually, you will find a PDF-file of the datasheet. The datasheet is a technical document that describes the component. By opening and reading the first page of the datasheet, you should be able to get an understanding of what it does. </div> <div class="e_p"> But, if your chip does not have anything written on it, it is almost impossible to figure out what it does. </div> <div class="e_p"> Return from “Integrated Circuit” to “Electronic Components Online” </div> </div>