computerchip

A computer chip, or integrated circuit, is a small piece of semiconductor material containing an array of electronic components that perform logic, memory, or signal-processing functions. The most common material is silicon, but other substrates and compounds are used for specialized applications. Chips are the fundamental building blocks of modern electronics and are found in computers, phones, vehicles, appliances, and industrial equipment.

Chips come in many types. Central processing units (CPUs) execute general-purpose instructions. Memory chips such as dynamic RAM (DRAM), static RAM (SRAM), and flash memory store data. Graphics processing units (GPUs) handle parallel computations for graphics and compute workloads. Microcontrollers control embedded systems. Specialized chips, including application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), are designed for specific tasks or can be reprogrammed after manufacture.

Manufacturing involves fabricating thousands to billions of transistors on silicon wafers using photolithography, deposition, and etching processes. Transistor density, process nodes, and power efficiency determine performance. Chips are packaged and mounted on circuit boards; thermal management and power delivery are critical design considerations. The industry follows ongoing advances often described by Moore's law, though reducing sizes and energy per operation has become increasingly complex.

Historically, integrated circuits replaced discrete transistors in the 1960s and 1970s, enabling PCs, mobile devices, and data centers. Notable milestones include the first microprocessor in the early 1970s and the rapid rise of multi-core CPUs, GPUs, and memory technologies through the 1990s and 2000s.

Current trends in chip design include heterogeneous integration (combining different types of chips in a single package), chiplets to assemble large functions from smaller dies, and 3D stacking to improve density. The field faces challenges such as supply-chain constraints, geopolitical considerations, and increasing power density, but it remains central to computing and digital technology.