What is the full form of IC

IC: Integrated Circuit

IC stands for Integrated Circuit. It is a small electronic device made of semiconductor material. It contains various microscopic elements like transistors, diodes, capacitors and resistors. All these elements are interconnected and fabricated as a single unit on a thin sheet of semiconductor material, particularly silicon.

ICs are used in a variety of devices like microprocessors, audio equipment, video equipment, mobiles, television sets and automobiles. It is also called as chip or microchip. It was primarily built with an objective of placing as many transistors as possible on a semiconductor chip. The first IC or microchip was developed by Jack Kilby in 1958.

Classification

ICs have undergone several generations of developments. These subsequent developments made them contain more transistors and other electronic components and accordingly they can be classified as;

• Small Scale Integration (SSI): One to hundred transistors per chip or IC.
• Medium Scale Integration (MSI): IC with Hundreds to thousands of transistors.
• Large Scale Integration (LSI): IC with thousands to several hundred thousand transistors.
• Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI): Hundred thousand to one million transistors per chip or IC.
• Ultra-large Scale Integration (ULSI): IC with millions or billions transistors per chip. E.g. computer processor

An IC can also be classified as; Analogue IC, Digital IC or a combination of both.