Integrated circuit

An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit (also referred to as an IC, a chip, or a microchip) is a set of electronic circuits on one small plate ("chip") of semiconductor material, normally silicon. This can be made much smaller than a discrete circuit made from independent electronic components. ICs can be made very compact, having up to several billion transistors and other electronic components in an area the size of a human fingernail. The width of each conducting line in a circuit can be made smaller as the technology advances; in 2008 it dropped below 100 nanometers, and was reduced to 14 nanometers in 2014.