The concept of integrated circuits traces its roots back to the late 1950s and early 1960s. Jack Kilby, an engineer at Texas Instruments, and Robert Noyce, co-founder of Fairchild Semiconductor and later Intel, independently conceived the idea of integrating multiple electronic components onto a single semiconductor substrate.
The semiconductor industry is a high-tech industry that involves the research and development, manufacturing, and application of semiconductor materials. Semiconductors are a special type of material with conductive properties that lie between conductors and insulators. Semiconductor materials achieve the functionality of electronic devices by controlling the flow of current.
Semiconductor materials refer to materials with special electrical properties in electronics and quantum mechanics, including silicon, germanium, silicon nitride, gallium selenide, etc. The special properties of these materials enable them to be used as materials in electronic devices, such as transistors, diodes, solar cells, etc.
The resistivity of semiconductors changes significantly with temperature. For example, pure germanium, for every 10 degrees increase in humidity, its electrical resistivity decreases to 1/2 of its original value.
The semiconductor industry mainly focuses on integrated circuits, consumer electronics, communication systems, photovoltaic power generation, lighting applications, high-power power conversion, and other fields. From the perspective of technology or economic development, the importance of semiconductors is enormous
An Integrated Circuit (IC), also commonly known as a microchip or chip, is a miniaturized electronic circuit that consists of multiple interconnected semiconductor devices, such as transistors, diodes, resistors, and capacitors, fabricated on a single semiconductor substrate, usually made of silicon. The components on an integrated circuit are designed to perform specific electronic functions, and the entire circuit is manufactured as a single unit.
