An integrated circuit (IC), sometimes called a chip, microchip or microelectronic circuit, is a  semiconductor wafer on which thousands or millions of tiny resistors, capacitors, diodes and transistors

are fabricated. An IC can function as an amplifier, oscillator, timer, counter, logic gate, computer memory, micro controller or microprocessor. An IC is the fundamental building block of all modern electronic devices. As the name suggests, its an integrated system of multiple miniaturized and interconnected

components embedded into a thin substrate of semiconductor material (usually silicon crystal). ICs are now used in virtually all electronic equipment and have revolutionized the world of electronics.

Computers, mobile phones, and other digital home appliances are now inextricable parts of the structure of modern societies, made possible by the small size and low cost of ICs such as modern computer processors and microcontrollers.