Integrated Circuits (ICs) Definition
What is Integrated Circuit?
Integrated circuit, abbreviated as IC; as the name suggests, it is a circuit with specific functions that integrates a certain number of commonly used electronic components, such as resistors, capacitors, transistors, etc., as well as the connections between these components, through a semiconductor process.
Integrated circuit is a new type of semiconductor device developed from the late 1950s to the 1960s. It is a small piece of silicon that integrates semiconductors, resistors, capacitors and other components required to form a circuit with certain functions and the connecting wires between them through semiconductor manufacturing processes such as oxidation, photolithography, diffusion, epitaxy, and aluminum evaporation. on-chip, and then solder the electronic device packaged in a tube. Its packaging shell comes in various forms such as round shell type, flat type or dual in-line type. Integrated circuit technology includes chip manufacturing technology and design technology, which is mainly reflected in processing equipment, processing technology, packaging and testing, mass production and design innovation capabilities.
Characteristics of integrated circuits
Integrated circuits, also known as microcircuits, microchips, and chips, are a way of miniaturizing circuits (mainly including semiconductor devices, including passive components, etc.) in electronics, and are usually manufactured on the surface of a semiconductor wafer.
Integrated circuits have the advantages of small size, light weight, few lead wires and soldering points, long life, high reliability, good performance, etc. At the same time, they are low in cost and convenient for mass production. It is widely used not only in industrial and civilian electronic equipment such as cassette recorders, televisions, computers, etc., but also in military, communications, remote control, etc. When integrated circuits are used to assemble electronic equipment, the assembly density can be increased by dozens to thousands of times compared to transistors, and the stable working time of the equipment can also be greatly improved.
Classification of integrated circuits
Integrated circuits, also known as ICs, can be divided into three categories: analog integrated circuits, digital integrated circuits and digital/analog hybrid integrated circuits according to their functions and structures.
About Buying ICs
In the process of research and development or learning, you often need to buy a small amount of chips. Although the quality of chip dealers is good, but the quantity is too small, they are generally unwilling to deal with you unless they have the goods in stock and you come to pick them up. If you order futures, you may not be able to meet the minimum requirement. The minimum order quantity and the delivery time may be unacceptably long. Applying for samples is also not an easy task. At this time, you can only go to the electronic market to find goods. The goods on the market are mixed, and you must learn to distinguish good from bad.
1.Disassemble the chip
These chips are sorted after being removed from the circuit board. The pins clearly have traces of soldering and are shiny. The spacing between the pins is obviously different. The size, font, and depth of the printed text and patterns on the surface are different, and the production batch number is They are generally not the same, and the origin mark on the back is more complicated.
2.Polishing chip
These chips are very similar to brand new chips. There is basically no obvious difference in the size, font, and depth of the printed words and patterns on the surface. The batch numbers are also the same. However, if you look closely at the chip surface, you will find many tiny parallel scratches, and the origin logo on the back is also different. , the pins are generally not shiny, but matte, with traces of oxidation, and the pin spacing is relatively consistent. Generally speaking, polished films are mainly caused by brand-new films that have been left out for too long, or the batch numbers are complicated. In order to sell better, they are polished and printed into a unified and relatively new production batch number.
3.Refurbished chips
The size, font, and depth of the printed words and patterns on the surface of these chips vary. The production batch numbers are generally different. The origin mark on the back is relatively complicated, but the pins have no traces of use, but there are traces of oxidation. Generally speaking, this kind of chip It is traders who put unused chips collected from various channels into a tube and sell them.
4.Brand new original chip
The size, font, depth, and production batch number of the text and patterns printed on the surface of these chips are very consistent. The origin identification on the back is very consistent. The pins are very neat. There is a bright * in the middle of the matte surface. The tubes that hold the chips are very new. It is very transparent and does not turn yellow.
5.How to buy chips
Chips of different qualities have different prices. When purchasing integrated circuits, you should proceed from the actual situation and purchase the chip that is most suitable for your project.
Among the first three types of chips, the reliability of disassembled chips is the worst, the reliability of new scattered chips is second, and the reliability of polished chips is better. In addition, try to buy new chips during the period when they can be programmed, because other quality chips are not suitable for programmable chips. The failure rate of the devices is very high.