An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit (also referred to as IC, chip, and microchip) is an electronic circuit manufactured by diffusion of trace elements into the surface of a thin substrate of semiconductor material.
 

Integrated circuits are used in almost all electronic equipment in use today and have revolutionized the world of electronics. Computers, cellular phones, and other digital appliances are now inextricable parts of the structure of modern societies, made possible by the low cost of production of integrated circuits.

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