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Electrical & Electronics Engineering vocabulary · Circuits and Components

Integrated circuit

Meaning in electrical & electronics engineering, with examples

nounCore term

In electrical & electronics engineering, integrated circuit means: A complete electronic circuit made on a single small piece of silicon and sealed in a package with pins. Microcontrollers, op-amps and voltage regulators are all integrated circuits.

In Turkish: entegre devre, entegre, tümleşik devre, çip

How it is used

Usually shortened to IC or simply called a chip. Engineers talk about the IC package (SOIC, QFN, BGA), pin 1, the part number and the datasheet. On schematics, ICs usually carry the reference designator U, as in U1 or U7.

Example sentences

  1. The integrated circuit gets very hot, so check whether its output is shorted.

  2. This integrated circuit is out of stock until next year, so we need an alternative.

Common collocations

  • integrated circuit package
  • driver IC
  • IC socket
  • pin 1
  • microcontrollerA small computer on a single chip, with a processor, memory and input/output peripherals. It runs firmware to control devices such as appliances, sensors and motors.
  • op-ampShort for operational amplifier: an integrated amplifier with two inputs and very high gain. With a few resistors and capacitors around it, it can amplify, filter, compare or buffer signals.
  • voltage regulatorA circuit or IC that keeps its output voltage constant even when the input voltage or the load changes. It can be linear, such as an LDO, or switching, such as a buck converter.
  • datasheetA document from the manufacturer that gives a component's specifications: ratings, electrical characteristics, pin descriptions, package drawings and typical application circuits.
  • footprintThe pattern of copper pads, holes and markings on a PCB that matches a component's package, so that the part can be placed and soldered correctly.

More terms: Circuits and Components

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