Semiconductors: The Silicon Chip

Semiconductors: Silicon silicon is the most commonly used material for integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing. It is the second abundant substance on Earth. It is extracted from rocks and ordinary beaches and is thoroughly cleaned up. In this form, silicon is a purely industrial material manufactured by humans and contains less than 1 part per million impurities. This is equivalent to a tennis ball in a series of golf balls from the earth to the moon.

Well then, I will briefly introduce you to the history of electronics. It will help you learn more about semiconductors and silicon chips. Prior to the invention of integrated circuits and silicon chips in the early 1900's, computers and radios were manufactured using vacuum tubes. Vacuum tube was invented by Dr. Lee De Forest in 1906. Throughout the first half of the 20th century, vacuum tubes were used to conduct, modulate and amplify electrical signals. They enable a variety of new products including radios and computers. However, vacuum tubes have several inherent problems. It is bulky, elaborate and expensive, consumes a lot of electricity, warms up over time, becomes very hot, and then burns out. The first digital computer contains 18,000 vacuum tubes and requires a power of 140 kilowatts with a weight of 50 tons.

When the transistor was invented in 1947, it paved the way for the electronic age. Transistors use semiconductors such as silicon to amplify signals and function as switches. Transistors are much better than vacuum tubes, but there is still pressure to keep circuit parts small. Jack Kilby, a new employee at Texas Instruments, did not take time off because he took a two week vacation. Thinking alone, he has the idea of ​​making an integrated circuit - a synthesizing circuit made of one material. Before he was ready to assemble, his collection phase was a few months sketch at his laptop. He did this on September 12, 1958 and succeeded in testing the first integrated circuit.