What is a chip?
A chip is a tiny slice of silicon packed with switches, up to billions of them, that work together to compute, store or move data.
1. Many tiny switches
A chip, also called an integrated circuit, is a small piece of silicon. It holds many tiny on-off switches, up to billions in a big chip, and the wires that join them.
2. A package protects it
The bare chip, called a die, sits inside a package that protects it. Tiny metal pins, balls or pads join the package to the circuit board and carry signals and power.
3. Different chips, different jobs
Processors compute, and memory chips store data. Controller chips each run one thing, such as power, USB or Wi-Fi.
4. Every flip costs energy
A big chip has billions of switches, and each can flip up to billions of times a second. Each flip uses a tiny bit of energy, but all together they use a lot of power.
Words to know
- Chip (integrated circuit)
- A small piece of silicon with many switches, up to billions, and the wires between them.
- Silicon
- The material most chips are made of. It is made from sand.
- Switch (transistor)
- A tiny part that lets electricity through (on) or stops it (off). Electricity flips it, not a finger.
- Die
- The bare piece of silicon that holds the switches and wires.
- Package
- The case around the die. It protects the die and connects it.
- Circuit board
- The flat board that holds the chips and wires of a computer.
- Processor
- A chip that computes by following a program's steps.
- Controller
- A chip or part that runs one thing, such as Wi-Fi.
Where you meet it at work
On a validation team, your work is to check that a new chip does what its designers planned, and to find where it does not. Every other lesson here builds on this picture.
Check yourself
What is the bare piece of silicon inside a package called?Think first, then tap to see the answer.
A die.