IC is short for integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit (also referred to as a chip, or a microchip) is a set of electronic circuits on one small plate ("chip") of semiconductor material, normally silicon. A microscopic array of electronic circuits and components that has been diffused or implanted onto the surface of a single crystal, or chip, of semiconducting material such as silicon. It is called an integrated circuit because the components, circuits, and base material are all made together, or integrated, out of a single piece of silicon, as opposed to a discrete circuit in which the components are made separately from different materials and assembled later. ICs range in complexity from simple logic modules and amplifiers to complete microcomputers containing millions of elements.
