VLSI Circuit Design Methodology Demystified
A Conceptual Taxonomy
Chapter One
The Big Picture
1. WHAT IS A CHIP?
A chip (integrated circuit or IC) is a miniaturized electronic circuit that is
manufactured on the surface of a thin substrate of semiconductor material.
Functionally, a chip is a hardware component that can perform certain
desired functions. For example, a simple chip might be designed to perform
a simple function of a logic NOR (such as the 4000-series CMOS, dual 3-input
NOR gate and NOT gate shown in Figure 1.1), a simple operational amplifier,
or an analog-to-digital converter (ADC). However, a complex system
on chip (SoC) performs much more complicated tasks (see Figure 1.2).
Examples include those for video decoders, cellular phones, network
routers, or general-purpose CPUs for personal c ... read full excerpt from VLSI Circuit Design Methodology Demystified: A Conceptual Taxonomy ebook
