An integrated circuit (also known as IC, microcircuit, microchip, silicon chip, or chip) is a miniaturized electronic circuit manufactured in a thin layer of semiconductor material.
The technology to make electronic circuits this way was developed in the 1960s. Since then, the capacity and speed of these circuits has grown enormously, and yet the cost and physical size has gone down. This combination has been the driving force behind dramatic growth of the computer and communications industries.