Integral schemes: types and descriptions

To work any more or less sophisticated electronics, usually a lot of detail is needed. When there are many of them, they can "unite", say, in integrated circuits. What are they? How are they classified? How are they produced and what signals are transmitted?

What are the logical integrated circuits (ICs)

In fact, this microelectronic device, which is based on a crystal of arbitrary complexity, which is made on a semiconductor film or plate. It is placed in a non-separable body (although it can do without it, but only when it is part of the microassembly). The first integrated circuit was patented in 1968. This became a kind of breakthrough in the industry, although the provided device did not correspond very much to modern ideas in terms of its parameters. Integral circuits in the mass are made for surface mounting. Often, an IC is only a crystal or a film. The most common is the integrated circuit on a silicon wafer. So it turned out that its use in industry has a number of advantages, for example, the efficiency of signal transmission.

Levels of design

These devices are complex, which is beautifully displayed. Now they are created with the help of special CAD systems that automate and significantly speed up production processes. So, in the design process:

1. Logical level (inverters, AND-NOT, OR-NOT and the like).
2. System-and schematic (Triggers, encoders, ALU, comparators, etc.) are being worked out;
3. Electrical (capacitors, transistors, resistors and the like).
4. Topological level - photomasks for production.
5. Physical - how to implement one transistor (or a small group) on the crystal.
6. Software - creates instructions for microcontrollers, microprocessors and FPGAs. A model of behavior is developed using a vertical scheme.

Classification

Speaking about how to distinguish integrated circuits, you can not choose only one parameter of the type of complexity of the technique, which is being discussed. Therefore, within the framework of the article, as many as three were selected.

Degree of integration

So, the number of elements in a crystal is considered to be fundamental here:

1. Small integrated circuit. Contains less than one hundred items.
2. The average integrated circuit. The number of elements varies in the range of a hundred / thousand.
3. Large integrated circuit. Contains from a thousand to 10,000 elements.
4. Extremely large integrated circuit. They have over ten thousand elements.

As a rule, a large integrated circuit is often used for household devices. Previously, other categories were used:

1. Ultra-large integrated circuit. It was credited with those samples that could boast of a number of elements ranging from 1 million to 1 billion.
2. Gigabyte integrated circuit. These included samples, the number of elements of which exceeded 1 billion elements.

But at the moment they do not apply. And all the samples that used to be referred to UBIS and GBIS are now being processed as VLSI. In general, this has allowed to save considerably on the number of groups, since the latter two types are usually used specifically in large research centers where computer systems operate, the power of which is measured in tens and hundreds of terabytes.

Manufacturing technology

In view of the various production possibilities, integrated circuits are also classified according to how they are manufactured and from which:

1. Semiconductor. In them, all elements and connections are performed on the same semiconductor crystal. Semiconductor integrated circuits use materials such as silicon, germanium, gallium arsenide and hafnium oxide.

2. Film. All elements and connections are made as films:

- Thick-film.

- Thin film.

3. Hybrid. Has open-frame diodes, transistors or other electronic active components. Passive (like resistors, inductors, capacitors) are placed on a common ceramic substrate. All of them are placed in one sealed case.

4. Mixed. Here there is not only a semiconductor crystal, but also thin-film (or thick-film) passive elements that are placed on its surface.

Type of processed signal

And the third, the very last kind, is based on what signals the integrated circuit processes. They are:

1. Analog. Here the input and output signals vary according to the law of continuous function. They can take a value in the range from negative to positive supply voltage.
2. Digital. Here, any input or output signal can have two values: a logical one or zero. Each of them corresponds to a predetermined voltage level. So, TTL-type microcircuits range 0-0.4V is estimated to zero, and 2.4-5V per unit. There may be other divisions, it all depends on the particular sample.
3. Analog-digital. Combine the advantages and features of previous samples. For example, they can include signal amplifiers and analog-to-digital converters.

Legal features

What is said about integrated circuits in the legislation? At us in the country the legal protection of topologies of integrated microcircuits is given. It means a certain set of specific elements and connections between them fixed on a certain material carrier of the geometric-spatial arrangement (according to Article 1448 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). The author of topology has such intellectual rights to its invention:

1. Author's.
2. Exclusive right.

In addition, the author of the topology may also have other preferences, including the possibility of receiving a reward for its use. Exclusive right is valid for ten years. During this time, the inventor, or the person to whom this status was ceded, can register the topology in the relevant service of intellectual property and patents.

Conclusion

That's all! If you have a desire to collect your scheme - you can only wish success. But at the same time I want to draw your attention to one feature. If there is a desire to assemble a microcircuit, then it is necessary to thoroughly prepare for this process. The fact is that to create it requires exceptional purity at the level of the surgical operating room, besides, because of the fineness of the details, it is impossible to work with a soldering iron in the usual mode - all actions are performed by machines. Therefore, at home, you can create only schemes. If you want, you can buy industrial designs that will be offered on the market, but it is better to leave the idea of manufacturing a house without considerable finance.