{"id":2322,"date":"2013-11-14T11:03:29","date_gmt":"2013-11-14T11:03:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/chip\/"},"modified":"2019-02-05T11:48:43","modified_gmt":"2019-02-05T11:48:43","slug":"chip","status":"publish","type":"definition","link":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/2169\/chip","title":{"rendered":"Chip"},"content":{"rendered":"

What Does Chip Mean?<\/span><\/h2>\n

In electronics, a chip is comprised of semiconductor material cut from a larger wafer of material that is only a few millimeters on one side. On this chip, a transistor or integrated circuit may be etched but only occupy one-thousandth of an inch of the chip\u2019s surface.<\/p>\n

The terms chip, microchip, integrated circuit (IC) and silicon chip are synonymous.<\/p>\n

Techopedia Explains Chip<\/span><\/h2>\n

Most of a chip\u2019s integrated circuits contain digital logic functions. Some are analog-only, while others are mixed-mode analog and digital. Digital chips are used for computer processors, memory and other logic and information processing functions.<\/p>\n

A single chip may contain a handful or thousands of transistors, and measure only 1\/16 square inch x 1\/30 square inch in thickness. Larger, postage stamp-sized chips may contain millions of transistors. An entire computer may reside on one single chip (i.e., RAM, ROM, clock, the I\/O control unit and CPU).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What Does Chip Mean? In electronics, a chip is comprised of semiconductor material cut from a larger wafer of material that is only a few millimeters on one side. On this chip, a transistor or integrated circuit may be etched but only occupy one-thousandth of an inch of the chip\u2019s surface. The terms chip, microchip, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7813,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"definitioncat":[217],"class_list":["post-2322","definition","type-definition","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","definitioncat-hardware"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat is a Chip? - Definition from Techopedia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This definition explains the meaning of Chip and why it matters.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chip\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This definition explains the meaning of Chip and why it matters.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/2169\/chip\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Techopedia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/techopedia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-02-05T11:48:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@techopedia\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/2169\/chip#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/2169\/chip\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Margaret Rouse\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f5dd538e31ee352d105b8af36c4268a5\"},\"headline\":\"Chip\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-11-14T11:03:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-02-05T11:48:43+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/2169\/chip\"},\"wordCount\":155,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#organization\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/2169\/chip#respond\"]}],\"articleSection\":\"\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/2169\/chip\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/2169\/chip\",\"name\":\"What is a Chip? 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