A computer chip is a tiny piece of material (usually made of silicon)..........lines of metal - usually aluminium - on the chip to connect these tiny components.

A computer chip is a tiny piece of material (usually made of silicon), that contains a complex electronic circuit. These chips are essential in modern computers and a variety of other electronic devices. The circuit on a computer chip, sometimes called an integrated circuit, is made up of electronic components built into the chip. Most chips are no larger than a fingernail.

Two Americans - Jack Kilby, an engineer, and Robert Noyce, a physicist, who worked independently - patented the first computer chips in 1959. During the 1960s, scientists developed chips for guided missiles and satellites. Engineers soon began to build smaller and faster computers by using chips in place of conventional circuits. The first microprocessors were produced in 1971 for use in desktop calculators.

There are two main kinds of computer chips. The first is called a microprocessor, which carries out the instructions that make up computer programs, and the other type is called a memory chip, which holds computer programs and other data. Memory chips are used primarily in computers. Microprocessors are used in computers and hundreds of other products. A microprocessor serves as the 'heart' of every personal computer. Larger computers have more than one such chip. Other products controlled by microprocessors include video games, digital watches, microwave ovens and some telephones.

The body of most chips is made of silicon. This material is used because it is a semiconductor. In its pure form, silicon does not conduct electricity at room temperature. But if certain impurities are added to silicon, it can carry an electric current. Manufacturers 'dope' silicon chips with such impurities as boron and phosphorus. The doped regions form the chip's electronic components, which control the electric signals carried on the chip. The type and arrangement of the impurities determine how each component controls signals. Most components serve as switches called transistors. Others serve mainly as capacitors, which store an electric charge; diodes, which prevent current from flowing in one direction but not the other, and resistors, which control voltage.

The manufacturing of a computer chip begins with a wafer of doped silicon. The wafer measures from 2.5 to 20 centimeters in diameter. A photographic process reduces a large master design for the integrated circuit to microscopic size. Technicians use these microscopic designs, called masks, as stencils to make hundreds of chips on one wafer. After the wafer has been processed, it is divided into individual chips. Some chips contain millions of components. Certain parts of these components measure less than 1 micrometer (0.001 millimeter) across. Manufacturers create thin lines of metal - usually aluminium - on the chip to connect these tiny components.

Summary: A computer chip contains a complex electronic circuit. Two Americans first patented it in the late fifties. Then, scientists developed chips for guided missiles and satellites. Soon, engineers used chips to build smaller and faster computers. This was later used to produce microprocessors. the first type of computer chip is called a microprocessor. It implements instructions in a computer program. The second is called a memory chip. Most chips are made of silicon. They are added with impurities sot hat they can conduct electricity. The computer chip starts with a thin wafer of doped silicon. Then, a large master design is reduced to a tiny size through a photographic process. These designs are used to manufacture hundreds of chips on one wafer. the wafer is then divided into individual chips.