What is chip
A chip is to make the transistors and other devices needed for a circuit on a semiconductor (From Jeff Dahmer). A chip is the carrier of an integrated circuit.
Strictly defined, integrated circuits and chips are not the same.
However, there is actually no difference between IC, chips, and integrated circuits that are improved daily. The IC industry and chip industry we are talking about refer to the same industry.
To sum it up in one sentence: a chip is a product obtained after designing, manufacturing, packaging and testing integrated circuits using semiconductors as raw materials.
When the chip is mounted on mobile phones, computers, and tablets, it becomes the core and soul of such electronic products.
The touch screen of a mobile phone needs a touch chip, the storage of information requires a memory chip, and the communication function requires a baseband chip, a radio frequency chip, and a Bluetooth chip. If you want to take good-looking photos, you need a GPU...
There are many ways to classify chips
According to the way of processing signals, it can be divided into analog chips and digital chips
According to the design concept, it can be divided into general-purpose chips and special-purpose chips
According to the application field, it can be divided into aerospace-grade chips
Automotive-grade chip: It has strict requirements on the temperature environment and can be used in a wider temperature range.
Industrial-grade chips: Industrial products have been in harsh environments of extremely high/low temperature, high humidity, strong salt spray and electromagnetic radiation for a long time, and the use environment is harsh. Therefore, industrial chips must have stability, high reliability and high security, and have relatively Long service life.
Consumer product-level chips: currently the most widely used chips with the highest market share, they are used in daily-use computers, mobile phones and other products.
According to the process, it can also be divided into 90nm and above (including 90nm, 128nm and above), 60nm, 45nm, 28nm, 14nm, 12nm, 7nm, 7nm and below. The current advanced process chips mainly refer to chips below 12nm, such as 12nm, 9nm, 7nm, 5nm, or even 3nm. At present, TSMC has achieved mass production of 5nm chips and trial production of 3nm chips.
Some companies will introduce that their main business is CPU chips/memory chips, which are divided from the perspective of application functions.
Next, we will give a detailed introduction to the classification of chips from the perspective of application functions.
1. Processor chip
The processor chip is equivalent to the human brain and is used for thinking, analysis and calculation
The central processing unit (CPU) is the computing and control core of the system, and the final execution unit for information processing and program operation. Generally, when it comes to CPU, the first thing that comes to mind is Intel. The world's first commercial processor is Intel4004. In addition to dealing with Intel, AMD, IBM, Qualcomm, etc. are all representative companies that design CPU chips.
A graphics processor (GPU), also called a visual processor or a display chip, is generally a microprocessor that performs image and graphics-related calculations on mobile devices such as computers and mobile phones. Intel, Nvidia, and AMD are all representative companies in the GPU field.
A digital signal processor (DSP), a unique microprocessor, is a device that processes large amounts of information with digital signals. In addition to audio and video fields, DSP chips can be used in automatic control, radar, medical, household appliances, aerospace and other fields.
A microcontroller (MCU) integrates computing, storage, and interfaces on one chip to form a chip-level computer. MCU has a wide range of uses, but its largest application field is automobiles. A car contains more than 70 MCU chips. Representative companies in the MCU field include: Renesas Electronics, NXP, STM, etc.
2. Memory chip
Memory chips are equivalent to the human cerebral cortex, used to store information and data. Psychologically speaking, human brain memory can be divided into short-term memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory. Likewise, there are different types of memory chips that perform different functions.
Static random access memory (SRAM), when the power is kept on, the data stored in the chip can be stored permanently; but only when the power is turned off, the data will be lost, which is a volatile memory.
Dynamic random access memory (DRAM) can only keep data for a short time, so it needs to be refreshed regularly in the power-on state to keep the data unchanged; after power-off, the data will be lost, which is also a volatile memory.
Read-only memory (ROM), once the information is written, it is fixed, even if the power is cut off, the information will not be lost. Belongs to non-volatile memory.
Flash memory (Flash) can keep data for a long time regardless of whether it is powered on or not, and whether the data is refreshed. Like ROM, it is a non-volatile memory.
3. Sensor
Sensors are equivalent to the five sense organs of human beings, which can perceive/measure sounds, images, temperature, humidity, pressure and light signals in life.
CMOS image sensor (CIS) is an electronic device that converts optical images into electronic signals, which is equivalent to the human retina, and is indispensable for chips such as mobile phones, cameras and even satellite imaging. Representative companies in the CIS field include: Samsung, Sony, etc.
Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) is a system that integrates microcircuits and micromachines on a chip according to functional requirements. It is especially widely used in mobile phones, such as magnetic sensors, fingerprint sensors, environmental sensors, etc. Representatives in the MEMS field include Broadcom and Bosch.
Touch/touch chip (Touch), the daily use of mobile phones and tablet computers contains touch chips, which have sensitive automatic recognition and tracking functions for environmental changes. Representative companies in the field of Touch chips include: Atml, etc.
4. Power chip
The power chip is equivalent to the human heart, which can provide nutrients to other organs of the body. The power chip can provide power for ASIC, ASP, CPU, Memory, FPGA and other digital or analog.
DC/CD power supply chip (DC-DC), refers to the power supply that converts DC to DC, and is a kind of switching power supply chip (the other is AC/DC). Compared with AC/CD, the design technology and production process of DC/DC are mature and standardized at home and abroad.
LDO Low dropout linear regulator (LDO), is a voltage regulator. In electronic design, it is often necessary to use different DC voltages to power different devices, and the LDO voltage regulator chip can realize this function.
The power management unit (PMU) is a highly integrated and more portable power management solution that can achieve higher power conversion efficiency and lower power consumption.
Representative companies in the field of power chips include: TI, Infineon, Toshiba, etc.
5. Communication chip
Communication chips are equivalent to the god level of human beings, extending in all directions and transmitting information and data.
Bluetooth chip (Bluetooth), the use of Bluetooth is very frequent, it is a short-range wireless connection technology that supports the transmission of sound and images. Representative companies in the field of Bluetooth chips include: Qualcomm, Cypress (Infineon), STM, etc.
Wireless chip (Wifi) is also a kind of short-range wireless communication. Representative companies in the field of Wifi chips include: Qualcomm, Broadcom, etc.
Narrowband IoT chip (NB-loT) is a long-distance wireless communication that belongs to the wide area network. It can be applied to various fields such as smart meter reading, smart street lights, smart parking, and shared bicycles. Representative companies in the field of NB-loT chips include: Qualcomm, etc.
6. Interface chip
Interface chips are equivalent to human "limbs". It can also be used for the transfer of information and data.
Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an external bus standard and an interface technology used in the field of PCs and mobile phones. It is also a common one in daily life, such as the USB socket on the computer and the USB charging cable of the mobile phone, which are closely related to our life. Representative companies in the field of USB chips include: Cypress, NXP, etc.
High-definition multimedia interface chip (HDMI) is a fully digital video and sound transmission interface that can send uncompressed audio and video signals. Laptops, TVs, and set-top boxes in life have HDMI ports. Representative companies in the field of HDMI chips include: Toshiba, ADI, etc.
