Technology is quickly becoming a vital part of modern life. An estimated five billion people
around the world own a smartphone and research has shown that many would feel anxious
about being parted from their device for even one day. So, it’s no surprise that these devices are the driving force for new technical innovations.
We can thank a small electronic component for the rapid rise of the smartphone and other
technologies – the semiconductor chip. Let’s find out more about this revolutionary little
creation, which has at the centre of the electronics revolution.
What is a Semi-Conductor Chip?
In technical terms, a semi-conductor chip is an integrated circuit; a set of electronic circuits
on a small piece of semi-conductor material (normally silicon), also known as a ‘chip’. They
can be mass-produced, as it’s possible to automate the procedure to make the chips,and they are even available to buy from suppliers like RS Components.
What do these semi-conductor chips do?
Each chip can contain over a billion components that perform different functions – all within an area as small as a fingernail. These chips can be found everywhere and you’re likely to use them every single day; they’re in your car, in trains and aeroplanes, and in printers and copiers. They’re also inside every single electronic device you’ll own, including your smart phones, sat navs, games consoles, tablets and computers.
What is the Future for Chips and Smart Phones?
There’s no signs of stopping for semi-conductor chips and it’s highly likely that they’ll
continue to play a prominent role in our electronics well into the foreseeable future.It has
been predicted that the semi-conductor industry will expand and evolve to keep up with the
growing demand for technological innovations.
Consumers want higher performance but using less power, so new chips are being developed to cater for this. Rather than using silicon, compound semi-conductors (made from two or more elements, whose properties make them faster and more efficient) are being used for scaling up memory and performance. These are already being tested in future 5G and 6G phones. They’re likely to be used alongside silicon chips to make future smart phones fast enough and small enough, whilst also having a decent battery life.
In summary, the semi-conductor chip industry is evolving quickly to meet the market’s
needs. Billions of people own smart phones and are becoming increasingly reliant on them,
with the demand for faster and higher-performance phones growing. With new chips already in development, we can expect to see this demand become a reality in 5G and 6G phones in the very near future.
