Microchip

[globalgirluk]

What is the difference between an integrated circuit and a microchip? And which is third and which is fourth generation?

[incitatus]

An integrated circuit is a cicuit where all the components are wired in to the same board, and linked by the minimum of wiring, normally on the reverse of the board.
A microchip is a similar device where the components are fabricated on the surface of a very pure silicon chip, and similarly linked by conductive material. The microchip is much, much smaller than the integrated circuit but is similar in concept.
The term "third generation" is a very loose one, referring to major steps in the evolution of a design. As the integrated circuit came first it would be a previous generation to the microchip

[Eddiecurrent]

Microchip and integrated circuit are one and the same infact integrated circuit is the correct terminology I think what incitatus is thinking of is a PCB or PWB (printed circuit board or printed wiring board) I think third generation and fourth generation refer to the amount of connections (or integration) that the chip has (LSI large scale integration 100>1000 components, VLSI [very large scale integration] 1000+) these are distant memories from my electronic engineering days so the values maybe wrong!