A microchip is a small semiconductor wafer with integrated circuits. It is the brain of modern electronics. Your phone, laptop, car, microwave, and pacemaker all contain microchips. They process data, store memory, and control devices. Without them, the digital world would not exist.

Microchips are made in clean rooms, where dust is measured in particles per cubic meter. Silicon wafers are patterned with light, etched with chemicals, and layered with metals. The process takes months and costs billions to set up. A single speck of dust can ruin a whole wafer.

Types of microchips

• Microprocessors: the CPU of a computer
• Memory chips: RAM, flash, ROM
• Application-specific: designed for one task
• System-on-chip: entire computer on one chip
• Microcontrollers: embedded in appliances

The global chip supply chain is concentrated. Taiwan, South Korea, and China dominate manufacturing. A shortage in 2021 stalled car production worldwide. Microchips are small, but their absence can stop entire industries.