IC, that is integrated circuit, is the acronym of integrated circuit. It uses semiconductor manufacturing process to fabricate many transistors, resistors, capacitors and other components on a small single crystal silicon wafer, and assemble the components into a complete electronic circuit according to the method of multi-layer wiring or tunnel wiring. It is represented by the letter "IC" in the circuit.

In a broad sense, IC is a general term for semiconductor component products; in a narrow sense, IC only refers to integrated circuits.

At present, there are two kinds of design, production and sales modes for integrated circuit products: (1) IC manufacturers (IDM) design by themselves, processed and packaged by their own production lines, and the finished chips after testing are sold by themselves. (2) the combination of IC Design Company (Fabless) and standard process line (Foundry). The design company gives the final physical layout of the designed chip to Foundry processing and manufacturing, similarly, the packaging test is also entrusted to professional manufacturers to complete, and the final finished chip is sold by itself as a product of IC Design Company. The definition of IC product grade is mainly based on the outer packaging of the product. The grades are arranged alphabetically from A to E: A1, A2, A3 (Note: A1, A2, A3 in the market), B1, B2, B3, B4 (Note: B1, B2, B3, B4 in the market collectively referred to as "bulk new goods"), C1, C2, D1, D2, D3, D4, D5 (Note: D1, D2, D3, D5 in the market, T1 and T2 (note: T1 and T2 are collectively referred to as "special products" in the market). According to its function, IC can be divided into digital IC, analog IC, microwave IC and other IC. Among them, digital IC is the most widely used and fastest growing IC variety in recent years. Digital IC is the IC that transmits, processes and processes digital signals, which can be divided into general digital IC and special digital IC.

From the perspective of the development trend of the industry, the design industry will still be the most dynamic field in the domestic IC industry. The field of chip manufacturing and packaging design, driven by exports, will show a significant growth trend, especially in the chip manufacturing industry. The scale of the chip manufacturing industry will grow rapidly in the next two years. Under the background of the national development strategy of emerging industries, 3G, mobile communications, semiconductor lighting, automotive electronics and other emerging fields are developing rapidly, giving birth to a huge market, which will promote the further development of China's IC industry.