Written by: Avyay Duggirala

As technological advances increase, there is one integral piece of hardware that has stayed the same: the microchip. The microchip is the core part of any electronic device, as it is how different parts of a device are able to communicate with each other. However, these microchips have recently been in short supply which have led to significant impacts. 

What Are Microchips?

Microchips are tiny chips of silicon with thousands of tiny electronic circuits and have allowed for the miniaturization of all computers. Microchips are what is called an integrated circuit;  it has the same function as any other circuit, but is far smaller and operates within itself. The integrated circuit first started out in things like radios where it would act like a switch, sending on and off signals to resistors so that they either stop or let energy pass through. As time progressed, the use of microchips grew and microchips are now far more advanced versions of the original integrated circuit. Microchips still work the same as an integrated circuit, sending both on and off signals, however they do this significantly faster and on a much larger scale, making them extremely useful in technological equipment.

Figure 1

Microchips send signals much faster than integrated circuits, which is part of what makes them so important

Source: Investors Digest

Why Are They Important?

Microchips are vital to our modern society, as they are used in nearly every single technological device. As evidenced by their use in small devices such as phones to enormous ones like rockets, microchips have an extremely high versatility. Microchips serve as the neurons of a computer, essentially telling the device what to do by sending on and off signals to different parts of the device, as mentioned in the previous section. Without a microchip, different parts of the device would be unable to communicate with each other, leading to the device being able to function.

Why Are They In Short Supply?

While the demand for microchips continues to grow, microchips are in short supply for two main reasons; an increased supply and a halt in the supply chain. As we continue to progress, our need for microchips grows. However, we are unable to keep up with this demand due to The first of these reasons is the increasing difficulty of finding and mining silicon. Silicon is the base for microchips, so without it we would not be able to create any more. The second reason why microchips are in short supply is COVID-19. The coronavirus has harmed the supply chain for almost all products, and microchips no exception. Fortunately, the global economy has started to recover, which should mean that more microchips are available but it may be a while until the market returns to normal.

Figure 2

Breakdown of demand for microchips, showing that all industries rely on microchips

Source: Spectrum

Conclusion

Thus far, chips have been operating under “Moore’s law.” Moore’s law is a principle stating that computer capability and processes will double every two years as each chip will be able to hold more transistors. It is assumed that this law will continue to apply to microchips, as small as they already are, experts are sure that more transistors will fit, meaning computing power will increase. Regardless, microchips are vital to all technological equipment and will continue to be in the future. 

References and Sources

Cellan-Jones, R. (2021, March 5). Tech tent: The new ‘space race’ for Computer Chips. BBC News. Retrieved January 23, 2022, from www.bbc.com/news/technology-56294493 

Moore, S. K. (2021, October 4). How and when the chip shortage will end, in 4 charts. IEEE  Spectrum. Retrieved January 23, 2022, from https://spectrum.ieee.org/chip-shortage 

How the chip transformed the industry. Widex Pro. (n.d.). Retrieved January 23, 2022, from  https://www.widexpro.com/en-au/blog/global/how-the-chip-transformed-the-industry/ 

Pappas, S. (2018, April 27). Facts about silicon. LiveScience. Retrieved January 23, 2022, from https://www.livescience.com/28893-silicon.html 

Shira Feder | Updated Oct 12, Shira Feder Shira Feder covers tech, chip shortage chips Gadgets microchips semiconductor shortage, Shortage, C., Chips, Gadgets, Microchips, & Shortage, S. (2021, October 12). Understanding the global chip shortage, a big crisis involving tiny components. Popular Science. Retrieved January 23, 2022, from https://www.popsci.com/technology/global-chip-shortage/