Integrated- circuit resistors

Increasingly, whole electronic circuits are fabricated on semiconductor wafers called as integrated circuits (ICs). It is possible to put a whole radio receiver into a couple of ICs, or chips nowadays, whose whole volume is about the same as that of the tip of your little finger. In the year 1930, a similar receiver would have been as large as a television set.

Resistors can be fabricated onto the semiconductor chip which makes up an IC. The width, and the types and concentrations of impurities added, control the resistance of component.

IC resistors can handle a tiny amount of power due to their small size. But because IC circuits are designed to consume minimal power generally, this is not a problem. The small signals produced by ICs can be amplified by using circuits made from discrete components if it is essential to obtain higher signal power.