Advanced integrated circuits are the core of microprocessors or multi-core processors, controlling everything from computers to mobile phones to digital microwave ovens. While designing and developing a complex integrated circuit is extremely expensive, the cost per circuit is minimized when distributed across products that typically number in the millions. Integrated circuits offer high performance because their small size allows for short paths, enabling low-power logic circuits to be used in applications with fast switching speeds.

Over the years, integrated circuits have continued to shrink in size, allowing more circuitry to be packed into a single chip. This increases capacity per unit area, reduces cost, and increases functionality—see Moore's Law, which states that the number of transistors in an integrated circuit doubles every 1.5 years. In short, as the form factor shrinks, almost all metrics improve: unit cost and switching power consumption decrease, while speed increases.However, ICs integrating nanoscale devices also present challenges, primarily leakage current. Consequently, the increase in speed and power consumption for end users is significant, and manufacturers face a sharp challenge in using better geometries. This process and the expected advancements in the coming years are well described in the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors.

In just half a century since its development, integrated circuits have become ubiquitous, with computers, mobile phones, and other digital appliances becoming indispensable parts of the social fabric. This is because modern computing, communication, manufacturing, and transportation systems, including the internet, all rely on the existence of integrated circuits. Many scholars even consider the digital revolution brought about by integrated circuits to be a pivotal event in human history. The maturation of ICs will lead to a major leap forward in technology, both in design techniques and breakthroughs in semiconductor manufacturing processes; the two are inextricably linked.