A microchip, smaller than your fingernail, contains computer circuitry called an integrated circuit. The invention of the integrated circuit stands historically as one of the most important innovations of mankind. Almost all modern products use chip technology.

The pioneers known for inventing microchip technology are Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce. On February, 6, 1959, Jack Kilby – who had just started working for Texas Instruments – filed a patent application for the integrated circuit, also known as a microchip.

In that year, Kilby of Texas Instruments received a U.S. patent for miniaturized electronic circuits and Noyce of Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation received a patent for a silicon-based integrated circuit.

Jack Kilby holds his first integrated circuit, which is encased in plastic.

The low cost of integrated circuits revolutionized the electronics industry. It made cheaper computers and mobile phones possible. For his work, Kilby won the 2000 Nobel Prize in physics.

Today, microchips are used in smartphones that allow people to use the internet and have a telephone video conference. Microchips are also used in televisions, GPS tracking devices, identification cards as well as medicine, for the speedier diagnosis of cancer and other diseases.

According to earthsky.org & thoughtco.com