Hybrid Integrated Circuit
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A Hybrid Integrated Circuit, Hybrid Circuit, or simply Hybrid is a miniaturized electronic circuit constructed of individual devices, such as semiconductor devices (e.g. transistors and diodes) and passive components (e.g. resistors, inductors and capacitors), bonded to a substrate or printed circuit board (PCB). Hybrid circuits are often encapsulated in epoxy, as shown in the photo. A hybrid circuit provides the same functionality as a (monolithic) integrated circuit, which in an end-product serves as as a component on a PCB. The difference between the two types of devices is in how they are constructed and manufactured.
Some modern hybrid circuit technologies, such as LTCC-substrate hybrids, allow for embedding of components within the layers of a multi-layer substrate in addition to components placed on the surface of the substrate. This technology produces a circuit that is, to some degree, three dimensional.
In the early days of transistors, the term was also used to describe circuits where both transistors and vacuum tubes were used simultaneously.
