What Is CICC? IEEE Custom Integrated Circuits Conference

The acronym CICC shows up in a few very different worlds, immigration consulting in Canada, finance in China, and semiconductor engineering, so context matters when you come across it. This guide focuses on the meaning most common in the engineering and technology world: CICC as the IEEE Custom Integrated Circuits Conference, one of the most respected annual gatherings for chip designers and circuit engineers.

What Is CICC (IEEE Custom Integrated Circuits Conference)?

CICC stands for the Custom Integrated Circuits Conference, an annual event organised under IEEE, the world’s largest technical professional organisation. It’s described as one of the premier conferences devoted specifically to integrated circuit (IC) development, bringing together engineers, researchers, and companies working on custom chip design.

Unlike broader electronics or computing conferences, It is narrowly focused on custom ICs, meaning chips designed for a specific purpose rather than mass-produced general components. That focus is exactly why it draws a concentrated, highly technical audience rather than a general tech crowd.

What Topics Does it Cover?

It technical program centres on original, first-published work in circuit design, including:

• Analog and mixed-signal circuit design
• RF and wireless circuit techniques
• Data converters and signal processing circuits
• Power management and power delivery circuits
• Emerging applications, including biomedical and wearable circuit technology

Conference Format: What Actually Happens at CICC

It program blends several different formats rather than being a straight line of back-to-back lectures. It typically includes oral presentations of accepted technical papers, exhibits from semiconductor and design tool companies, panels bringing together experts to discuss industry trends, and forums for more open, discussion-style sessions. This mix means attendees get both deep technical content and space for broader industry conversation in the same event.

Related Workshops and Programs

• CHISIC Workshop: a co-located workshop typically held immediately after the main it program, focused on a specific circuit and systems topic.
• Internet of Bodies Workshop: a dedicated workshop exploring circuit design for wearable and body-connected technology.
• Circuit Insights: an ongoing content series that shares circuit design perspectives beyond the annual event itself.

Who Attends and Sponsors CICC?

It draws circuit designers, researchers, and engineering teams from major semiconductor companies alongside academic researchers presenting new IC design techniques. Corporate sponsorship at CICC typically comes from leading chip and semiconductor manufacturers and design tool providers, reflecting how closely the conference is tied to the commercial semiconductor industry rather than being a purely academic event.

Why CICC Matters for the Semiconductor Industry

• It’s a venue for first-published work, meaning many circuit techniques are shown publicly at CICC before appearing anywhere else.
• It connects academic research with commercial semiconductor development, shortening the path from research paper to real-world chip design.
• It provides a focused technical community for a specialised field that’s too narrow for general electronics conferences to cover in depth.
• It signals industry direction, since sponsor participation and accepted paper topics often hint at where chip design investment is heading next.

How to Get Involved with CICC

• Submit a paper: It accepts technical paper submissions on original circuit design work through its official call for papers process ahead of each year’s conference.
• Register to attend: on-site registration opens ahead of the conference dates and is available directly through the official it website.
• Sponsor the event: companies can sponsor CICC at different tiers, gaining visibility with a concentrated audience of circuit design professionals.
• Watch past sessions: recordings of past educational sessions are made available on it official channels for those who can’t attend in person.

Other Common Meanings of it

Since the acronym isn’t unique to engineering, it’s worth briefly noting the other contexts where you might see “it” used, so you can confirm which one applies to what you’re reading:

• College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants: a Canadian regulatory body overseeing licensed immigration consultants.
• China International Capital Corporation: a major Chinese investment bank and securities firm.
• Various smaller organisations and companies that happen to share the same initials.

If you landed here searching for one of those, the rest of this guide won’t be relevant, since it’s specifically about the IEEE conference.

The Bottom Line

CICC, the IEEE Custom Integrated Circuits Conference, is a focused, technically rigorous event for anyone working on custom IC design, blending original research, industry presentations, and hands-on workshops in one annual gathering. Whether you’re submitting a paper, attending as a design engineer, or evaluating it as a sponsor, understanding its format and focus is the first step to getting real value out of it.

FAQs