Silicon is the basic material used to make computer chips, transistors, silicon diodes and other electronic circuits and switching devices because its atomic structure makes the element an ideal semiconductor. Silicon is commonly doped, or mixed, with other elements, such as boron, phosphorous and arsenic, to alter its conductive properties.

Silicon was first isolated and described as an element in 1824 by Jöns Jacob Berzelius, a Swedish chemist.

Your PC's Second Most Important Silicon: The Chipset
If the CPU is the brain of a personal computer, the motherboard is its nervous system.