Integrated circuit

Integrated circuit, I.C. for short, is an important component from Robot Masters. When Mega Man fights against a Robot Master, he takes great care to not damage their I.C. chip's "cognitive circuit". As long as the cognitive circuit isn't completely destroyed, Robot Masters can be rebuilt any number of times. It is the source of a robot's personality.

Although unnamed in-game, it is possible that the chips that Dr. Wily used to activate the Robot Masters rebuilt by Ra Moon in Super Adventure Rockman are I.C. chips. These chips have the same appearance of Special Weapon chips (it is unknown if they are the same, like the manga, or different chips) and Information Cards.

Other media
In the Rockman manga series, Mega Man obtains Special Weapons by equipping I.C. chips from robots he defeated.

I.C. chips are mentioned in some issues from the Mega Man comic book series by Archie Comics. Mega Man himself says he has an integrated circuit in issue #23, asking Break Man to not destroy it.

In the comic book crossover Worlds Collide, Dr. Wily & Dr. Eggman are able to recreate any of the fallen Robot Masters with their integrated circuits intact due to the use of the reality warping Genesis Wave. Mega Man and Proto Man also noted that the complexity of integrated circuits makes them nearly impossible to recreate, Wily having accomplished this previously only with the assistance of Ra Moon.

After Mega Man was critically damaged trying to use two Mega Busters on Ra Moon in issue 33, Dr. Wily, while working with Dr. Light, had rerouted most of Mega Man's power systems in order to keep his I.C. chip intact.