The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word SILICON
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
S
I
L
I
C
O
N
More clues leading to the result SILICON
- Wrong to accept lithium and cobalt — or this?
- It’s associated with IT skill – regularly one greatly admired
- Musical’s essential element
- One element of stupid-sounding little politician
- £1 among loose coins used for chips?
- Is Nico confused about Latin? Si
- Ground starved of oxygen, picture another element?
- Sort of chip is thrown over, cold, eaten by cat
- Six leaving unknown to represent this element
- Essential ingredient to make some chips
Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "Sort of chip" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case sort of chip = silicon.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does SILICON mean?
SILICON noun- A nonmetallic element (symbol Si) with an atomic number of 14 and atomic weight of 28.0855.
- A single atom of this element.
- Computing
- Computer processor
- A wafer of silicon on which an integrated circuit has been built; a microchip