Definition: CMOS

(Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) Pronounced "c-moss," CMOS is the most widely used integrated circuit technology and is found in almost every electronic product from handheld devices to mainframes. CMOS uses PMOS and NMOS transistors wired in a balanced fashion to save on power (see MOSFET). The CMOS pair uses almost no power when not switching between on and off. However, there is a minuscule power leakage but it is insignificant.

The first transistors were bipolar, which are still used when higher power is required, and CMOS and bipolar are also used in combination. See FET, FinFET, CFET, bipolar transistor, CMOS memory and process technology.

A Note From the Author

In the early 1980s, my wife Irma and I had a kitten at the beach I named CMOS. When we introduced her to friends, everyone thought "Sea Moss" was such a cute name for a beach cat. However, when I told them that the cat's name was really complementary metal oxide semiconductor, they didn't come around much any more!