Definition: CMOS

(Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) Pronounced "c-moss," CMOS is the most widely used integrated circuit technology. CMOS chips are found in almost every electronic product from handheld devices to mainframes. CMOS uses PMOS and NMOS transistors wired in a balanced fashion that causes less power to be used (see MOSFET). 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, bipolar transistor, CMOS memory and process technology.




A Note From the Author