Gregory's ServerBecause sapphire is an insulator, silicon-on-sapphire has many benefits. It is faster, denser, radiation-resistant, and performs better. As one RCA engineer said: "SOS was the future technology choice for RCA. Unfortunately, it turned out it was not the future." 2/11
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 Here's an inverter; if you've studied CMOS it should look familiar. A PMOS transistor on the top, and an NMOS transistor on the bottom. Input is the red polysilicon, forming the transistor gates. Output is the metal on the right. 4/11 |
Regions of silicon sit on top of the sapphire substrate. NMOS transistors are green, PMOS are purple. White metal lines connect the circuitry, as well as reddish polysilicon. Polysilicon also forms the gates of the transistors. 3/11