What does CMOS stand for?

What does CMOS stand for?

• A. Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor
• B. Central Metal-Oxide Semiconductor
• C. Complementary Metal-oxide Silicon
• D. Central Metal-oxide Silicon

Answer: (A)

CMOS stands for Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor. The word complementary refers to using both p-type and n-type MOSFETs together so that, in a stable state, only minimal current flows because one transistor is always off. This is what gives CMOS its very low static power consumption, a big reason it’s popular for digital logic and microprocessors. Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor describes the basic structure of the switching elements: a metal gate separated from a semiconductor channel by a thin oxide layer, forming the MOSFET core in these circuits. The term doesn’t specify silicon as the material; silicon is the most common semiconductor, but the standard acronym uses semiconductor to cover the broader class of materials. Other phrasings replace complementary with central, or replace semiconductor with silicon, which aren’t used in the official expansion.

CMOS stands for Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor. The word complementary refers to using both p-type and n-type MOSFETs together so that, in a stable state, only minimal current flows because one transistor is always off. This is what gives CMOS its very low static power consumption, a big reason it’s popular for digital logic and microprocessors.

Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor describes the basic structure of the switching elements: a metal gate separated from a semiconductor channel by a thin oxide layer, forming the MOSFET core in these circuits. The term doesn’t specify silicon as the material; silicon is the most common semiconductor, but the standard acronym uses semiconductor to cover the broader class of materials.

Other phrasings replace complementary with central, or replace semiconductor with silicon, which aren’t used in the official expansion.