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A popular SOI technology is Silicon On Sapphire (SOS), used in special Rad-hard applications in Military and Aerospace . SOI differs from generic CMOS in that its silicon junction is above an electrical insulator. The advantage is that this insulator reduces the Capacitance , meaning the transistor has less to charge-up before completing a switch, which results in reduced switching time. SOI devices are usually inherently Latchup resistant. Also, there is a reduction in transistor leakage current thereby making this fabrication technology an attractive choice for low power circuit design. SOI wafers are produced by one of two main methods:
USE IN INDUSTRY As of 2005, SOI technology is being gradually adopted by digital Integrated Circuit manufacturers. In particular, Sony , Nintendo , and Microsoft plan to use it in production of their Next-generation video game consoles. It is important to note that the SOI based- Processors that are going into these machines are all manufactured by IBM with the exception of the Sony Playstation. Many PowerPC based systems from Apple Computer and high-end IBM servers have used SOI based microprocessors for some time. It should be noted that while Sony, AMD, and Chartered Semiconductor manufacture their own SOI-based technologies, each of these companies is partnered with IBM, which licenses the technology to them. EXTERNAL LINKS
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