Solid state: CMOS comes of age: Complementary metal-oxide semiconductors ¿ at one time a `stepchild¿ ¿ is leading the way in digital and analog circuits

The complementary metal-oxide semiconductor CMOS has always outperformed bipolar and NMOS circuits in such key parameters as lower power consumption and operation in a rugged environment, but it was shunned by most commercial chip makers because the extra performance did not warrant the higher cost. However, CMOS has become almost as cheap as NMOS, and it is already cheaper than bipolar technology for linear circuits.