PIN Isolation for monolithic integrated circuits

The electronic components of a monolithic integrated circuit are, at present, isolated by either reverse biassed p-n junctions or dielectric material, or held together by interconnecting beams. In almost all applications, the "component-to-substrate capacitance" of some of the components must be kept low in order to ensure proper function, to maintain stability, and to reduce crosstalks. This is difficult to do in the p-n junction isolation technique, where the component-to-substrate capacitance is high. The various forms of dielectric isolation technique and the beam-lead scheme provide satisfactory solutions to this problem, even though the fabrication processes are all very involved.