SOI beyond CMOS

SOI (silicon-on-insulator) technology has been proposed to improve performance of integrated circuits (ICs) fabricated usually in CMOS (complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor) bulk technology. A SOI wafer consists of a thin monocrystalline Si film over an insulating layer of silicon dioxide (buried oxide - BOX) on a Si substrate playing for traditional IC application a role of a mechanical support. An electronic circuitry is usually fabricated in the top silicon film. Recently non-CMOS applications of SOI substrates play more and more important role. In late 90s, SOI technology has become a viable approach for both high performance microelectronics as well as for sophisticated micro- and nanosystems.