Term of the Moment
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Definition: planar transistor
An integrated circuit (IC) technique developed by Fairchild Instruments in 1959 that creates transistors on a flat surface compared to the uneven surface of the earlier mesa process. The planar transistor, which also creates connecting lines by depositing metal conductors, superseded the mesa method and was a major step forward in the evolution of the chip.
Still Used
Although transistors in top-end chips migrated from planar to the FinFET architecture in the 2010s, planar is still used in microcontrollers, IoT sensors, analog chips and other low-cost circuits.
Planar -> FinFET -> GAAFET -> CFET
The transistor migration is planar to FinFET to GAAFET, the latter emerging in the mid-2020s. Mass marketing of CFETs are expected by 2030. See FinFET, GAAFET, CFET and chip manufacturing.
The First Planar IC
Still Used
Although transistors in top-end chips migrated from planar to the FinFET architecture in the 2010s, planar is still used in microcontrollers, IoT sensors, analog chips and other low-cost circuits.
Planar -> FinFET -> GAAFET -> CFET
The transistor migration is planar to FinFET to GAAFET, the latter emerging in the mid-2020s. Mass marketing of CFETs are expected by 2030. See FinFET, GAAFET, CFET and chip manufacturing.
In 1960, Fairchild Semiconductor introduced the first planar integrated circuit, which went into production a year later. Fairchild co-founder Robert Noyce had previously filed for a patent on the planar process, which used his interconnection idea and Jean Hoerni's planar method. (Image courtesy of Fairchild Semiconductor.)