Definition of silicon on insulator (SOI)

1. a novel substrate for high-performance, low-power, and radiation-hard CMOS applications that offers process simplification, improved scalability, latch-up free and soft-error free operation, improved subthreshold slope, and drastic reduction in parasitic capacitances. At this writing, there are two manufacturing-oriented techniques to build SOI: SIMOX and bonded. [SEMATECH]