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An integrated circuit technology using complementary MOSFETs. CMOS names a circuit technology; active-pixel sensor names a detector architecture.

An integrated circuit combines interconnected electrical circuit elements in a fabricated structure. A monolithic integrated circuit forms its elements in or on one piece of semiconductor, rather than merely putting separately manufactured components into one enclosure. Transistors supply control in electronic amplifiers; resistors and capacitors can supply bias and timing. Jack St. Clair Kilby's patent describes making such functions from a common semiconductor body with compatible fabrication steps.^[ref]

The useful change is to fabricate connections and functions together. Shrinking an enclosure still leaves individual parts to position and join. Integration makes their relative arrangement part of a repeatable fabrication pattern. The distinction is functional as well as geometric: one small piece can implement a whole electrical circuit, while its external terminals expose only the connections needed by its surroundings.

An electrical engineer who developed integrated circuits at Texas Instruments.^[ref]

For foundational work in information and communication technology, Zhores I. Alferov and Herbert Kroemer received one quarter each for developing semiconductor heterostructures used in high-speed electronics and optoelectronics. Jack S. Kilby received one half for his part in inventing the integrated circuit.^[ref]

A piece of semiconductor carrying a fabricated device or integrated circuit, ordinarily separated from a larger semiconductor wafer. One package can contain multiple semiconductor dies; the package boundary and the semiconductor die boundary are different concepts.

A thin piece of semiconductor processed to form devices or integrated circuits, often many semiconductor dies together. Dividing wafer area by die area gives an ideal count before edge losses and spaces used to separate semiconductor dies.