Complementary A term describing integrated circuits that employ components of both polarity types connected in such a way that operation of either is enhanced. A complementary bipolar circuit would employ both NPN and PNP transistors, and a complementary MOS circuit (CMOS) would employ both N-channel and P-channel devices. In general, complementary devices operate with opposite polarity voltages and currents--advantageous in many circuit applications.

Legalities    Page author: Eric Seale   This page was last updated on This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.