In the field of
microelectronics, the term
DSM is an abbreviation of
Deep Sub-Micron. This is a reference to the ability of modern
semiconductor technology, (the process used to
fabricate integrated circuits), to define
circuit features in
silicon with
geometries of less than 1
micron.
As semiconductor process technology has progressed to allow such small transistors to be used, more complex digital logic functions are able to be integrated onto a single IC. At the same time, a whole new range of physical factors have to be taken into account during the design stage.