low-powered devices. The term tri-gate is sometimes used generically to denote any multigate FET with three effective gates or channels. Gate-all-around FET (GAAFET) A gate-all-around (GAA) FET, abbreviated GAAFET, and also known as a surrounding-gate transistor (SGT), is similar in concept to a FinFET except that the gate material surrounds the channel region on all sides. Depending on design, gate-all-around FETs can have two or four effective gates. Gate-all-around FETs have been successfully characterized both theoretically and experimentally. They have also been successfully etched onto InGaAs nanowires, which have a higher electron mobility than silicon. A gate-all-around (GAA) MOSFET was first demonstrated in 1988, by a Toshiba research team including Fujio Masuoka, Hiroshi Takato, and Kazumasa Sunouchi, who demonstrated a vertical nanowire GAAFET which they called a "surrounding gate transistor" (SGT). Masuoka, best known as the inventor of flash memory, later left Toshiba and founded Unisantis Electronics in 2004 to research surrounding-gate technology along with Tohoku University. In 2006, a team of Korean researchers from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and the National Nano Fab Center developed a 3 nm transistor, the world's smallest nanoelectronic device, based on gate-all-around (GAA) FinFET technology. GAAFET transistors may make use of high-k/metal gate materials. GAAFETs with up to 7 nanosheets have been demonstrated which allow for improved performance and/or reduced device footprint. The widths of the nanosheets in GAAFETs is controllable which more easily allows for the adjustment of device characteristics. GAAFETs are the successor to FinFETs, as they can work at sizes below 7 nm. They were used by IBM to demonstrate 5 nm process technology. As of 2020, Samsung and Intel have announced plans to mass produce GAAFET transistors (specifically MBCFET transistors) while TSMC has announced that they will continue to use FinFETs in their 3nm node, despite TSMC developing GAAFET transistors. Multi-bridge channel (MBC) FET A multi-bridge channel FET (MBCFET) is similar to a GAAFET except for the use of nanosheets instead of nanowires. MBCFET is a word mark (trademark) registered in the U.S. to Samsung Electronics. Samsung plans on mass producing MBCFET transistors at the 3 nm node for its foundry customers. Intel is also developing RibbonFET, a variation of MBCFET "nanoribbon" transistors. Industry need Planar transistors have been the core of integrated circuits for several decades, during which the size of the individual transistors has steadily decreased. As the size decreases, planar transistors increasingly