mesa

n. a high, flat area of land with very steep sides.

n. an isolated, flat-topped elevation, ridge, or hill, which is bounded from all sides by steep escarpments.

“The hikers climbed to the top of the mesa to see the sunset over the desert.”

“Erosion over millions of years carved the landscape, leaving behind the massive sandstone mesa that dominates the horizon of the national park.”

n. a raised part on a computer chip or electronic component.

n. a raised area on a semiconductor wafer or substrate, typically created by etching away surrounding material to isolate components.

“The engineer examined the mesa structure on the silicon wafer under a microscope.”

“The fabrication process involves a mesa etch to provide electrical isolation between the individual photodiode elements on the chip.”

Technical