A plateau of electrically active material on the surface of a semiconductor wafer, formed by etching away the electrically active material surrounding the location where a mesa is to be formed. Formation of mesas is a simple way of providing isolation between portions of a wafer.
Flat-topped hill of limited extent, but wider than a butte and normally underlain by near-horizontally bedded sediments. A land-form similar to a mesa but larger is called a ‘plateau’.
Mesa
A steep-sided plateau or upland, formed by the erosion of nearly horizontal strata. A mesa resembles a butte, but is very much wider; see Brookes (2001) Geomorph. 39, 1–4.