Division 8 For the purposes of headings 8541 and 8542:

1. (a)

   ‘Diodes, transistors and similar semiconductor devices’ are semiconductor devices the operation of which depends on variations in resistivity on the application of an electric field.

2. (b)

   ‘Electronic integrated circuits’ are:

   1. (1)

      monolithic integrated circuits in which the circuit elements (diodes, transistors, resistors, capacitors, inductances, etc.) are created in the mass (essentially) and on the surface of a semiconductor or compound semiconductor material (for example, doped silicon, gallium arsenide, silicon germanium, indium phosphide) and are inseparably associated;

   2. (2)

      hybrid integrated circuits in which passive elements (resistors, capacitors, inductances, etc.), obtained by thin- or thick-film technology, and active elements (diodes, transistors, monolithic integrated circuits, etc.), obtained by semiconductor technology, are combined to all intents and purposes indivisibly, by interconnections or interconnecting cables, on a single insulating substrate (glass, ceramic, etc.). These circuits may also include discrete components;

   3. (3)

      multichip integrated circuits consisting of two or more interconnected monolithic integrated circuits combined to all intents and purposes indivisibly, whether or not on one or more insulating substrates, with or without leadframes, but with no other active or passive circuit elements.

For the classification of the articles defined in this note, headings 8541 and 8542 shall take precedence over any other heading in the nomenclature, except in the case of heading 8523, which might cover them by reference to, in particular, their function.