Term

Definition

3g

Industry term for third generation wireless mobile communications networks.

56Kbps

The fastest speed modem that will work over a conventional dial-up phone line. Due to the FCC’s mandated power limits, the maximum transmission speed of a 56K modem is usually only 53Kbps. Typical achieved transmission speeds average between 40Kbps and 46Kbps depending upon computer hardware, software and line conditions.

A/D or DC

Analog-to-Digital Converter. This device is what all digital imaging systems use to get real-world pictures from a TV camera, for example into a computer.

Adapter Card

Circuit board or other hardware in Data Terminal Equipment (DTE) that provides the physical interface to the communications network.

Analog Signals

Analog is a continuous signal, measuring features that are difficult to break into digital components, such as pressure, temperature, voltage, current and air and water-flow. The circuits are used in products that involve sound (radios, TVs) and pressure (automotive air bags, anti-lock brakes).

Angstrom

One ten-billionth of a meter. Some chip layers are only 100 angstroms thick.

ARAM

Audio-grade DRAM with "bad bits." An ARAM can be mapped to avoid using bad bits, and therefore deliver good performance.

ASIC

Application Specific Integrated Circuits
Designed to suit a customer’s particular requirement, as opposed to DRAMs or microprocessors, which are general-purpose semiconductors.

Assembly

A step in semiconductor manufacturing in which the chip (die) is either encased in a plastic, ceramic or other package or assembled directly on a printed circuit board.

ASSP

Application-Specific Standard Products. An integrated circuit that performs functions for a single application.

Bandwidth

An analog measure derived from the difference between the highest and lowest frequency on a carrier wave. Also used to describe the amount of data that can be sent through a given communications circuit.

BiCMOS

Bipolar Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductors
This relatively new process combines both bipolar and CMOS technologies on the same chip, yielding products with the benefits of both technologies.

Binary

Characteristic of having only two states, such as current on and current off. The binary number system uses only ones and zeros.

Bipolar

A type of transistor noted for its speed where a flow of both conduction electrons and holes determine the device characteristics.

Bit

Binary digit. The basic unit of all digital communications. A bit is a "1" or "0" in a binary language.

Bluetooth^tm

A wireless Personal Area Network (PAN) technology from the Bluetoothtm Special Interest Group, founded in 1998 by Ericsson, TBM, Intel, Nokia and Toshiba. It is an open standard for short-range transmission of digital voice and data between mobile and desktop devices.

Broadband

Originally described the frequency bandwidth of analog circuits. The term has evolved to specify 56 KBps, then 1.5 Mbps capability.

Buckyball*

A sphere of 60 carbon atoms in an arrangement that looks like a soccer ball. A popular name for a buckminsterfullerene (named after Buckminster Fuller, inventor of the geodesic dome). This nanostructure's unique properties could be useful in nanotechnology.

Byte

A data unit of eight bits.

Cable

A term that refers to any of a number of wires or wire groups capable of carrying voice or data transmissions.

CAD

Computer-Aided Design
Sophisticated, computerized workstations and software used to design integrated circuit chips.

CDMA

Code Division Multiple Access, also called Spread Spectrum, a term for a form of digital spread spectrum cellular phone service that assigns a code to all speech bits, sends a scrambled transmission of the encoded speech over the air and reassembles the speech into its original format. CDMA has up to 20 times the capacity of analog cellular service and is best known for its superior call quality and long battery life.

Chip

An individual integrated circuit built in a tiny, layered rectangle or square on a silicon wafer.

Cleanroom

The sterile rooms where chips are fabricated. The air in these rooms is thousands of times cleaner than in a typical hospital operating room.

Circuit Board

Same as printed circuit board. A board with microprocessors, transistors and other electronic components. Also called a circuit card.

CMOS

Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductors
Combine both positive- and negative-channel transistors on the same circuit design. CMOS circuits consume relatively low amounts of power.

Defect

A chemical or structural irregularity that degrades the product. Defects can affect the product over time or interfere with manufacturing the chip correctly. Common causes of defects are flakes from skin or cosmetics, and droplets from a person’s sneeze.

Digital

The method of representing information as numbers with discrete (non-continuous) values, usually expressed as a sequence of binary digits (ones and zeros).

Die

A single integrated circuit (or chip) cut from the wafer on which it was manufactured.

Digital Cellular

State of the art in cellular communications technology, up to 15 times the capacity of analog technology with significantly less static, loss/interruption of the signal when passing between cells and connection problems because of congested relays.

Digital Modem

A term given to a piece of equipment that joins a digital phone line to a phone, PC or other hardware. It allows for testing, conditioning, circuit timing and other analysis of a phone line and is not used for communications purposes.

DSL

Digital Subscriber Line. A technology that increases the digital speed of ordinary phone lines by a substantial factor over common dial-up modems. Offers symmetrical and asymmetrical operation. Asymmetrical versions (ADSL, RADSL, VDSL, etc.) provide higher downstream transmission than upstream and are better suited for Internet usage and video on demand applications. Symmetric DLS (HDLS, SDSL, IDSL, etc.) provide the same speed in both directions. All DSL have distance limitations of around two or three miles between the telephone company’s central office and the customer site.

Digital Signal Processing (DSP)

Digital circuits designed to address a broad class of problems in signal reception and analysis that have traditionally been solved using analog components. DSP is used to enhance, analyze, filter, modulate or otherwise manipulate standard analog functions, such as images, sounds, radar pulses, and other such signals by analyzing and transforming wave-forms (e.g., transmitting data over phone lines via modem).

Diode

A signal and switching device that allows current in one direction and blocks it in the opposite direction. One use: regulating load voltages.

Discrete Device

A device that contains one active element, such as a transistor or diode, although a hybrid might contain more than one active element. In comparison, an integrated circuit could contain millions of active elements on a single chip.

DRAM

Dynamic Random Access Memory
A type of memory component. "Dynamic" means the device’s memory cells must be recharged periodically. Information stored in the memory cells is accessed randomly. Memory is a key component of most electronic products.

Doping

A wafer fabrication process in which exposed areas of silicon are bombarded with chemical impurities to alter the way the silicon conducts electricity in those areas.

E-Beam

Electron Beam refers to a machine that produces a stream of electrons that can be used to expose photoresists directly on a wafer or on a mask. Electron-beam lithography is a microprinting technique.

EEPROM

Electronically-Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory.

EEROM

Electronically Erasable ROM.

Embedded Processor

A computer chip that controls the function of its product. While embedded processors sometimes refer to the type of chips used in simple electronic toys, "talking" greeting cards and similar consumer products, they are also high-functioning microcontrollers that are the brains of products such as laser printers.

EPROM

Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory
Allows stored information to be erased by exposure to ultraviolet light.

Etch

The removal of selected portions of materials to define patterned layers on chips.

Ethernet

A local area network used for connecting computer, printers, workstations, terminals, servers and other computer hardware within the same company. Ethernet operates over twisted wire and over coaxial cable at speeds up to 10 million bits per second (Mbps).

Extreme Ultraviolet Technology

A technology for extending ultraviolet lithography by manufacturing a lens with concave and convex mirrors. This type of manufacturing allows the lens to focus patterns on a chip that are too small to be lithographed.

Fab

The fabrication facility, or fab, is the manufacturing plant where the front-end process of making semiconductors on silicon wafers is completed. The package and assembly (back end) stages are typically completed at other facilities.

Fabless

A semiconductor company with no wafer fabrication capability.

Flash Memory

A faster form of EPROM that permits more erase/write cycles. Flash memory is increasingly used instead of EPROM when there is a requirement for large amounts of non-volatile program memory.

Focus Center

Created from the Focus Center Research Program, A Focus Center is a university center that leads a consortium of other universities in researching a particular challenge to the long-term advancement of semiconductor technologies.

Foundry

A wafer production and processing plant. Usually used to denote a facility that is available on a contract basis to companies that do not have wafer fab capability of their own, or that wish to supplement their own capabilities.

GaAs

Gallium Arsenide
A III-V compound semiconductor material used for making optoelectronic devices and high-frequency ICs. GaAs has a higher electron mobility than silicon, thus having the capability of producing higher-speed devices.

Gate Array

A semi-custom chip. The integrated circuit is preprocessed to the first interconnect level. The remainder of the interconnect is customized to meet specific requirements of the customer.

HDTV

High Definition Television. This term describes several advanced standards proposed by U.S., Japanese and European companies to allow high resolution TV to be received in the home.

IC

Integrated Circuit. A chip etched or imprinted with network or electronic components such as transistors, diodes and resistors along with their interconnections.

IEEE

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. A world-wide engineering publishing and standards-making body for the electronics industry.

Integrated Circuit (IC)

Semiconductor chip in which many active or passive elements are fabricated and connected together on a continuous substrate, as opposed to discrete devices, such as transistors, resistors, capacitors and diodes that exist individually. Click here for more information on the design and manufacturing process of Integrated Circuits.

Internet

A collection of networks interconnected by a set of routers which allow them to function as a single, large virtual network. The Internet (with a capital "I") is the largest such network in the world, using a common protocol and allowing millions of users to share information all over the planet.

Ion Implantation

One way that the surface of a chip is transformed. It is a method that fires beams of charged atoms at the surface of the wafer. The high level of energy of these ions allows them to penetrate the silicon to produce the desired doping effect.

ISP

Internet Service Provider. Any of a number of companies that sell Internet access to individuals or organizations.

LAN

Local Area Network. A communications network that serves users within a confined geographical area, and made up of servers, workstations, a network operating system and a communications link.

Lead Frame

A stamped or etched metal frame, usually connected to the bonding pads of a die by wire bonding, that provides external electrical connections for a packaged electrical device.

Length Scale*

The size range within which an object falls; e.g. nanscale, millimeter scale.

Lithography

The transfer of a pattern or image from one medium to another, as from a mask to a wafer. If light is used to effect the transfer, the term "photolithography" applies. "Microlithography" refers to the process as applied to images with features in the micrometer range.

LSI

Large Scale Integration. The art of putting tens of thousands of transistors into a single integrated circuit.

Macro Cell

Similar to a standard cell but larger. Macro cells contain predefined circuit elements that may be selected and arranged to create a custom or semi-custom integrated circuit more easily than through design. Designers building ASICs use macro and standard cells.

Meter

A unit of measure equaling about 3.3 feet.

Microcontroller

A microcontroller is a stand-alone device that performs computer functions within an electronic system without the need of other support circuits. A microcontroller contains memory functions, unlike a microprocessor; which is typically paired with a chip that provides memory. Microcontrollers are used in TVs, VCRs, microwave ovens and automobile engines.

Micron

A metric unit of linear measure which equals one millionth of a meter or one thousandth of a millimeter. A thousand times bigger than a nanometer. The diameter of a human hair is about 100 microns. Today’s semiconductors have lines etched at .18 microns.

Microperipheral

A device that works with a micro-controller or microprocessor. Microperipherals are used in modems, ISDN and ethernet lines, in imaging equipment such as printers, computer mice and keyboards.

Microprocessor

A central processing unit (CPU) fabricated on one or more chips, containing the basic arithmetic, logic and control elements required by a computer for processing data. Micro-processor also refers to an integrated circuit that accepts coded instructions, executes the instructions and delivers signals that describe its internal status.

Millimeter*

One thousandth of a meter. About 4/100 inch.

Mixed Signals

A class of ICs that have traditionally been considered analog semiconductors. They can also be defined as anything that combines analog and digital circuitry-and that includes many ASICs and DSPs.

Modem

A type of computer equipment that links computers via telephone lines and enables the transmission of data. Derived from the words "modulate" and "demodulate," because a modem converts, or modulates, transmission signals from digital to analog for transmission over analog telecommunications lines, and then converts them back, or demodulates the signals, from analog back to digital.

Molecular Electronics*

Any system with atomically precise electronic devices of nanometer dimensions, especially if made of discrete molecular parts rather than the continuous materials found in today's semiconductor devices.

Moore’s Law

In 1965 Intel co-founder Gordon Moore predicted that the number of transistors (and capacity) that can be squeezed onto a chip would double every 18 months. If this trend continued, he reasoned, computing power would rise exponentially with each new generation of chips. His published observation holds to this day.

MOSFET

Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor
A device that does not require as much power as bipolar devices because of its insulation. The term can be applied either to transistors in an IC or to discrete power devices. MOSFETs are easier to manufacture than bipolar devices and are a building block in the fabrication of CMOS chips.

Nanocrystal*

A nanoscale crystal whose size, shape and atomic composition are carefully controlled to yield specific properties, like absorption of specific wavelengths of light.

Nanometer

A metric unit of linear measure which equals one billionth of a meter.

Nanoscale*

The size range of objects studied by nanotechnologists.

Nanotechnology*

The ability to see, measure and make objects that are within the same tiny size scale as atoms and molecules. The nanotechnology realm can be defined as being between 0.1 nanometer (about the size of a hydrogen atom) and 100 nanometers (about the size of a virus).

Nanotube*

A tube of nanoscale dimensions, but most frequently referring to carbon nanotubes. These tubes, which are stronger and lighter than steel, can have varying electrical properties with applications in computing, materials manufacturing and biotechnology.

Network

An arrangement of objects that are interconnected. In communications, the transmission channels interconnecting all clients and server stations as well as all supporting hardware and software.

Non-Volatile Memory

A storage device whose contents are preserved when its power is off. Storage using magnetic disks or tape is normally non-volatile. Some semiconductor memories (ROM, EPROM, Flash memory) are non-volatile while other semiconductor memories (static RAM and especially dynamic RAM) are normally volatile but can be made into non-volatile storage by permanently connecting a (rechargeable) battery.

NMOS

Negative-channel Metal Oxide Semiconductor
NMOS was the preferred technology for making leading-edge chips in the 1970’s and early 1980’s.

Optoelectronics

A device that is responsive to or that emits or modifies light waves. Examples are LEDs, optical couplers, laser diodes, and photo detectors.

Packaging

The protective container or housing for an electronic component or die, with external terminals to provide electrical access to the components inside. Packages provide for power and signal distribution, power dissipation, and physical and chemical protection of the circuits.

PCB

Printed Circuit Board. Flat material on which electronic components are mounted. Also provides electrical pathways that connect components.

PDA

Personal Digital Assistant.

PLD

Programmable Logic Device
A digital IC that can be programmed by the user to perform w wide variety of logical operations. FPGAs and CPLDs are classes of PLDs.

Quantum Dots*

A class of nanocrystals that emit varying colors of light depending on their size. They can be used to label different biological structures.

RAM

Random Access Memory
May be written to, or read from, any address location in any sequence. Also called a read/write memory, RAM stores digital bits temporarily and can be changed rapidly as required. RAM constitutes the basic read/write storage element in computers.

RF

Radio Frequency. The rage of electromagnetic frequencies above the audio range and below the visible light. All broadcast transmission, from AM radio to satellites, falls into this range, between 30KHz to 300GHz.

ROM

Read Only Memory
Permanently stores information used repeatedly, such as tables of data, characters for electronic displays, etc. A popular type known as PROM is programmable in the field with the aid of programmer equipment. Programmed data stored in ROM is often called firmware.

Roadmap

An international reference document of requirements, potential solutions, and their timing for the semiconductor industry. It identifies needs and encourages innovative solutions to meet future technical challenges, and provides an ongoing emphasis on obtaining consensus industry drivers, requirements, and technology timelines.

Self-Assembly*

The ability of objects to assemble themselves into an orderly structure. Routinely seen in living cells, this is a property that nanotechnology may extend to inanimate matter.

Self-Replication*

The ability of an entity such as a living cell to make a copy of itself. Theoretically, nanotechnologists could invent self- replicating devices.

Semiconductor

This is the generic name for discrete devices and integrated circuits that can control the flow of electrical signals. Silicon is the basic material on which semiconductors are fabricated.

Signal Processing

Electronic functions that enhance the representations of physical or electrical phenomena. Temperature, pressure, vibration, acceleration and flow are examples of physical properties that rely on signal processing enhancements. The detection and conversion of RF, X-ray or ultrasonic energy into images and sound is another form of signal processing.

Solid State

Refers to the electronic properties of crystalline material, as opposed to vacuum and gas-filled tubes that transmit electricity. Compared with earlier vacuum-tube devices, solid-state components are smaller, less expensive, more reliable, use less power and generate less heat.

SRAM

Static Random Access Memory
Is an integrated circuit similar to a DRAM that requires no constant refreshing or recharging. It retains stored information as long as power is applied to the computer, hastening information-retrieval process time. In contrast to ROM, SRAM is still volatile and will lose its contents when the power is switched off. SRAM is usually faster than DRAM but usually costs more per bit because each bit requires several transistors. It is used for the most speed-critical parts of a computer or other circuit.

Standard Cell

Predefined circuit elements that may be selected and arranged to create a custom or semi-custom integrated circuit more easily than through design. Designers build ASICs using standard cells.

Substrate

The body or base layer of an integrated circuit, onto which other layers are deposited to form the circuit. The substrate is usually silicon, although sapphire is used for certain applications, particularly military, where radiation resistance is important. The substrate is originally part of the wafer from which the die is cut. It is used as the electrical ground for the circuit.

Synchrotron

A device used to produce high-energy X-rays that can inscribe features on a chip potentially as small as 100 nanometers.

System on a Chip

A chip that is a self-contained system, including processing, memory and input-output functions.

Transistor

An electronic device capable of amplifying electronic signals similar to the vacuum tube but made from a semiconductor material such as silicon or germanium.

VLSI

Very Large-Scale Integration. The art of putting hundreds of thousands of transistors onto a single quarter-inch integrated circuit.

Wafer

A thin slice, typically 10-30 mils thick, sawed from a cylindrical ingot (boule) of extremely pure, crystalline silicon, typically six to eight inches in diameter. Arrays of ICs or discrete devices are fabricated in the wafers during the manufacturing process.

Wafer Fab

A slang term for wafer fabrication facilities, ultra clean factories wherein silicon wafers are produced.

X-ray Lithography

The lithographic process for transferring patterns to a silicon wafer. The electromagnetic radiation used is X-ray, rather than visible radiation.

Yield

Yield refers to the percentage or absolute number of defect-free die on a silicon wafer or of packaged units that pass all device specifications. Because it costs the same to process a wafer with 10% good die and 90% good die, eliminating defects and improving yield become the critical variable in determining the cost per chip.