GLOSSARY OF FREQUENTLY USED INDUSTRY ACRONYMS AND TERMINOLOGY
Acceptance Test A procedure defined in a hardware or software contract for testing
whether the hardware or software meets its specification
Algorithm Originally a rule of procedure for solving mathematical problems. Now
generally a set of rules for solving non-mathematical problems with the aid of
a computer
ANSI The
American National Standards Institute. It produces standards for programming
languages, data communications etc. ANSI standards can provide a useful
external reference when drawing up contract specifications
Application Software Software which performs a particular function for a user e.g. word
processing, database management
ASCII American
Standard Code for Information Interchange. Standard ASCII assigns the
numbers 0-127 to different
alphabetic and control characters. Extended ASCII,
used in the IBM PC and its clones,
extends this character set to 256 to include
non-English and graphic characters
ASIC Acronym
for Application Specific Integrated Circuit. An integrated circuit designed
or adapted for a specific
application. Traditionally called a custom circuit
ASP Acronym
for Average Selling Price
Assembler A type of programming language, essentially a set of mnemonics for low-level
concepts
ASSP Acronym
for Application Specific Standard Product. An integrated circuit dedicated
to one specific application (like a
custom IC) but with several possible customers
(unlike a custom IC)
Baud A
measure of speed in digital communications
BiCMOS BiCMOS
combines CMOS and (ECL) Bipolar transistors to form both logic devices
and memory devices on the same chip
Bit Short
for “Binary Digit”, the bit is the basic data element of digital computers and
digital communications. A bit may
have a value of zero or one
Bus A
path over which digital information is transferred from any of several sources
to
any of several destinations. The
sources and destinations may be inside or
outside the computer
Byte A
group of eight bits. A byte is usually used to represent single character or
digit
C A
powerful and versatile programming language, used inter alia for
microcomputers software development
and for programming UNIX systems
Cache A
very fast memory made from SRAM chips, used to “feed” microprocessors data
at their maximum rate (DRAM memory
is too slow)
CAD Acronym
for Computer Aided Design. Enables a circuit designer to simulate the
performance of sections of the
circuit which he designs, so that he can optimise
the design without building a
hardware prototype first. It can also refer to computer
aided layout design
Cell A
tiny area within an integrated circuit that stores a bit in the form of an
electrical
charge
Cellular Radio phone system in which a network of transmitters links the user to
the public
telephone system, with each
transmitter operating in a “cell”
Chip A
chip is a single flat rectangular piece of silicon on which a specific
semiconductor
element or circuit has been
fabricated. Most chips are placed into larger packages
that provide protection and
facilitate connection of the chip to the system. Also
known as die and often colloquially
used to describe an integrated circuit
CISC Acronym
for Complex Instruction Set Computing Device. A highly flexible but not
very efficient device containing a
number of instructions for specific applications in
a microprocessor
Clock Sends
of signals that are processed by the microprocessor. Clock speed cycles
are measured in megahertz
CMOS A
variety of MOS technology. CMOS (Complementary MOS) combines both nand
p-channel transistors on one chip.
CMOS devices generally exhibit very low
power consumption and medium to
high switching speeds
Code See source
code, object code
Compiler A program which translates source code into object code. Other code from
libraries is normally linked in by
the compiler so that the code will run as a standalone
program; this produces executable
object code
Compression A method of digitally encoding audio and/or video through a variety of
computer
algorithms and other techniques to
reduce the amount of data required to
accurately represent the content,
and thus the space required to store the content
Coprocessor A logic device that operates in association with a microprocessor to
enhance
system performance. Coprocessors
are not capable of independent operation
CPU Acronym
for Central Processing Unit. Central unit of a computer with arithmetic
and control units. The CPU of a
microcomputer is usually a microprocessor
DECT Acronym
for Digital European Cordless Telecommunications. Another cordless
phone standard currently under
development
Design Centre A company that specialises in the design of integrated circuits but has
no in house
manufacturing and does not sell its
design on the open market under its own brand
name or trade mark
Design Rules Rules constraining IC topology to assure fab process compatibility
Die Size The most dominant cost of a chip. As die size increases, the number of
chips per
wafer decreases and yields decrease
rapidly. Usually measured in square mils or
millimetres
Digital Indicates the representation of data by a series of bits or discrete
values, such as
“1”s and “0”s
DRAM Dynamic
Random Access Memory, a storage device which requires data to be
continually regenerated. DRAMs are
traditionally at the leading edge of
semiconductor device technology and
are sold in very large quantities. Because of
this, they are often used as the
vehicle to debug and ramp up into large scale
production successive generations
of semiconductor process technology
DSP Acronym
for Digital Signal Processor – a high speed, general purpose arithmetic
unit used for performing complex
mathematical operations such as Fourier
transforms
ECAD Acronym
for Electronic CAD. CAD tools specialising in the design of ICs and
electronic systems
EDA Acronym
for Electronic Design Automation. The use of software tools to design,
simulate, and verify a single chip
or an entire electronic system. Using these tools,
designers can verify that circuits
work before production begins
Ethernet A cable-based communications network designed to link office equipment
originated by Xerox Corporation
Executable Object Code See object code, compiler
Fabless A semiconductor manufacturer who does not have an in-house wafer
processing
capability
Fabrication Often abbreviated to fab, the IC production/manufacturing process that
takes raw
wafers through a series of
diffusion, etching, photolithography, and other steps to
become finished wafers
FLOPS Floating
Point Operations Per Second. A slightly more meaningful measure of
processor speed than MIPS.
Computers essentially work with integer numbers.
Decimal values are harder to
process, particularly if the figures after the decimal
point are not fixed. The variable
position of the point makes memory management
more difficult. FLOPS thus
represent to some extent useful work.
Foundry A semiconductor manufacturer that uses a customer’s masks to produce
custom
or standard ICs for the customer
FPGA Acronym
for Field Programmable Gate Array. An IC incorporating an array of
programmable logic gates that are
not pre-connected but where the connections
are programmed electrically by the
user
FPU Acronym
for Floating Point Unit. A high-speed mathematics coprocessor for a
microprocessor
Frequency The number of times per second an alternating current goes through a
complete
cycle. Formerly expressed in cycles
per second, now expressed in Hertz (Hz)
Gate A
basic circuit which produces an output only when certain input conditions are
satisfied
Gate Array An IC consisting of a regular arrangement of gates that are
interconnected to
provide custom functions. Sometimes
called an Uncommitted Logic Array (ULA)
or Sea of Gates
GSM Acronym
for Global System for Mobile Communications, the world’s first standard
in digital mobile communications
Hardware ICs and other electronic and their associated boards, connectors, and
mechanical
packaging
I/O Acronym
for Input/Output. A term used to describe the external connections to a
chip or electronic system
IC Acronym
for Integrated Circuit. Many transistors and other circuit elements
“integrated” on a single silicon
chip
ISDN Acronym
for Integrated Services Digital Network. A set of world-wide
communications network standards
aimed at providing standardised
interconnections for all types of
voice and data communications
IP Acronym
for Intellectual Property. IP is the rights in ideas (e.g. in an invention
which will be protected by patent
law) or expression of ideas (e.g. a book or
drawing which will be protected by
copyright law) which allow the owner of those
rights to control the exploitation
of those ideas and expressions of ideas by others
IT Acronym
for Information Technology. The science of the representation,
transmission and processing of
information, specifically processing with computers
JPEG Acronym
for Joint Photographic Experts Group. A universal standard for the digital
compression and decompression of
still images for use in computer systems
Kilobit A thousand bits
LAN Acronym
for Local Area Network. A communications network designed in which
the filtered air has a streamline
flow, as opposed to turbulent flow
LCD Acronym
for Liquid Crystal Display device. A type of display
LED Acronym
for Light Emitting Diode. A diode that emits light when current flows
through it
Logic The
part of the computer that does the arithmetic or makes decisions
Mask In
the processing of semiconductors, especially ICs, masks (or photomasks) are
used in much the same manner as
photographic negatives. The surface of a
wafer which has been coated with a
photoresist is exposed through a mask which
determines the size, shape, and
interconnection of the various elements such as
transistors of the integrated
circuits
MCM Acronym
for Multi-Chip Module, an integrated circuit comprising of several chips all
packaged within the same package
Memory Stores
needed facts, along with instructions on what to do with them and when.
Each memory component stores a
number of bits of binary data normally denoted
in multiples of kilobits, where one
kilobit equals 1,024 bits and one megabit equals
1,048,576 bits
Memory Management Unit The part of a computer that controls data storage so that the computer
primarily
accesses its high-performance cache
memory rather than its slower main memory.
Often abbreviated to MMU
Microcode Microcode is a low-level set of instructions which performs basic,
simple tasks (e.g.
fetch [from memory], put [in
memory], add etc). On one level it can be seen as a
programming language, whilst at
another level it is merely dynamic equivalent to a
set of hard-wired circuits
Microncontroller A single chip on which logic and memory circuits are combined that can
be
programmed to perform specific
functions in such products as automobile engines,
laser printers, disk drives, home
appliances, and VCRs. Often referred to as
“embedded controllers”. Often
abbreviated to MCU
Microelectronics Microelectronics, or microelectronics components, is the generic name
covering all
miniature components used to
construct electronic systems including
semiconductor (diodes, transistors
and integrated circuits) and passive (for
example resistors, capacitors,
inductors, relays and sensors) devices
Micron One-millionth
of a meter, or about forty-millionths of an inch (0.000040 inches)
Microprocessor The central control unit that directs the processing of data (arithmetic
and logic
functions) in PCs and other
computer systems by directing the flow of electrical
impulses, thereby co-ordinating the
efforts of other parts of the machine. When
the microprocessor receives an
instruction, it interprets the instruction and tells the
other parts of the computer (disk
drives, video display etc) what they should do
Mixed Signal The combination of analogue an digital technology on one IC
Modem Modulator/Demodulator.
A device that converts audio signals to digital signals
back into audio
MOS Acronym
for Metal-Oxide-Silicon, one of two basic IC designs along with bipolar, is
the fastest growing because it is
cheaper, easier to use and consumes less power
MPEG Acronym
for Moving Picture Experts Group. A standard for the digital compression
and decompression of motion
video/audio for use in computer systems
Multimedia The combination of text, graphics, audio and full-motion video
Multiprocessing A computer architecture in which two or more processing units are
coupled
together to run different programs
simultaneously while sharing the same
computer frame and memory
Nanosecond (ns) One billionth of a second. In this time, electrical pulses travel
approximately 12
inches
Object Code A series of numbers representing microcode instructions which can be
performed
by the particular processor chip
for which the code has been compiled. The same
source code will produce different
object code when compiled for e.g. the Intel
80x86 or the Motorola 680x0
families of chips
OEM Acronym
for Original Equipment Manufacturer. A company that designs, develops
and produces electronic hardware
Operating System Computer software that enables a computer and its peripheral systems to
work
together as a unit
Package The container used to encapsulate a semiconductor chip
PCB Acronym
for Printed Circuit Board. A substrate on which a pre-determined
interconnect pattern has been
formed, used to assemble and connect together ICs
and other electronic components
into a subassembly
PCMCIA Acronym
for Personal Computer Memory Card Industry Association. A
standardised credit card size PCB
for housing electronic systems for use mainly in
portable computers, e.g.
fax/modems, wireless LANs, memory expansion and
solid-state hard disks
Peripheral Equipment that is connected to a computer, such as printers, terminals,
and disk
drives
Picosecond (ps) One trillionth of a second. Light or electrical pulses travel about 12
mils (0.012
inches) in one picosecond
PLD Acronym
for Programmable Logic Device. An IC incorporating an array of
programmable logic devices that are
not pre-connected but where the connections
are programmed by the user via
blowing fused linked or via other techniques.
Once programmed these cannot be
altered
PMOS Acronym
for P-Channel MOS. A device in which carriers of electrical current and
the path (channel) in which they
flow are positively charged
Process The precise ingredients and recipe by which the integrated circuits are
constructed
for a given technology
Process Technology The “recipe” used to convert blank silicon wafers into finished wafers
containing
anywhere from dozens to thousands
of chips. These chips are tested and
assembled into plastic or ceramic
packages before final use
PROM Acronym
for Programmable ROM. A ROM which is programmable by the user
Protocol A formal definition of the input and output conventions for
communications
between two computer systems. Thus
the X400 protocol defines electronic mail
communication standards
RAM Acronym
for Random Access Memory, which stores digital information temporarily
and can be changed by the user. It
constitutes the basic storage element in
computer terminals and has replaced
magnetic core memories in main frame
computers
RISC Acronym
for Reduced Instruction Set Computing. Device where the number of
instructions a microprocessor runs
for a specific application are reduced from a
general purpose Complex Instruction
Set Computing (CISC) device to create a
more efficient operating system
ROM Acronym
for Read Only Memory which stores information used repeatedly such as
tables of data, characters for
electronic displays, etc. Unlike RAM, ROM cannot be
altered
Safety Critical Applications where the presence of bugs or other logical flaws in
software cannot
be tolerated, e.g. air traffic
control. Formal methods are often used in the design of
such software
Sector A
portion of track on a disk which normally holds 512 bytes of data. Anything up
to
63 sectors can make up a normal
hard disk track
Semiconductor A class of material which can assume the properties of either a
conductor or an
insulator. Common Semiconductor
materials are silicon, germanium and gallium
arsenide
Semiconductor Manufacturer A firm that is active in the business of designing and producing
semiconductor
devices. Such firms traditionally
had their own in-house wafer processing
capability; increasingly, however,
this is not necessarily the case
Silicon A non-metallic element that is the most widely used semiconductor
material today.
Silicon is used in its crystalline
form as the substrate of semiconductor devices
Silicon Foundry An IC manufacturer specialising in processing semiconductors for other
manufacturers on a sub-contractor
basis
Smart Card Plastic card that uses a silicon chip as its storage mechanism, instead
of the
conventional magnetic strip, for
increased security and functionality
Source Code The high-level language version of a program in e.g. C or Pascal,
understandable
without great difficulty by the
human mind. Source code is the input to the
compiler to produce object code
SRAM Acronym
for Static Random Access Memory. A RAM that maintains memory as
long as power is applied and does
not require refreshing. A RAM are typically
categorised by access times
Standard Cells Pre-defined logic elements that may be selected and arranged to create a
custom
IC more easily than through
original (custom) design
Technology This describes the type of process to be run, for example 0.5 micron, 22
mask,
CMOS, two layer metal on 200mm
diameter wafers
Transistor A small chip of semiconductor material that amplifies or switches
electrical current.
Known as discrete (single function)
semiconductors, transistors replaced vacuum
tubes and started the solid state
revolution
UNIX A
computer operating system developed by AT&T. Unix works across a wide
range of computers, from mainframes and workstations to personal computers
VHDL Acronym
for VHSIC Hardware Level Description Language, an ECAD
programming technique that allows
designs to be carried out top down by system
behavioural description
VHSIC Acronym
for Very High Speed Integrated Circuit Programme. An advanced
development programme that is
intended to develop advanced
semiconductors for US Government
defence purposes
Wafer A
round slice of silicon crystal from which, after processing is complete dice or
chips are cut
Wafer Fab The IC production process – from raw wafers through a series of
diffusion, etching,
photolithographic, and other steps
to finished wafers
Wafer Foundry A semiconductor manufacturer who provides wafer processing services for
an
external customer on a sub-contract
basis