Electronics & Semiconductors

Physical hardware elements ranging from basic passive resistors to complex mechanical connectors.

• A battery
  A historic battery type used to heat the filaments of early vacuum tubes.
• Absorptionalso dielectric absorption, soakage
  The phenomenon where a dielectric material retains a residual electrical charge.
• Active
  Describes an electronic component that requires an external power source to function or can amplify a signal.
• Androgynousalso hermaphroditic, genderless
  Describes a connector design where mating halves are identical rather than having distinct male and female parts.
• Anticathode
  The target electrode in a vacuum tube that emits radiation when struck by an electron beam.
• Axial leadalso axial component
  A cylindrical electronic component style where connection wires extend outward from opposite ends.
• B batteryalso plate battery
  A power source that provides the high DC voltage required by the plate circuit of a vacuum tube.
• Backshell
  A mechanical housing that screws onto the rear of a connector to protect the wire terminations.
• BFC
  A massive, high-voltage capacitor used in heavy power applications. Shop talk
• Blowable
  Capable of intentionally failing or opening a circuit under overload conditions.
• BNC
  A Bayonet Neill-Concelman connector used for coaxial cables.
• BNC connector
  A quick-disconnect RF connector used for terminating coaxial cables.
• Breadboardalso protoboard, solderless breadboard
  A reusable platform with a grid of spring-clip holes used for prototyping electronic circuits without soldering.
• Capacitoralso cap, condenser
  A passive two-terminal component that stores electrical energy in an electric field.
• Capstan
  A rotating metal spindle that drives magnetic tape through a recording mechanism at a constant speed.
• Cartridge ejector
  A mechanical linkage or spring-loaded assembly that pushes a removable media cartridge out of its slot.
• Cat's whisker
  A fine wire used to make a point contact with a semiconductor crystal in early radio receivers.
• Cavity magnetron
  A high-power vacuum tube that generates microwaves using interacting electron streams and magnetic fields.
• CD drivealso compact disc drive, CD-ROM drive
  An optical disc drive designed to read or write data on compact discs using a laser diode.
• CD3also mini CD
  An 80-millimeter compact disc format holding less data than a standard disc. Shop talk
• CD5also 5-inch CD
  The standard five-inch optical disc format used for audio and data storage.
• Center tapalso CT
  A wiring connection made exactly halfway along the coil of a transformer or inductor.
• Circuit diagramalso schematic, wiring diagram
  A graphical representation of an electrical circuit using standardized symbols for components.
• CLR
  A current-limiting resistor used to prevent excessive current from damaging a component.
• CLValso constant linear velocity
  A motor control method for optical drives that slows the disc rotation as the read head moves outward.
• Coil
  A passive electrical component made of wire wound into a spiral or cylinder to create a magnetic field.
• Connectoralso plug, jack
  An electromechanical device used to join electrical terminations and create an electrical circuit.
• Crimp
  To mechanically deform a metal connector around a wire to create a secure electrical connection.
• Crossatron
  A cold-cathode gas-filled tube used as a high-power pulsed modulator switch.
• Crystal setalso crystal radio
  An early, unpowered radio receiver relying on a semiconductor mineral to rectify incoming signals.
• Curie temperaturealso Curie point
  The specific thermal threshold where a magnetic material loses its permanent magnetic properties.
• D-subalso D-subminiature
  A family of electrical connectors featuring a distinctive D-shaped metal shield around multiple pins.
• dGPUalso discrete GPU
  A discrete graphics processing unit that has its own dedicated memory and power delivery.
• Digital still cameraalso DSC
  An electronic imaging device that captures and stores individual photographs in digital memory.
• DIMM
  Dual in-line memory module, a printed circuit board holding memory chips used as main system RAM.
• DIN connector
  A family of circular electrical connectors standardized by the German Institute for Standardization.
• Diode
  A two-terminal semiconductor component that restricts electrical current to flow in only one direction.
• DIP switch
  A small array of manual electrical switches packaged in a standard dual in-line package.
• Discrete
  Constructed from individual, separate electronic components rather than integrated circuits.
• Discrete componentalso discrete
  A basic electronic part that houses a single active or passive circuit element.
• Disk drive
  A mechanical storage device that reads and writes data to rotating magnetic or optical platters.
• DVD drive
  An optical disc drive capable of reading and writing digital versatile discs.
• EEPROMalso E2PROM, E-squared
  Electrically erasable programmable read-only memory is a non-volatile storage chip.
• Electrolytic capacitoralso electrolytic, electro
  A polarized capacitor that uses a chemical electrolyte to achieve high capacitance.
• Electron multiplier
  A vacuum tube structure that amplifies a tiny electron current into a measurable signal.
• eMMC
  An embedded MultiMediaCard provides integrated, non-removable flash storage for compact devices.
• EPROMalso UV EPROM
  An erasable programmable read-only memory is a non-volatile chip that can be wiped with ultraviolet light.
• ESR
  Equivalent series resistance is the internal resistance that appears in series with an ideal capacitor or inductor.
• Female-to-male
  Describing an adapter or cable that connects a receptacle to a plug.
• Flash drivealso thumb drive, USB drive
  A portable data storage device that uses non-volatile flash memory.
• Flashcardalso memory card, SD card
  A flat, solid-state memory card used for portable data storage in electronic devices.
• Floppy diskalso floppy, diskette
  A magnetic storage medium encased in a square plastic shell.
• Gender changeralso gender bender
  An adapter used to connect two cables or ports that have the same connector gender.
• Gimmick capacitoralso gimmick
  A small, improvised capacitor made by twisting two insulated wires together. Shop talk
• Gridalso control grid
  A wire mesh electrode in a vacuum tube that controls the flow of electrons.
• Hard-wire
  To connect electronic components using permanent physical wires or traces rather than removable connectors or software configuration.
• HD DVD drive
  An optical disc drive designed to read the discontinued high-density digital versatile disc format.
• HDR
  A recording device that writes digital audio or video directly to an internal hard disk drive.
• Honeycomb coilalso basket-weave coil, lattice coil
  A radio-frequency inductor wound in a crisscross pattern to minimize parasitic capacitance.
• IDE
  An older storage interface standard where the disk controller is integrated directly into the drive.
• Impedance coilalso choke
  A wire coil specifically designed to introduce a set amount of impedance to an alternating current circuit.
• In series
  A circuit configuration where components are connected end-to-end so the same current flows through all of them.
• Inductoralso coil, choke
  A passive two-terminal electrical component that stores energy in a magnetic field when electric current flows through it.
• Jellybeanalso commodity, vanilla
  Describing a generic, widely available, and inexpensive electronic component. Shop talk
• Jellybean partalso commodity part, standard part
  A standard, widely available electronic component made by multiple manufacturers. Shop talk
• Jump wirealso jumper, jumper wire
  A short electrical wire used to connect two points in a circuit temporarily.
• Legacy-free
  Describing a computer or motherboard built without older, obsolete ports and interfaces.
• Magnetic stripalso magstripe
  A band of magnetic material used to store digital data on cards and tickets.
• Make-before-breakalso shorting switch
  A switch design that establishes a new electrical path before disconnecting the old one.
• Male-to-femalealso M-F
  An adapter or cable configuration that connects a pinned plug to a hollow socket.
• Memory cardalso flash memory card
  A removable, solid-state storage device used to hold digital data.
• Mica insulator
  A thin, heat-conducting sheet used to electrically isolate a power component from its heatsink.
• MICTOR
  A high-speed, high-density matched impedance connector used for routing digital signals.
• MiniDiscalso MD
  A magneto-optical storage medium designed for digital audio recording and playback.
• Minimum seek timealso track-to-track seek time
  The shortest duration required for a disk drive actuator to move the read/write head between adjacent tracks.
• MMA
  Microelectronic modular assembly, a packaging technique that integrates multiple bare semiconductor dies into a single compact module.
• MMC
  MultiMediaCard, an early standard for solid-state flash memory cards.
• Motherboardalso mainboard, mobo
  The main printed circuit board in a computer or complex electronic system routes power and data between major components.
• Mouse bungee
  A desktop accessory suspends a mouse cable in the air to eliminate physical drag and prevent snagging.
• MOV
  A metal-oxide varistor is a voltage-dependent resistor used to protect circuits from voltage spikes.
• Multigrid
  A vacuum tube design featuring more than one control grid between the cathode and anode.
• Nicadalso NiCd
  An older type of rechargeable battery known for its high discharge rates and memory effect. Shop talk
• Nonode
  A historic vacuum tube containing nine active electrodes.
• Northbridgealso memory controller hub
  The historic motherboard chip that managed high-speed communication between the CPU, memory, and graphics.
• NTC
  A property where a component's electrical resistance drops as its temperature rises.
• Octode
  A historic vacuum tube containing eight distinct electrodes.
• Optical disc
  A flat, circular storage medium read and written by lasers.
• Optical drive
  A hardware mechanism that reads and writes data on optical discs using laser light.
• Parasitic element
  An unintended component characteristic, such as stray capacitance or lead inductance, that affects circuit operation.
• Passivealso passive component
  An electronic component that does not require external power to operate and cannot provide signal gain.
• PCBalso printed circuit board, PC board
  A laminated board holding and connecting electronic components using conductive traces.
• Perpendicular recordingalso PMR, perpendicular magnetic recording
  A magnetic storage method where data bits are aligned vertically to the disk surface.
• Photodiode
  A semiconductor junction that converts light into an electrical current.
• Photomultiplier tubealso PMT
  A highly sensitive vacuum tube that detects light and amplifies the resulting electron flow.
• Photoresistoralso light-dependent resistor, LDR
  A passive component whose electrical resistance drops when exposed to light.
• Photothyristoralso light-activated SCR, LASCR
  A solid-state switching device triggered into conduction by optical illumination.
• Phototransistor
  A bipolar junction transistor that uses incident light instead of an electrical signal to control its base current.
• Pigtailedalso pigtail
  Having short lengths of wire pre-attached to a component for easier splicing. Shop talk
• Pinch roller
  A small rubber wheel that presses magnetic tape against a rotating metal shaft to drive it forward.
• Pinoutalso pin diagram
  A diagram or table detailing the purpose of each electrical contact on a connector or chip.
• Player
  A consumer or commercial electronic device designed to decode and output audio or video media.
• PMTalso photomultiplier tube, photomultiplier
  A photomultiplier tube used to detect and amplify extremely weak light signals.
• Potalso potentiometer, trimpot
  A common shorthand for a potentiometer used to adjust resistance in a circuit. Shop talk
• Potentiometeralso pot
  A three-terminal variable resistor used to manually adjust voltage or resistance in a circuit.
• Presetalso trimpot, trimmer
  A small variable resistor designed to be adjusted once during manufacturing or calibration.
• Protoboardalso breadboard, solderless breadboard
  A reusable grid of spring clips used to build and test circuits without soldering.
• PSG
  A programmable sound generator is a dedicated audio chip that synthesizes sound waves based on software instructions.
• Pullability
  The measure of how much a crystal oscillator's frequency changes when its load capacitance varies.
• PUT
  A programmable unijunction transistor is a four-layer thyristor used to build simple oscillator circuits.
• Quartz crystalalso crystal
  A precisely cut piece of piezoelectric quartz used to generate a highly stable oscillating frequency.
• Relayalso contactor
  An electrically operated switch that uses a small control signal to toggle a much larger load circuit.
• Reset button
  A physical switch that forces a circuit or microcontroller to halt and restart its operation from a known initial state.
• Resettable fusealso polyfuse, PTC
  A passive component that restricts current during a fault and automatically restores conductivity when the fault is removed.
• Resistor
  A passive two-terminal component used to limit current flow, divide voltages, or terminate transmission lines.
• Rheostat
  A two-terminal variable resistor used to control current flow in a circuit.
• RIMM
  A Rambus in-line memory module is an older, specialized type of high-speed computer memory stick.
• Rocker switch
  A mechanical switch with a pivoting actuator that rocks back and forth to open or close a circuit.
• Rotary switch
  A mechanical switch operated by turning a central shaft to connect a common terminal to one of several output contacts.
• RS-MMCalso reduced-size MultiMediaCard
  A reduced-size MultiMediaCard is a compact flash memory format designed for early mobile devices.
• SDHC card
  A removable flash memory format supporting capacities between four and thirty-two gigabytes.
• SIMMalso single in-line memory module
  A single in-line memory module is an older type of circuit board that holds memory chips.
• Small appliance
  A portable, electrically powered machine designed for specific domestic tasks.
• Socket
  A mechanical and electrical receptacle designed to hold and connect a removable component.
• SODIMMalso small-outline dual in-line memory module
  A compact memory module designed for laptops and space-constrained systems.
• Solenoid
  An electromechanical device that converts electrical energy into linear motion.
• Solion
  A historic electrochemical component that uses ions in a solution to amplify or switch signals.
• Sound card
  An expansion board that processes audio input and output for a computer system.
• Split-ring
  A metallic ring with a small gap, used to create resonant structures in microwave and metamaterial circuits.
• SSDalso solid-state drive
  A solid-state drive is a storage device that uses flash memory instead of spinning magnetic platters.
• Suicide battery
  An internal battery that maintains volatile memory containing critical operational data, rendering the device permanently inoperable if it dies. Shop talk
• System pullalso pull
  A component salvaged from a fully assembled but unused computer or electronic system. Shop talk
• Tag stripalso terminal strip, lug strip
  A non-conductive board fitted with metal lugs used as tie points for soldering components.
• TECalso Peltier cooler, thermoelectric cooler
  A solid-state device that pumps heat from one side to the other using the Peltier effect.
• Terminal
  A terminal is the physical point where an electrical connection is made to a component, circuit, or system.
• Terminatoralso termination resistor
  A terminator is a resistor or circuit placed at the end of a transmission line to absorb signals and prevent reflections.
• Thermal printer
  A printing mechanism that produces text and images by selectively heating coated thermochromic paper.
• Thermistor
  A passive component whose electrical resistance changes predictably with temperature.
• Thermopile
  A series array of thermocouples used to measure temperature or generate small amounts of power.
• Thin-film
  Describes electronic components made by depositing microscopic layers of material onto a substrate.
• Thyratron
  A historic gas-filled tube used as a high-power electrical switch and controlled rectifier.
• TNCalso Threaded Neill-Concelman connector, TNC connector
  Threaded Neill-Concelman, a threaded version of the standard BNC RF connector.
• Travelling-wave tubealso TWT
  A specialized vacuum tube used to amplify radio frequency signals to high power levels.
• Trimpotalso trimmer, trimmer potentiometer
  A small, adjustable resistor used for fine-tuning a circuit during manufacturing or calibration. Shop talk
• Triode
  A three-electrode vacuum tube capable of amplifying electronic signals.
• Tweeter
  A specialized loudspeaker driver engineered to reproduce high audio frequencies.
• UCalso ultracapacitor, supercapacitor
  Ultra capacity refers to energy storage devices, like supercapacitors, that hold vastly more charge than standard capacitors.
• Vacuum tubealso tube, valve
  An evacuated glass or metal envelope containing electrodes used to control electron flow.
• Varactoralso varicap, tuning diode
  A diode operated in reverse bias to function as a voltage-controlled capacitor.
• Varistoralso metal-oxide varistor, MOV
  A voltage-dependent resistor that protects circuits by shunting excess current during a power surge.
• Voice coil
  A tightly wound electromagnet that moves a speaker cone or read head when driven by an audio or control signal.
• White plague
  A brittle gold-aluminum intermetallic compound that causes wire bonds to fail. Shop talk
• WORM drive
  A storage device that permanently records data so it cannot be altered or erased.
• Write once, read manyalso WORM
  A data storage paradigm where information is permanently recorded and cannot be modified.
• Zener diode
  A specialized diode designed to allow current to flow backwards when a specific reverse voltage is reached.

The materials, physics, and fabrication processes used to build integrated circuits on silicon.

• Aligneralso mask aligner
  A photolithography machine used to transfer circuit patterns onto semiconductor wafers.
• ASIC
  An application-specific integrated circuit designed for one dedicated task rather than general-purpose use.
• Base
  The control terminal of a bipolar junction transistor.
• Bioelectronicsalso Bioelectronic
  The engineering discipline focused on merging biological materials with electronic circuitry.
• Cathode rayalso electron beam
  A focused stream of electrons emitted from the negative electrode in a vacuum tube.
• CCDalso charge-coupled device
  A charge-coupled device is a semiconductor sensor that converts photons into electrical charges.
• Charged particle
  A subatomic particle or ion possessing a net electric charge that allows it to interact with electromagnetic fields.
• Chicken bit
  A hidden control register bit used to disable an experimental or buggy hardware feature on a microchip. Shop talk
• Chipalso microchip, IC
  A small piece of semiconducting material containing a complex integrated circuit.
• Chiplet
  A smaller, modular integrated circuit die designed to be combined with others in a single package.
• CMOS
  Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor is the dominant fabrication technology for integrated circuits.
• Collector
  One of the three terminals of a bipolar junction transistor, responsible for receiving the majority charge carriers.
• DLTalso device layer transfer
  Device layer transfer is a fabrication technique that moves a fully formed semiconductor layer from one wafer to another.
• Doped
  Describes a pure semiconductor material that has been intentionally infused with impurities to alter its electrical properties.
• Drainalso D
  One of the three main terminals on a field-effect transistor.
• Early effectalso base-width modulation
  The variation in the effective base width of a bipolar transistor caused by collector voltage changes.
• eFusealso electronic fuse
  A microscopic, one-time-programmable fuse built into a silicon chip.
• Emitter
  The emitter is one of the three terminals of a bipolar junction transistor.
• Engineering samplealso ES
  A pre-production microchip provided to hardware developers for testing and motherboard design before mass manufacturing begins.
• EPIC
  An epitaxial integrated circuit uses an epitaxial layer to form its active components.
• FET
  A field-effect transistor controls the flow of electrical current using an electric field.
• Field-programmable gate array
  An integrated circuit designed to be configured by a customer or a designer after manufacturing.
• Flash memoryalso flash
  An electronic non-volatile computer storage medium that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed.
• Fluxonium
  A type of superconducting artificial atom used as a qubit in quantum computing.
• G³also gadolinium gallium garnet, GGG
  Gadolinium gallium garnet is a crystalline material used as a substrate for magnetic and magneto-optical films.
• Gate arrayalso uncommitted logic array, ULA
  A prefabricated silicon chip containing unconnected logic gates.
• GFETalso graphene field-effect transistor
  A graphene field-effect transistor, which uses graphene as its channel material.
• GSTalso GeSbTe
  An alloy of germanium, antimony, and tellurium used in phase-change memory.
• Gunn effect
  A phenomenon where a direct current applied to a semiconductor creates high-frequency microwave oscillations.
• HBMalso high-bandwidth memory
  High-bandwidth memory, a stacked memory architecture that provides massive data throughput for graphics and compute processors.
• Heterojunction
  An interface between two different semiconductor materials with unequal bandgaps.
• ICalso integrated circuit, microchip
  A complete electronic circuit manufactured on a single piece of semiconductor material.
• IGP
  An integrated graphics processor is a graphics rendering chip built directly onto a motherboard or CPU die.
• iGPU
  An integrated graphics processing unit is a graphics core embedded directly inside the central processing unit.
• JFETalso junction field-effect transistor
  A type of field-effect transistor that uses a reverse-biased junction to control current.
• Junctionalso P-N junction, node
  The physical interface where two different materials or conductors meet.
• Large scale integrationalso LSI
  A historic classification for microchips containing thousands of logic gates.
• Latch-up
  A destructive short circuit condition in CMOS integrated circuits.
• Layout
  The physical arrangement of components and traces on a chip or circuit board.
• LIGA
  A fabrication process for creating microstructures with deep, vertical walls.
• LSIalso large scale integration
  This historic chip classification refers to integrated circuits containing tens of thousands of transistors.
• LZO
  A high-k dielectric material used in advanced semiconductor manufacturing.
• Mask work
  The two-dimensional and three-dimensional layout designs used to fabricate an integrated circuit.
• Memory chip
  An integrated circuit dedicated solely to storing digital data.
• Mesa
  A semiconductor structure where the active region is etched to sit above the surrounding substrate.
• Microcircuitalso integrated circuit, IC
  A miniaturized electronic circuit built onto a single semiconductor substrate.
• Microcircuitry
  The internal wiring and microscopic components that make up an integrated circuit.
• MLC
  Multi-level cell, a solid-state flash memory architecture that stores more than one bit of data per memory cell.
• MOCVD
  Metalorganic chemical vapor deposition is a technique for growing crystalline layers to create complex semiconductor structures.
• MOS
  A layered structure of metal, oxide, and semiconductor materials forms the physical basis of most integrated circuits.
• MOSFET
  A metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor is a voltage-controlled switch used to amplify or switch electronic signals.
• MOVPEalso MOCVD, metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy
  A chemical vapor deposition method used to grow thin films of complex semiconductor materials.
• Multicore
  A microprocessor architecture that places two or more independent processing units on a single integrated circuit.
• Neural processing unitalso NPU, AI accelerator
  A neural processing unit is a specialized chip designed to accelerate machine learning algorithms.
• nMOS
  A type of field-effect transistor that uses negatively charged electrons as the primary charge carriers.
• nMOSFETalso n-channel MOSFET, n-FET
  An nMOSFET is a transistor that uses a positive gate voltage to create an electron-conducting channel.
• NOCalso NoC, network on a chip
  A microchip architecture that routes data between subsystems using network protocols.
• NVMalso Non-volatile memory
  Computer storage that retains its data when electrical power is removed.
• NVRAM
  Fast random access memory that retains its data without external power.
• OTPalso one-time programmable
  A type of non-volatile memory that can be written to only a single time.
• PIC
  A family of programmable microcontrollers developed by Microchip Technology.
• pMOSalso p-channel MOSFET, pMOSFET
  A field-effect transistor that uses positive charge carriers to conduct current.
• pMOSFETalso p-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor, pMOS
  A metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor with a p-type conduction channel.
• Polysiliconalso poly, polycrystalline silicon
  A polycrystalline form of silicon heavily used for transistor gates and interconnects.
• PPU
  A dedicated microprocessor designed to accelerate rigid body dynamics, fluid simulations and collision detection.
• Programmable read-only memoryalso one-time programmable memory, OTP
  A non-volatile storage chip that can be written to exactly once by blowing internal microscopic fuses.
• PROMalso programmable read-only memory
  A type of memory chip that is programmed once by blowing internal fuses.
• QFET
  A quantum field effect transistor is a semiconductor device that uses quantum tunneling or confinement to control electron flow.
• Rent's rule
  An empirical power-law relation between the number of logic gates in a circuit block and its number of external connections.
• ROMalso read-only memory
  A class of non-volatile semiconductor storage retains its data without power and is designed primarily for reading rather than writing.
• SBHalso Schottky barrier height
  Schottky barrier height is the potential energy mismatch at a metal-semiconductor junction.
• Second source
  An alternative manufacturer licensed to produce another company's proprietary component.
• Silicon lottery
  The natural variance in manufacturing quality that dictates how far a specific chip can be overclocked. Shop talk
• Small-scale integrationalso SSI
  An early generation of integrated circuit technology containing only a few logic gates per chip.
• SoCalso system on a chip
  An integrated circuit that combines all necessary components of a computer or electronic system onto a single chip.
• Soft erroralso single-event upset, SEU
  A temporary glitch in a semiconductor device that alters a signal or data bit without permanently damaging the hardware.
• Solid-state
  Built entirely from semiconductor materials without moving parts or vacuum gaps.
• Source
  The terminal of a field-effect transistor where majority charge carriers enter the channel.
• Space charge
  A localized accumulation of excess electrical charge in a specific region of a device.
• Spacistor
  An early experimental semiconductor device designed to overcome the frequency limits of early transistors.
• SSIalso small-scale integration
  Small-scale integration refers to early microchips containing only a few dozen transistors.
• Steiner point
  An extra node added to a wire routing layout to minimize the total length of interconnects.
• Storage time
  The delay before a saturated transistor begins to turn off after the base drive is removed.
• Tape outalso tapeout
  To finalize an integrated circuit design and send the manufacturing data to the foundry.
• Thermal design poweralso TDP
  The maximum amount of heat a cooling system must be able to dissipate from a chip under typical heavy workloads.
• Time delay and integration clockalso TDI clock
  A timing mechanism used in specialized readout integrated circuits to synchronize moving image data.
• TLCalso triple-level cell
  Triple-level cell, a type of flash memory that stores three bits of data per memory cell.
• TPUalso Tensor Processing Unit
  Tensor Processing Unit, an application-specific integrated circuit designed to accelerate machine learning workloads.
• ULSIalso ultra-large-scale integration, ultra large scale integration
  Ultra-large-scale integration is the fabrication of more than one million transistors on a single semiconductor chip.
• Ultra large scale integrationalso ULSI
  A semiconductor manufacturing classification for integrated circuits containing over a million transistors.
• Unijunctionalso UJT, unijunction transistor
  A three-terminal semiconductor device containing a single P-N junction, primarily used in older timing circuits.
• Very-large-scale
  Describing an integrated circuit that packs hundreds of thousands of transistors onto a single piece of silicon.
• Very large scale integrationalso VLSI
  The process of creating complex integrated circuits by combining hundreds of thousands of transistors on a single chip.
• VHSICalso very high speed integrated circuit
  A very high speed integrated circuit is a government-funded classification for advanced, fast-switching silicon chips.
• VLSI
  Very large-scale integration is the process of creating an integrated circuit by combining thousands to millions of transistors onto a single chip.
• Waferalso slice
  A highly polished slice of semiconductor material used as the foundation for fabricating integrated circuits.
• Wafer-scale integrationalso WSI
  A manufacturing approach where an entire silicon wafer is used as a single massive integrated circuit.
• Weyl fermion
  A massless quasiparticle that carries electric charge in certain advanced materials.
• WSI
  Wafer-scale integration is the process of building a single massive integrated circuit that spans an entire silicon wafer.

The architecture of binary computation, including logic gates, memory, and processor buses.

• Adder-subtractor
  A digital logic circuit configured to perform both addition and subtraction on binary numbers.
• Address bus
  A set of wires used by a processor to specify the physical location of data in memory.
• ADPLL
  An all-digital phase-locked loop uses purely digital logic to synchronize clock signals.
• AND gate
  A fundamental digital logic circuit that outputs a high signal only when all its inputs are high.
• Arbiter
  A logic circuit that manages access to a shared resource by multiple requestors to prevent data collisions.
• Arithmetic logic unitalso ALU
  The digital circuit block inside a processor that performs integer math and bitwise operations.
• Assert
  To drive a logic signal to its active state, regardless of whether that state is high or low.
• Battery-backed
  Describing a volatile memory or real-time clock circuit that uses a small local battery to retain data when main power is lost.
• BCD
  Binary-coded decimal is a digital encoding method where each decimal digit is represented by a fixed four-bit binary sequence.
• Blivet
  A momentary, unintended drop to a low logic level in a normally high signal. Shop talk
• Bouncelessalso debounced
  Designed to transition between states cleanly without mechanical oscillation.
• Bus bridge
  A hardware device or circuit that connects two different computer buses.
• Bus-holderalso bus keeper
  A weak latch circuit attached to a digital bus to maintain its last valid logic state when no other device is driving it.
• CCNalso Toffoli gate, CCNOT
  A controlled-controlled-NOT gate is a logic gate used in reversible computing and quantum circuits.
• CDCalso clock domain crossing
  Clock domain crossing is the transfer of a digital signal from one asynchronous clock domain to another.
• Central processing unitalso processor
  The primary silicon processor responsible for fetching, decoding, and executing instructions in a computer system.
• Clockalso clock signal, Clocked
  A continuous square wave signal that synchronizes the timing of digital circuits.
• Clock generatoralso clock synth
  A circuit or chip that produces the primary timing signals for a digital system.
• Clock out
  To shift data bits out of a register or interface one by one using a clock signal. Shop talk
• Clock ratealso clock frequency
  The frequency at which a clock signal oscillates, measured in hertz.
• Clock skewalso Skew
  The time difference between a clock signal arriving at different parts of a circuit.
• Clock speed
  The operating frequency of a processor or digital chip, determining how fast it executes instructions.
• Combinational circuit
  A digital logic circuit whose output depends strictly on the immediate state of its inputs.
• Combinational logic
  A type of digital logic where outputs are determined entirely by the present combination of inputs.
• Control bus
  A set of physical connections used by a central processing unit to communicate control signals to other hardware.
• Coprocessor
  A supplementary processing chip designed to offload specific, mathematically intensive tasks from the main processor.
• CORDIC
  Coordinate Rotation Digital Computer is a hardware-efficient algorithm for calculating trigonometric functions.
• Correlator
  A circuit or algorithm that measures the similarity between two signals over time.
• CPLD
  A Complex Programmable Logic Device is an integrated circuit used to implement custom digital logic.
• CPUalso central processing unit
  The central processing unit is the primary logic chip that executes instructions and coordinates system operations.
• Daisy chain
  A wiring scheme where multiple devices are connected in sequence one after the other.
• DCIM
  The standard root directory name for digital camera images on memory cards.
• DDR
  Double data rate is a clocking technique that transfers data on both the rising and falling edges of a clock signal.
• Debounce
  To filter out the rapid, unintended multiple electrical contacts made when a mechanical switch closes.
• Decade counteralso BCD counter
  A digital circuit that counts up to ten before resetting.
• Default
  The pre-programmed state or value a system assumes upon power-up or reset.
• Demultiplexalso demux
  To separate a single combined data stream back into its original multiple signals.
• Demultiplexeralso demux
  A logic device that routes a single input signal to one of several output lines.
• Dequantize
  To map discrete digital values back into a continuous analog range.
• Difference gatealso XOR gate, exclusive-OR gate
  A logic gate that outputs true only when its inputs do not match.
• Digit trunkalso bus
  An older term for a shared electrical pathway that connects multiple components to transmit data.
• Digital electronics
  The branch of electronics dealing with signals that have discrete, quantized voltage levels.
• Digital-to-analog converteralso DAC, D-to-A
  A mixed-signal component that translates binary data into a continuous physical voltage or current.
• Disable
  To turn off a specific function, circuit block, or output by altering its control signal.
• DLLalso delay-locked loop
  A delay-locked loop is a digital circuit that synchronizes a clock signal by inserting variable delays.
• DPLLalso digital phase-locked loop
  A digital phase-locked loop is an electronic circuit that synchronizes a digital output signal with a reference input.
• DPRAMalso dual-port RAM
  Dual-ported random-access memory allows multiple reads or writes to occur simultaneously.
• DSPalso digital signal processor, digital signal processing
  Digital signal processing involves manipulating continuous real-world signals in a digital format.
• ECalso edge combiner
  An edge combiner generates high-frequency clock signals by combining multiple phase-shifted clock edges.
• ECLalso emitter-coupled logic
  Emitter-coupled logic is a high-speed bipolar logic family.
• Edge-triggered
  A digital input that responds only to the transition of a clock signal.
• Elaboration
  The step in digital design where a hardware description language is expanded into a concrete netlist.
• Electromechanical computer
  An early computing machine built from physical switches and relays rather than solid-state electronics.
• EMI
  An external memory interface connects a microcontroller or processor to off-chip memory.
• Emitter-coupled logicalso ECL
  A high-speed bipolar transistor logic family that prevents transistors from fully saturating to minimize switching delays.
• Enable
  To activate a specific circuit function or chip by driving a control pin to its active state.
• ERA
  An electrically reconfigurable array is a type of programmable logic device that can be repeatedly reprogrammed in the field.
• Essential prime implicant
  A grouped term in Boolean logic minimization that covers at least one output state no other group can cover.
• Factory settingalso factory default
  The default configuration programmed into a device's non-volatile memory during manufacturing.
• Faninalso fan-in
  The maximum number of input signals that a single logic gate can accept.
• Fanoutalso fan-out
  The number of subsequent logic gate inputs that a single output can reliably drive.
• Firm error
  A data or logic fault that persists until the system is rebooted or power-cycled.
• Flip-flopalso latch, bistable multivibrator
  A bistable logic circuit that stores a single bit of binary data.
• FPDPalso Front Panel Data Port
  Front Panel Data Port is a high-speed parallel bus used for streaming data.
• FPGAalso field-programmable gate array
  A field-programmable gate array is an integrated circuit whose internal logic can be configured by the user.
• FPUalso floating-point unit, math coprocessor
  A floating-point unit is a specialized coprocessor designed to perform rapid math on non-integer numbers.
• Full adder
  A digital logic circuit that adds three single-bit binary numbers and outputs a sum and a carry bit.
• Graphics processing unitalso GPU
  A specialized processor designed to rapidly manipulate memory to accelerate image creation.
• GTLalso Gunning transceiver logic
  A low-voltage signaling standard used for high-speed backplanes and processor buses.
• Half adder
  A digital logic circuit that adds two single-bit binary numbers and produces a sum and a carry output.
• Hard erroralso hard fault
  A permanent hardware failure that cannot be resolved by rebooting or power-cycling the system.
• Hardwired
  Describing a circuit or function that is permanently fixed by physical connections rather than being software-programmable.
• HCLK
  A high-speed clock signal used to drive the core processing blocks of a microcontroller or system-on-chip.
• HDLalso hardware description language
  A specialized programming language used to describe the structure and behavior of electronic circuits.
• High-level synthesisalso HLS
  An automated design process that converts algorithmic code into hardware logic representations.
• I²C
  A two-wire serial communication protocol used to connect low-speed peripherals to a processor.
• Interrupt
  A hardware or software signal that forces a processor to pause its current task and execute a specific routine.
• Inverting function
  A logic operation or circuit configuration that outputs the exact opposite of its input signal.
• IOalso I/O, input/output
  The abbreviation for input and output, referring to communication between a system and external devices.
• Keybouncealso switch bounce, contact bounce
  The rapid, unintended multiple electrical contacts made when a mechanical switch is pressed.
• Level-triggered
  Describing a logic circuit that responds to inputs as long as the clock signal is at a specific voltage.
• Logic high
  The higher of two voltage states used to represent a binary one in a digital circuit.
• Logic level
  A specific voltage range that represents a distinct binary state in a digital circuit.
• Logic low
  The lower of two voltage states used to represent a binary zero in a digital circuit.
• Memory bank
  A logical unit of storage within a computer's memory architecture.
• Microcomputer
  A small computer system built around a single microprocessor acting as its central processing unit.
• Microcontrolleralso MCU
  A compact integrated circuit designed to govern a specific operation in an embedded system.
• Microprocessoralso MPU, processor
  An integrated circuit that contains all the functions of a central processing unit.
• Minicomputer
  A historic class of multi-user computers that filled the gap between massive mainframes and single-user microcomputers.
• Misclock
  A timing failure where a digital circuit evaluates data on the wrong edge or cycle of the clock signal. Shop talk
• MMU
  Memory management unit, a hardware component that translates virtual memory addresses into physical memory addresses.
• Monostablealso one-shot
  Describes a circuit that has only one stable resting state.
• MSIalso medium scale integration
  A historical classification for chips containing between 10 and 100 logic gates.
• Multiplexeralso mux
  A digital switch that routes one of several input signals to a single output line based on control signals.
• NAND gatealso Not-AND gate
  A fundamental digital logic gate that outputs low only when all its inputs are high.
• NCOalso numerically controlled oscillator
  A digital signal generator that creates a synchronous, discrete-time waveform.
• Negative edgealso falling edge
  A negative edge is the high-to-low transition of a digital signal.
• Negative-edge-triggeredalso falling-edge-triggered
  A negative-edge-triggered device updates its output only when the clock signal transitions from high to low.
• Negative logic
  A digital design convention that assigns the true state to a low voltage and the false state to a high voltage.
• Non-essential prime implicant
  A grouped logic term in a Karnaugh map whose outputs are entirely covered by other groupings.
• NOR gate
  A digital logic gate that outputs true only when all of its inputs are false.
• NOT gatealso inverter
  A digital logic gate that outputs the inverse of its input state.
• NVMe
  A high-speed interface protocol designed for accessing solid-state drives over a PCIe bus.
• Octal data rate
  A memory interface that transfers eight bits of data per clock cycle on a single lane.
• One-cold
  A digital state where exactly one bit in a sequence is low and all others are high.
• One-hot
  An encoding scheme where only a single bit in a group is active at any given time.
• OR gate
  A basic digital logic gate that outputs high if any of its inputs are high.
• PAM
  Pulse amplitude modulation encodes information in the amplitude of a series of signal pulses.
• Pass transistor
  A transistor used to switch or route logic signals between circuit nodes rather than connecting directly to a power rail.
• PCIealso PCI Express
  A high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard for connecting hardware devices.
• PCLKalso peripheral clock
  A timing signal used to synchronize data transfers for peripheral devices.
• PLDalso programmable logic device
  A programmable logic device is an integrated circuit configured by the user to build custom digital circuits.
• PLICalso platform-level interrupt controller
  A platform-level interrupt controller used in RISC-V architectures to route hardware signals.
• Positive edgealso rising edge, leading edge
  The exact moment a digital signal transitions from a low voltage state to a high voltage state.
• Positive-edge-triggered
  Describing a digital component that only changes state when its clock signal transitions from low to high.
• Positive logicalso active-high
  A digital design convention where the higher voltage level represents a binary one.
• Prescaler
  An internal counting circuit that divides a high-frequency clock signal down to a lower frequency.
• Prime implicant
  The largest possible grouping of ones or zeros in a Karnaugh map used for logic minimization.
• Programmable logic arrayalso PLA
  An early type of programmable logic device used to implement complex combinational logic circuits.
• Propagation delayalso gate delay
  The time it takes for a logic signal to travel through a gate and change its output state.
• Propagation timealso flight time
  The total duration required for an electrical signal to travel from a source to a destination.
• Pull-down resistoralso pull-down
  A resistor connected between a logic pin and ground to hold the line at a logic low state.
• Pull-up resistoralso pull-up
  A resistor connected between a logic pin and a positive supply voltage to hold the line at a logic high state.
• Pulse
  A rapid, transient change in voltage or current from a baseline value and back again.
• QDR
  Quad data rate is a memory communication signaling method that transfers data on four points of the clock cycle.
• Quantize
  The process of mapping a continuous range of analog signal values to a finite set of discrete digital levels.
• Race conditionalso logic hazard
  A logic failure where the output depends on the unpredictable timing of two or more competing signals.
• Ratioless
  Describing a logic circuit design where the output voltage levels do not depend on the relative sizes of the transistors.
• Return pathalso ground return
  The route that electrical current takes to flow back to its source, completing a circuit.
• Schmitt trigger
  A comparator circuit that uses positive feedback to create hysteresis, converting noisy analog signals into clean digital pulses.
• SDR
  A memory or bus interface that transfers data once per clock cycle.
• Segment descriptor
  A data structure used by a processor to translate logical memory addresses into physical ones.
• Sequential logic
  A type of digital circuitry where outputs depend on both current inputs and past states.
• SerDes
  A functional block that converts parallel data streams into a single high-speed serial stream and back.
• Setup time
  The required duration a data signal must remain stable before a clock edge triggers.
• Single data ratealso SDR
  A clocking scheme where data transfers occur only once per clock cycle.
• Southbridge
  A historic motherboard controller chip that handles slower peripheral connections.
• SRAMalso static RAM
  A type of fast, volatile memory that retains data without needing periodic refresh cycles.
• SSLalso start-stop logic
  Start-stop logic is a control scheme used to manage the initiation and termination of asynchronous data streams.
• STAalso static timing analysis
  Static timing analysis is the process of verifying that a digital circuit meets all timing constraints.
• System bus
  A shared communication pathway that links the CPU, memory, and peripherals in a computer.
• TDCalso time-to-digital converter
  A time-to-digital converter is an instrument or circuit that measures the time interval between two events and outputs it as a digital value.
• Transition time
  The duration required for a signal to change from one logic state to another.
• TTL
  Transistor-transistor logic is a classic digital circuit design family built from bipolar junction transistors.
• TWBalso three-wire bus
  A three-wire bus is a serial communication interface that uses three dedicated lines for data and clock signals.
• UART
  A universal asynchronous receiver-transmitter is a hardware block that translates data between parallel and serial forms.
• Unclocked
  A digital circuit that operates without a central timing signal.
• Universal logic gate
  A logic gate type that can be combined to reproduce any other boolean logic function.
• USART
  A microchip peripheral that facilitates both synchronous and asynchronous serial communication.
• VDLalso vernier delay line
  A vernier delay line is a timing circuit that provides extremely fine, sub-nanosecond resolution delays.
• Volatile memory
  A type of data storage that loses its contents immediately when power is removed.
• VPUalso vector processor
  A vector processing unit is a specialized processor designed to execute the same instruction on multiple data points simultaneously.
• Watchdogalso watchdog timer, WDT
  A hardware timer that automatically resets a system if software hangs.
• Write once
  Describing memory or storage that can be programmed exactly one time.
• XNOR gatealso equivalence gate, exclusive-NOR gate
  A digital logic gate that outputs true only when both of its inputs are exactly the same.
• XORalso exclusive OR
  Exclusive OR is a logical operation that outputs true only when its inputs differ.
• XOR gate
  A digital logic gate that outputs a high signal only when its two inputs are at different logic levels.

Circuits that manipulate continuous voltage waveforms, amplify signals, and convert power.

• ADCalso A/D converter, A-to-D
  An analog-to-digital converter transforms continuous physical signals into discrete digital numbers.
• Amplifieralso amp
  A circuit or standalone device that increases the power, voltage, or current of an electrical signal.
• Analog-to-digital converter
  A mixed-signal circuit component that translates continuous physical voltages into discrete digital numbers.
• ANC
  A system that reduces unwanted ambient sound using destructive interference.
• Antimetric
  Describes a two-port circuit having an input image impedance that acts as the reciprocal of its output.
• Antimetry
  The mathematical property of an electrical network where the impedance of one port is the inverse of another.
• Armstrong oscillatoralso Meissner oscillator
  A classic LC oscillator circuit that uses a tickler coil to provide positive feedback.
• Astable
  A circuit configuration that continuously alternates between states without settling.
• Attack time
  The duration it takes for a signal processing circuit to react to an input exceeding its threshold.
• Autogainalso automatic gain control, AGC
  A circuit function that automatically adjusts amplification to maintain a steady output level. Shop talk
• Autozeroingalso auto-zero
  A calibration technique that dynamically measures and subtracts offset errors in precision circuits.
• Band-pass
  Describing a circuit or filter that allows a specific range of frequencies to pass while blocking those outside the range.
• Band-stopalso band-reject, notch
  Describing a circuit or filter that blocks a specific range of frequencies while allowing all others to pass.
• Biasalso quiescent point, Q-point
  A steady DC voltage or current applied to an electronic component to establish its resting operating point.
• Brick-wall limiter
  An audio or RF circuit that strictly prevents a signal from exceeding a predefined amplitude threshold.
• Bucket brigadealso BBD
  An analog delay line circuit that passes a sampled signal voltage through a series of capacitors.
• Capacitively
  Describes a connection or coupling where signals transfer through an electric field rather than a direct wire.
• CDRalso current divider rule, current division rule
  The current divider rule is a formula calculating how electrical current splits across parallel branches.
• Chopperalso DC-DC converter, switching converter
  An electronic switching circuit that rapidly interrupts a direct current signal to convert it into a pulsating wave.
• Circuit topologyalso network topology, circuit architecture
  The specific arrangement of components and connections that defines how an electronic circuit operates.
• Circulatoralso RF circulator, microwave circulator
  A passive, multi-port component that forces radio frequency or microwave signals to flow in only one direction.
• Clamperalso DC restorer
  A circuit that shifts an entire waveform up or down to a specific DC voltage level.
• Clipperalso limiter, amplitude limiter
  A circuit that cuts off the top or bottom of a waveform at a specific voltage level.
• CMFB
  Common mode feedback is a control loop used in fully differential amplifiers to stabilize the DC output voltage.
• Compressor
  An audio signal processing circuit that reduces the dynamic range of a waveform.
• Coupling
  The transfer of electrical energy from one circuit segment to another.
• Crowbarred
  Protected by or triggered into a state where a circuit intentionally shorts its own power supply. Shop talk
• Current divider
  A parallel circuit configuration that splits total current among multiple branches based on their impedance.
• DACalso D/A converter
  A digital-to-analog converter transforms discrete binary numbers into a continuous physical voltage or current.
• Darlingtonalso Darlington pair
  A clipped name for a two-transistor configuration that provides very high current gain. Shop talk
• Darlington pairalso Darlington
  Two bipolar transistors connected to act as a single unit with highly multiplied current gain.
• DCRS
  An abbreviation for a dipole coil resonance system used in specialized RF applications.
• DDS
  A technique for generating arbitrary periodic waveforms from a single, fixed-frequency reference clock.
• Delay line
  A component or circuit trace designed to slow down a signal by a precise amount of time.
• Digital predistortionalso DPD
  A signal processing technique that intentionally distorts an input signal to cancel out amplifier nonlinearities.
• Downconversion
  The process of translating a high-frequency radio signal to a lower intermediate or baseband frequency.
• Duty cycle
  The percentage of time a periodic signal is active compared to its total period.
• Dynamic headroomalso headroom
  The ability of an audio amplifier to deliver short bursts of power above its continuous rating.
• Envelope
  The envelope is the smooth curve outlining the extremes of a modulated high-frequency signal.
• Envelope detectoralso peak detector
  An envelope detector is a circuit that extracts the modulating signal from a carrier wave.
• Equalizeralso EQ
  An audio circuit or device used to adjust the amplitude of specific frequency bands within a signal.
• Essential meshalso simple mesh
  A fundamental loop in a circuit diagram that does not enclose any other loops.
• Fade in
  To gradually increase the amplitude of an audio or video signal from zero to its normal operating level.
• Fade out
  To gradually reduce the amplitude of an audio or video signal to zero.
• Feedback
  A portion of an output signal routed back to the input to alter a circuit's behavior.
• First-order hold
  A mathematical model used in digital-to-analog conversion that reconstructs signals using linear interpolation.
• Floating ground
  A zero-volt reference point in a circuit that is intentionally isolated from earth ground.
• Frequency multiplieralso multiplier
  A circuit that outputs a signal whose frequency is an exact integer multiple of its input frequency.
• Gain
  A measure of a circuit's ability to increase the power or amplitude of a signal.
• Gate off
  To turn a transistor or thyristor off by manipulating the voltage at its gate terminal. Shop talk
• Headroomalso dynamic headroom
  The margin between the nominal operating level of a signal and the absolute maximum limit before clipping occurs.
• High shelfalso high-shelving filter
  An audio filter circuit that boosts or cuts all frequencies above a specific corner frequency by a constant amount.
• Highpassalso high-pass
  Describing a filter that allows high frequencies to pass through while attenuating lower frequencies.
• IF
  A specific frequency to which a carrier wave is shifted as an intermediate step in signal processing.
• IGBT
  A power semiconductor device that combines a simple gate drive with high-current capability.
• IGCT
  A high-power semiconductor switch designed to handle massive industrial voltages and currents.
• Immittance
  A combined term representing either the impedance or admittance of an electrical network.
• ISFalso impulse sensitivity function
  A mathematical function used to analyze phase noise in oscillators.
• Limiteralso clipper
  A circuit that prevents an electrical signal from exceeding a predetermined amplitude.
• LNA
  An amplifier designed to boost extremely weak signals without adding significant electronic noise.
• LO
  An internal signal source used to shift the frequency of an incoming signal.
• Load
  A component or circuit section that consumes electrical power from a source.
• Load voltage
  The actual electrical potential measured across a component that is drawing power.
• Lowpass
  A type of filter that allows low-frequency signals to pass while blocking higher frequencies.
• Matrixing
  The process of algebraically combining multiple electronic signals into a new set of signals.
• Microphonicsalso microphony
  The unwanted conversion of mechanical vibration into electrical noise by an electronic component.
• Miller effect
  The multiplication of equivalent input capacitance in an inverting voltage amplifier.
• Mixeralso frequency mixer
  A non-linear circuit that combines two different input frequencies to generate new output frequencies.
• MM
  Moving magnet, a common type of phono cartridge where a tiny magnet vibrates between fixed coils to generate an audio signal.
• Modulate
  To vary a property of a carrier signal in order to transmit information.
• Multiar
  An early amplitude comparison circuit that triggers an output when an input voltage crosses a set threshold.
• Multivibrator
  A two-state electronic circuit used to create oscillators, timers, and flip-flops.
• NDC
  A circuit property where an increase in voltage leads to a decrease in current.
• NDR
  A non-linear electrical characteristic where current decreases as the applied voltage increases.
• Nodal analysis
  A systematic method for determining the voltage at every node in an electrical circuit.
• Node
  A continuous connection point in a circuit where two or more components meet.
• Norton's theorem
  A circuit analysis rule stating that any linear network can be reduced to one current source and one parallel resistor.
• Off time
  The portion of a switching cycle where a device is turned off and no current flows.
• Op-ampalso operational amplifier
  A high-gain electronic voltage amplifier with differential inputs and usually a single output.
• Openalso open circuit
  A break in an electrical circuit that prevents current from flowing.
• Order
  A number indicating the steepness or complexity of a filter's response.
• OTAalso operational transconductance amplifier
  An amplifier whose differential input voltage controls an output current.
• Overpulse
  A transient electrical pulse that momentarily exceeds normal or intended voltage levels.
• PAE
  Power added efficiency measures how effectively an RF amplifier converts DC power into useful RF output.
• Parasitic
  An unintended electrical property like capacitance or inductance that exists physically in a circuit. Shop talk
• PDalso phase detector, phase comparator
  A circuit block that generates a voltage signal representing the phase difference between two inputs.
• Phase angle
  The angular displacement between a reference waveform and a measured waveform.
• Phase-locked loopalso PLL
  A control system that generates an output signal whose phase is related to the phase of an input signal.
• Photochopperalso optical chopper
  An optoelectronic component that periodically interrupts a light beam to modulate a signal.
• PLLalso phase-locked loop
  A phase-locked loop circuit that synchronizes an output oscillator with a reference signal.
• Polarization chargealso bound charge
  The bound charge that accumulates in a dielectric material when exposed to an electric field.
• Power brickalso brick, wall wart
  An external power supply enclosed in a rectangular block that sits outside the main device. Shop talk
• Power electronics
  The branch of electrical engineering focused on the conversion and control of electric power.
• Power inverteralso inverter
  An electronic device or circuit that changes direct current (DC) into alternating current (AC).
• PSUalso power supply
  A power supply unit converts utility AC power into the regulated DC voltages required by a system.
• PWM
  Pulse-width modulation is a technique for controlling average power delivery by rapidly switching a signal on and off.
• Quadripolealso two-port network
  A circuit network modeled as a black box with two input terminals and two output terminals.
• Railalso power rail, supply rail
  A main supply voltage line that distributes power or a common ground across a circuit board.
• Ratiometric
  A measurement or output that scales directly in proportion to its power supply voltage.
• Rectify
  To convert alternating current into direct current using components that only allow one-way electron flow.
• Regional converteralso step-down transformer, travel converter
  A transformer or power supply designed to adapt mains electricity from one geographic standard to another.
• Resistive
  Describes a circuit element or load that primarily impedes electrical current without storing energy.
• Resonance
  The state in an LC circuit where capacitive and inductive reactances cancel each other out.
• Resonant
  Tuned to naturally oscillate at a specific frequency where energy transfer is maximized.
• RFFE
  A radio frequency front end handles the analog signal processing between the antenna and the digital baseband.
• Ring modulation
  An analog signal processing effect that multiplies two signals together, outputting only their sum and difference frequencies.
• Roll off
  To gradually attenuate a signal's amplitude as its frequency moves past a specific cutoff point.
• Scalar
  An amplifier or circuit block that multiplies an input signal by a constant numerical factor.
• SCNR
  A metric comparing the desired signal level to the noise introduced by clipping.
• SCRalso thyristor
  A four-layer solid-state device that controls high power loads.
• SFGalso signal-flow graph
  A signal-flow graph is a visual network diagram that represents a set of simultaneous linear algebraic equations.
• Signal processing
  The mathematical manipulation of physical data streams to filter, compress, or extract information.
• Slab line
  A microwave transmission line featuring a round center conductor between two parallel flat ground planes.
• Smearer
  A specialized circuit designed to eliminate overshoot and ringing from a fast voltage pulse.
• SMPSalso switched-mode power supply, switching power supply
  A switched-mode power supply uses high-frequency switching to efficiently convert electrical power.
• SNAP
  The Symbolic Network Analysis Program is an older software tool used to analyze electronic circuits.
• SPS
  A smart power supply dynamically adjusts its output to match the demands of the connected load.
• Squegging
  An unwanted condition where an oscillator periodically starts and stops generating a signal. Shop talk
• Stage
  A distinct functional block within a larger electronic circuit, such as a single amplification step.
• Stub
  A short length of transmission line connected at one end, used primarily for impedance matching or filtering.
• Subsignal
  An individual component waveform that forms part of a larger, multiplexed or composite signal.
• Summatoralso summing amplifier, adder
  An electronic circuit or logic block that outputs the algebraic sum of two or more input signals.
• Superheterodynealso superhet
  Describing a receiver architecture that converts incoming radio frequencies to a fixed intermediate frequency for easier filtering and amplification.
• Supernode
  A theoretical boundary drawn around a voltage source connecting two non-reference nodes during circuit analysis.
• Suppress
  To intentionally reduce or eliminate unwanted frequencies, voltage spikes, or electromagnetic interference in a circuit.
• Syntonization
  The process of tuning two separate circuits to operate at the exact same frequency.
• Syntonize
  To adjust two or more electronic circuits so they resonate at the same frequency.
• Syntony
  A state where two or more oscillating circuits share the exact same resonant frequency.
• Sziklai pairalso compound transistor
  A compound transistor configuration using one NPN and one PNP transistor to achieve high current gain.
• Thévenin's theorem
  An analytical method used to simplify complex linear circuits into a single voltage source and a single series resistor.
• Thyristoralso SCR, silicon-controlled rectifier
  A four-layer semiconductor device that acts as a bistable switch for high-power applications.
• Tickler coil
  A historic inductor coil used to feed a portion of an amplified signal back to the input.
• Time alignment
  The intentional delaying of audio signals to synchronize the arrival of sound waves from different drivers.
• Transconductancealso mutual conductance, gm
  The electrical property relating the current output of a device to its voltage input.
• Transmodulation
  The process of converting a signal from one modulation scheme directly to another.
• Triacalso TRIAC
  A three-terminal semiconductor device that controls alternating current in both directions.
• Tripler
  A circuit that outputs a frequency or voltage exactly three times that of its input.
• Turn-off time
  The duration required for a switching semiconductor to transition from fully conducting to fully blocking.
• Turn-on time
  The interval required for a semiconductor switch to transition from a blocking state to full conduction.
• Upconversion
  The process of shifting a low-frequency signal to a higher frequency band.
• Valve amplifieralso tube amp
  An electronic amplifier that uses vacuum tubes instead of transistors to boost a signal.
• VCCalso Vcc
  The positive power supply pin or voltage rail for an integrated circuit.
• VCOalso voltage-controlled oscillator
  A voltage-controlled oscillator is a circuit that changes its output frequency based on a DC input voltage.
• VDRalso voltage divider rule, voltage division rule
  The voltage divider rule dictates how a voltage drops across series resistors in proportion to their resistance values.
• VOCalso open-circuit voltage
  The open-circuit voltage is the maximum electrical potential difference across a device when no current flows.
• Voltage divideralso resistive divider
  A simple passive circuit that scales down an input voltage to a lower, predictable output level.
• Voltage multiplier
  An electrical circuit that converts a lower AC input voltage into a higher DC output voltage using a network of discrete components.
• Window detectoralso window comparator
  A circuit that outputs a signal only when an input voltage falls within a specific range.
• WPTalso wireless power transfer
  Wireless power transfer, the transmission of electrical energy without physical connectors.

The screen technologies and digital protocols that translate electronic data into visual output.

• AMEPDalso active-matrix EPD
  An active-matrix electrophoretic display uses a thin-film transistor array to control electronic ink pixels.
• AMOLEDalso active-matrix OLED
  Active-matrix organic light-emitting diode displays use a thin-film transistor array to control individual pixels.
• Calligraphic projectionalso vector display, vector graphics
  A display method where an electron beam or laser directly draws lines rather than scanning a raster grid.
• Capture cardalso video capture card
  A hardware device that converts external video signals into digital data for a computer to process or store.
• Cathode ray tubealso CRT, picture tube
  A vacuum tube containing one or more electron guns and a phosphorescent screen used to display images.
• CES
  The Consumer Electronics Show is an annual trade event where manufacturers unveil new technologies and products.
• Charactron
  A historic type of cathode ray tube designed specifically to project alphanumeric characters onto a screen.
• Cold cathode
  A vacuum tube electrode that emits electrons without relying on a dedicated heating filament.
• CRT
  A cathode-ray tube is a vacuum envelope containing an electron gun and a phosphorescent screen.
• CVBSalso composite video
  Composite video, blanking, and sync is an analog video format carrying standard-definition signals on a single channel.
• Dock
  A base station that provides power and peripheral connections to a portable electronic device.
• Dock connector
  A proprietary or standardized multi-pin port used to mate a mobile device with a base station.
• Docking station
  A desktop hub that expands a single connection from a laptop into multiple peripheral ports.
• Electrophoresis
  The movement of charged particles suspended in a fluid under an electric field.
• FED
  A flat-panel display technology that uses microscopic electron emitters to excite phosphors.
• Field
  One half of a complete television frame in an interlaced video signal.
• Field emission displayalso FED
  A flat-panel screen technology utilizing microscopic electron emitters for each pixel.
• HSYNC
  The horizontal synchronization pulse that tells a display to start drawing a new line.
• In-plane switchingalso IPS
  A liquid crystal display technology where the crystal molecules align parallel to the glass substrates.
• IPSalso in-plane switching
  A liquid crystal display technology known for wide viewing angles and accurate colors.
• LCD
  A flat-panel screen technology that uses liquid crystals to modulate light.
• Light pen
  A historic input device that detects the electron beam scanning across a CRT monitor.
• LVDS
  A high-speed digital interface standard that uses low voltages and twisted wire pairs.
• MHL
  A mobile audio-video interface standard used to connect smartphones and tablets to high-definition displays.
• NCAPalso nematic curvilinear aligned phase
  This liquid crystal display technology disperses micron-sized droplets of nematic liquid crystal within a solid polymer matrix.
• Nixie tubealso cold-cathode display
  A Nixie tube is a vintage cold-cathode display device that glows to show numerals.
• Passthrough
  A connection or mode that routes a signal directly from an input to an output without altering it.
• Payment terminalalso POS terminal, credit card machine
  A dedicated electronic device that reads payment cards to process electronic funds transfers.
• PDPalso plasma display panel, plasma screen
  A flat-panel display technology that uses small cells containing electrically charged ionized gases.
• Picture tubealso CRT, cathode ray tube
  A large vacuum tube used to display images in older televisions and monitors.
• PLEDalso polymer light-emitting diode
  A polymer light-emitting diode used in flexible and thin-film displays.
• PQ
  The subjective or objective measurement of a display's visual fidelity. Shop talk
• Readerboardalso message board
  A large electronic display panel used to broadcast text messages or real-time data to a room.
• Refreshable
  Capable of having its displayed content or stored data updated dynamically.
• RSDSalso reduced swing differential signaling
  Reduced swing differential signaling is a low-power digital interface standard used inside flat-panel displays.
• Scan line
  A single horizontal row of pixels or phosphors drawn across a display screen.
• Selfie cameraalso front-facing camera
  The front-facing image sensor assembly on a mobile device. Shop talk
• Soft key
  A physical button on a device whose function changes based on the active menu shown on the screen.
• SPI
  Serial Peripheral Interface, a synchronous serial communication protocol for short-distance data transfer.
• Storage tube
  A specialized cathode ray tube designed to retain a displayed image for long periods without needing a continuous refresh signal.
• Surface-conduction electron-emitter displayalso SED
  A flat-panel display technology that uses individual nanoscopic electron emitters for each pixel to strike a phosphor screen.
• Tabletalso digitizing tablet, graphics tablet
  A flat input device used with a stylus to draw or digitize coordinates into a computer.
• TCOalso transparent conducting oxide
  Transparent conducting oxide is a thin film material that conducts electricity without blocking visible light.
• TCONalso timing controller
  A timing controller is an integrated circuit that dictates the precise row and column addressing for a display panel.
• Thunderbolt
  A high-speed hardware interface standard that combines PCI Express, DisplayPort, and power delivery.
• Thunderbolt chassisalso eGPU enclosure
  An external enclosure that allows desktop expansion cards to connect to a computer via Thunderbolt.
• Touch screenalso touchscreen, touch display
  An electronic visual display that detects the presence and location of a touch within its viewing area.
• Transflective
  A display technology that combines both transmissive and reflective properties.
• TTFTalso transparent thin-film transistor
  A transparent thin-film transistor used to drive pixels in see-through displays.
• VAalso Vertical alignment, VA panel
  A type of liquid crystal display where the crystals naturally align vertically to the glass substrates.
• VFDalso vacuum fluorescent display
  A vacuum fluorescent display is a high-contrast, self-illuminating display device that emits a bright green or blue glow.
• Zombie finger
  A condition where a person's finger fails to register on a capacitive touchscreen. Shop talk

The instruments and metrics used to probe signals, verify timing, and diagnose hardware faults.

• Alligator clipalso crocodile clip, gator clip
  A spring-loaded metal jaw used to make temporary electrical connections on the bench.
• Autocorrelator
  An instrument or algorithm that compares a signal with a delayed copy of itself.
• Blip
  A momentary spike or dot registered on a display screen.
• Bridge
  A circuit topology that measures unknown electrical values by balancing two parallel branches.
• Burn-in
  A rigorous testing phase where components operate under stress to force early failures before shipping.
• Decade
  A factor of ten difference between two values, usually frequencies or component ratings.
• Decade box
  A piece of bench equipment containing highly precise, switch-selectable passive components arranged in factors of ten.
• Dummy loadalso artificial antenna
  A resistive device used to absorb power from a transmitter or amplifier during testing.
• DUT
  A device under test is the specific component, board, or system being evaluated by test equipment.
• Eye patternalso eye diagram
  An oscilloscope display that overlaps multiple digital signal transitions to evaluate signal integrity.
• Fall time
  The duration required for a digital signal to transition from a high state to a low state.
• Fourier transformalso FFT
  A mathematical operation that breaks a time-based signal into its constituent frequencies.
• Frequency domain
  A method of analyzing a signal by looking at its frequency components rather than its changes over time.
• Integration time
  The duration over which a sensor or measuring instrument accumulates a signal to average out random noise.
• NTIDSalso Nutt time-interval digitizer
  A Nutt time-interval digitizer is a high-resolution timing circuit used to measure the precise duration between two events.
• OLalso open loop, overload
  An abbreviation for open loop or overload, displayed by multimeters when a circuit lacks continuity or exceeds the measurement range. Shop talk
• PARD
  Periodic and random deviation is a combined measurement of all ripple and noise on a DC power supply output.
• Pretrigger
  An oscilloscope feature that displays the signal activity occurring just before the trigger event.
• Pulse repetition timealso PRT
  The total time elapsed between the start of one periodic pulse and the start of the next.
• RBW
  The filter width setting on a spectrum analyzer determines the smallest frequency separation between two signals that can be distinctly resolved.
• Rise time
  The time required for a signal to transition from a specified low state to a specified high state.
• Signal tracer
  A diagnostic instrument used to follow an electrical signal through successive stages of a circuit.
• Sticky bitalso stuck-at fault
  A hardware fault where a specific digital signal line is permanently jammed at a logic high or low. Shop talk
• Synthesizeralso synth
  An instrument that generates precise, adjustable electronic signals for testing.
• TBalso test board, evaluation board
  A test board is a specialized printed circuit board used to evaluate or debug a specific component. Shop talk
• TID
  A time-interval digitizer, an instrument that converts the precise time between events into digital data.
• TIM
  A time interval meter, an instrument used to measure the precise time elapsed between two events.
• Time stretch analog-to-digital converteralso TS-ADC
  An ADC architecture that optically slows down high-frequency signals before digitizing them.
• Timebasealso time base
  A reference clock or generator that controls the timing of a measurement or display.
• Trigger
  A specific signal condition that initiates an event, such as an oscilloscope capture.
• Unlooper
  A hardware tool used to recover a smart card trapped in an infinite software loop. Shop talk
• VTID
  A vernier time-interval digitizer is an instrument that measures extremely brief time differences between electronic pulses.
• Wavemeteralso absorption wavemeter, cavity frequency meter
  A resonant device used to determine the physical wavelength or frequency of an electromagnetic signal.

The informal shorthand and warnings spoken by technicians troubleshooting physical hardware.

• Birdiealso spurious emission, spur
  An unwanted electromagnetic signal or whistle generated internally by a device. Shop talk
• Blue smokealso magic smoke
  The visible smoke released when an electronic component burns out. Shop talk
• Bricking
  Rendering an electronic device permanently inoperable, usually through a failed firmware update. Shop talk
• Brown boxalso OEM packaging, bulk pack
  A bare-bones hardware component sold without retail packaging or accessories. Shop talk
• Bulger
  A failing electrolytic capacitor that has swollen at the top due to internal gas pressure. Shop talk
• Capacitor plaguealso bad caps
  A widespread issue in older electronics where poor-quality electrolytic capacitors bulged, leaked, and failed prematurely. Shop talk
• Coil whine
  An audible, high-pitched noise generated by magnetic components vibrating under load. Shop talk
• Crimping toolalso crimper
  A hand tool used to deform metal connectors around stripped wire to create a secure electrical joint.
• Digger gold
  Precious metals recovered from scrapped electronics. Shop talk
• Factory resetalso hard reset, master reset
  A software or hardware command that wipes all user data and restores a device to its original configuration.
• Flashingalso burning
  The process of overwriting the firmware or software stored in an electronic device's non-volatile memory. Shop talk
• Hard-resetalso cold boot, power cycle
  To force a device to restart by physically interrupting its power supply or triggering a dedicated hardware reset line.
• Hash noisealso hash
  A harsh, wideband electrical interference that sounds like a buzz or static on an audio output or looks like thick fuzz on a trace. Shop talk
• Helping handalso third hand
  An articulated bench tool with clips used to hold wires and components steady during soldering. Shop talk
• Hot chassis
  A piece of equipment where the metal frame is electrically connected directly to the mains power line. Shop talk
• Jack inalso plug in, patch in
  To physically connect a cable or plug into a receptacle. Shop talk
• Molex to SATA, lose all your data
  A bench warning against using cheap power adapter cables for hard drives. Shop talk
• MOT
  A microwave oven transformer is a high-voltage transformer salvaged from consumer microwaves. Shop talk
• Out-of-battery
  A state where a portable device has completely depleted its internal power source. Shop talk
• Power-hungry
  Describing a component or circuit that draws an unusually high amount of electrical current. Shop talk
• Rats nestalso rat's nest
  A chaotic, tangled mess of wires, cables, or unrouted printed circuit board connections. Shop talk
• Reseat
  To remove a component or cable and plug it back in to fix a poor electrical connection. Shop talk
• Selfie stick
  An extendable pole used to hold a mobile device further away from the user. Shop talk
• Smoke testalso power-on test
  The initial application of power to a newly assembled circuit to check for catastrophic failures. Shop talk
• Turned on
  Describes a circuit, component, or system that is actively powered and conducting current. Shop talk
• Widlarize
  To violently destroy a frustrating or defective electronic component. Shop talk