Electronics Terminology

Technical language barriers are quite commonplace today, and most of us have been confronted with at least a few elements of such a barrier from time to time. Advances in technology, and the introduction of new or unfamiliar product areas, all require an expansion of our technical vocabulary if we are to communicate effectively. Hopefully, this edition of the Glossary will serve as a valuable reference for improved communications.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N OP Q R S T U V W X Y Z
AA Antenna Array
AA Automatic Acknowledge
ABS Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene(Plastic)
AC All Call
AC Alternating Current
ACA Anisotropically Conductive Adhesive
ACC Advanced Concept Construction Active Control Channel
ACCU Alternating Current Connection Unit
AEC Architecture, Engineering And Construction
Agc Automatic Gain Control
AGR Annual Average Growth Rate
AGV Automated Guided Vehicle
AI Artificial Intelligence
AIS Adhesive Interconnect System
ANOVA Analysis Of Variance
ANSI American National Standards Institute
AOI Automated Optical Inspection
AOQ Average Outgoing Quality
APT Automatically Programmed Tools
AQL Acceptable Quality Level
ARINC Aeronautical Radio Incorporated
ASCII American Standard Code For Information Interchange
ASIC Application Specific Integrated Circuit
ASME American Society Of Mechanical Engineers
ASPaRC Ability Of Solder Paste To Retain Components
ASQ American Society For Quality
ASTM American Society For Testing And Materials
ATE Automatic Test Equipment
ATG Automatic Test Generation
ATR Air Transport Rack
AVT Accelerated Vesication Test
AWG American Wire Gauge
AXI Automated X-Ray Inspection
BC Buried Capacitance
BDMA Benzyldimethylamine
BGA Ball Grid Array
BITE Built-In Test Equipment
BOD Biochemical Oxygen Demand
BOM Bill Of Material
BOT Build To Order
BT Bismaleimide Triazine
BTAB Bumped Tape-Automated Bonding
C&E Cause And Effect
C3 Command,Control And Communicate
C4 Controlled Collapse Component Connection
CAD Computer-Aided Design
CAE Computer-Aided Engineering
CAF Cathotic Anionic Filaments
CAFM Computer-Aided Facilities Management
CAGE Commercial And Government Entity
CALS Computer-Aided Acquisition And Logistic Support(DOD)
CAM Computer-Aided Manufacturing
CAPP Computer-Aided Process Planning
CAR Computer-Aided Repair
CASE Computer-Aided Software Engineering
CAT Computer-Aided Testing
CBGA Ceramic Ball Grid Array
CCAPS Circuit Card Assembly And Processing System
CDA Copper Development Association
CEPM Certified Ems Program Managers
CET Certified Electronic Technician
CFM Continuous Flow Manufacturing
CFM Cubic Feet Per Minute
CIM Computer-Integrated Manufacturing
CISC Complex Instruction Set Computing
CITIS Contractor Integrated Technical Information Services
CM Contract Manufacturer
CMC Copper Moly Copper
CMOS Complimentary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor
CNC Computer Numerical Control
COB Chip-On-Board
COD Consumed Oxygen Demand
COT Configure To Order
Cp Capability Performance
CPL Capability Performance, Lower
CPLD Complex Programmable Logic Device
CPU Capability Performance, Upper
CPU Central Processing Unit(Computer)
CRC Cyclic Redundancy Check
CRT Cathode-Ray Tube
CSA Canadian Standards Agency
CSG Constructive Solids Geometry
CSP Chip Scale Package
CTE Coefficient Of Thermal Expansion
CVS Cyclic Voltammetry Stripping
DAB Designated Audit Body
DATC Design Automation Technical Committee (Ieee)
DBMS Database Management System
DC Direct Current
DCAS Defense Contract Administration Service
DCMA Defense Contract Management Agency
DCMC Defense Contract Management Command
DESC Defense Electronics Supply Center
DFM Design For Manufacture
DIM Data-Information Record
DIN Deutsches Institute For Normung
DIP Dual-Inline Package
Dk Dielectric Constant
DLA Defense Logistics Agency (Dod)
DMA Direct Memory Access
DMS Dynamic Mechanical Spectroscopy
DMSA Defense Manufacturers And Suppliers Association
DNC Distributed (Or Direct) Numerical Control
DOD Department Of Defense
DOD Dissolved Oxygen Demand
DOE Design Of Experiments
DOS Disc Operating System
DRC Design Rule Checking
DRM Drawing Requirements Manual
DS Double-Sided
DSC Differential Scanning Calorimetry
DSP Digital Signal Processor
DTP Diameter True Position
DTS Dock To Stock
DVM Digital Voltmeter
DXF Data Exchange Format
ECAD Electronic Computer-Aided Design
ECC Error Correction Code
ECCB Electronic Components Certification Board
ECL Emitter-Coupled Logic
ECM Electronic Countermeasures
ECN Engineering Change Notice
ECO Engineering Change Order
ECR Engineering Change Request
ED Electrodeposited
EDA Electronic Design Automation
EDI Electronic Data Interchange
EDIF Electronic Design Interchange Format
EDM Electro-Discharge Machining
EDO Extended Data Out
EIA Electronics Industry Association
EIS Engineering Information System
ELD Electro-Luminescent Diode
EMC Electromagnetic Compatibility
EMF Electro-Motive Force
EMI Electromagnetic Interference
EMP Electromagnetic Pulse
EMPF Electronics Manufacturing Productivity Facility
EMS Electrical Manufacturing Services
EPA Environmental Protection Agency
EPR Ethylene-Propylene (Copolymer) Resin
EPT Ethylene-Propylene Terepolymer
ESD Electrostatic Discharge
ESI Early Supplier Involvement
ESR Equivalent Series Resistance
ETPC Electrolytic Tough-Pitch Copper
FAA Federal Aviation Administration
FAR Failure Analysis Report
FCC Federal Communications Commission
FCC Flat-Conductor Cable
FC-CBGA Flip Chip Ceramic Ball Grid Array
FC-PBGA Flip Chip Platic Ball Grid Array
FCT Functional Circuit Test
FEA Finite-Element Analysis
FEM Finite-Element Modeling
FEP Fluorinated Ethylene-Propylene (Teflon)
FET Field-Effect Transistor
FFT Fast Fourier Transform
FMEA Fault Mode And Effect Analysis
FPGA Field Programmable Gate Array
FPT Fine-Pitch Technology
FSCM Federal Stock Code For Manufacturers
FTP File Transfer Protocol
GaAs Gallium Arsenide
GBIB General Purpose Interface Bus
GMA Gas Metal Arc (Welding)
GTA Gas Tungsten Arc (Welding)
GTPBGA Glob Top Plastic Ball Grid Array
HASL Hot Air Solder Level
HPGL Hewlett Packard Graphic Language
HTE High Temperature Elongation
HTML Hypertext Markup Language
HTTP Hypertext Transfer Protocol
I/O Input/Output (Terminations)
IC Integrated Circuit
ICA Isotropically Conductive Adhesive
ICAM Integrated Computer-Aided Manufacturing
ICT Inner Circuit Test
IDC Insulation-Displacement Connection
IEC International Electrotechnical Commission
IECQ International Electronic Component Qualification System
IEDR Initial Engineering Design Review
IEEE Institute Of Electrical And Electronic Engineers
IEPS International Electronic Packaging Society
IGES Integrated Graphics Exchange System
ILB Inner-Lead Bonding (Tab)
IP Internet Protocol
IPM Inches Per Minute
IR Infrared
ISCET International Society Of Certified Electronics Technician
ISHM International Society For Hybrid Microelectronics
ISO International Organization For Standardization
ITT Inter-Test Time
JEDEC Solid State Technology Association (Formerly The Joint Electronic Device Engineering Council)
JIT Just-In-Time (Manufacturing)
KGB Known Good Board
KGD Known Good Die
LAN Local Area Network
LBA Logical Block Address
LCCC Leadless Ceramic Chip Carrier
LCD Liquid Crystal Display
LDA Logic Design Automation
LED Light-Emitting Diode
LGA Lang Grid Array
LIF Low Insertion Force
LMC Least Material Condition
LPISM Liquid Photo-Imageable Solder Mask
LRU Lowest Replaceable Unit
LSI Large Scale Integration (Integrated Circuit)
LTCC Low Temperature Co-Fired Ceramic
MA Mechanical Advantage
MAC Maximum Allowable Concentration
MAC Media Access Control
MAP Manufacturing Automation Protocol
MATS Material Transport Segment
MCAD Mechanical Computer Aided Design
MCAE Mechanical Computer-Aided Engineering
MCM Multichip Module
MDA Methylenedianiline
MEK Methyl-Ethyl Ketone
MELF Metal Electrode Face (Discrete Leadless Component)
MIBK Methyl-Isobutyl Ketone
MIR Moisture Insulation Resistance
MITI Ministry Of International Trade And Industry (Japan)
MLB Multilayer Board
MLPWB Multilayer Printed Wiring Board
MMC Maximum Material Condition
MMIC Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit
MOS Metal-Oxide Semiconductor
MRP Material Requirement Planning
MRP II Manufacturing Resource Planning
MSDS Material Safety Data Sheets
MSI Medium Scale Integration (Integrated Circuit)
MTBF Mean Time Between Failures
MTTR Mean Time To Repair
NADCAP National Aerospace And Defense Contractors Accreditation Procedures
NASA National Aeronautics And Space Administration
NBR Nitrile Butadiene-Acrylonitrile Rubber
NBS National Bureau Of Standards
NC Numerical Control
NDT Non-Destructive Testing
NECQ National Electronics Component Qualification System
NEMA National Electrical Manufacturers Association
NIST National Institute For Science And Technology
NMR Normal-Mode Rejection
NPI New Product Introduction
NSA National Security Agency
OA Organic Acid (Flux)
ODR Oscillating Disk Rheometer
OEM Original Equipment Manufacturer
OFHC Oxygen-Free High-Conductivity Copper
OLB Outer-Lead Bonding (Tab)
OSHA Occupational Safety Hazards Act
OSI Open Systems Interconnection
OSP Organic Solder Preservative
P&IA Packaging And Interconnecting Assembly
P&IS Packaging And Interconnecting Structure
PBGA Plastic Ball Grid Array
PB Printed Board
PBX Private Branch Exchange
PC Personal Computer
PCA Printed Circuit Assembly
PCB Printed Circuit Board
PCMCIA Personal Computer Memory Card International Assoc
PDES Product Data Exchange Specification
PDL Page Description Language
PEM Plastic Electronic Module
PGA Pin Grid Array (Leaded Component Package)
PHIGS Programmer’s Hierarchical Interface Graphics Standard
PID Photo-Imageable Dielectric
PIP Pin-In-Paste Technology
PLCC Plastic Leaded Chip Carrier
PLD Programmable Logic Device
Pp Process Performance (See Also Cp)
PPM Parts Per Million
PPO Polyphenylene Oxide
PPS Polyphenylene Sulfide (Plastic)
PRT Planar Resistor Technology
PSI Pounds Per Square Inch
PT Positional Tolerance
PTFE Polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon)
PTH Plated-Through Hole
PVC Polyvinyl Chloride
PVT Production Validation Test
PWA Printed Wiring Assembly
PWB Printed Wiring Board
QFP Quad Flatpack
QML Qualified Manufacturers List
QPL Qualified Products List
QTA Quick Turn Around
R Rosin (Flux)
R&R Repeatability And Reproducibility
RA Rosin Activated (Flux)
RAM Random Access Memory
RETMA Radio Electronics & Television Manufacturers Association
RFI Radio-Frequency Interference
RFP Request For Proposal
RFQ Request For Quote
RFS Regardless Of Feature Size
RISC Reduced Instruction Set Computing
RMA Rosin Mildy Activated (Flux)
RMS Root Mean Square
ROM Read Only Memory
ROM Rough Order Of Magnitude
RPM Revolutions Per Minute
RSS Ramp Soak Spike
RTS Ramp To Spike
RTV Room Temperature Vulcanizing
RwoH Reliability Without Hermeticity
SAE Society Of Automotive Engineers
SBU Sequential Buildup
SEC Solvent Extract Conductivity
SEM Scanning Electron Microscope
SEM Standard Electronic Module (Navy)
SERA Sequential Electrochemical Reduction Analysis
SFM Surface Feet Per Minute
SIP Single Inline Package
SIR Surface Insulation Resistance
SMD Surface Mount Device
SMEMA Surface Mount Equipment Manufacturers Association
SMOBC Solder Mask Over Bare Copper
SMT Surface Mounting Technology
SMTA Surface Mount Technology Association
SNA Systems Network Architecture
SOIC Small-Outline Integrated Circuit
SOS Silicon-On-Sapphire
SPC Statistical Process Control
SPICE Simulation Program, Integrated Circuit Emphasis
SQC Statistical Quality Control
SQL Structured Query Language
SSI Small-Scale Integration (Integrated Circuit)
STEP Standard For Exchange Of Product Model Data
TAB Tape-Automated Bonding
TCE Thermal Coefficient Of Expansion
TCP/IP Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol
TCR Temperature Coefficient Of Resistance
TDR Time-Domain Reflectometry
TEM Transverse Electromagnetic Mode
TFA Tree-Based Floorplanning Algorithm
TFE Tetrafluoroethylene (Teflon)
Tg Glass Transition Temperature
TGA Thermo Gravimetric Analysis
THT Through-Hole Technology
TIFF Tagged Image File Format
TMA Thermo Mechanical Analysis
TO Transistor Outline
TOP Technical And Office Protocol
TP True Position
TQM Total Quality Management
T’s & C’s Terms And Conditions
TTL Transistor-Transistor Logic
UBM Under Bump Metallization
UHF Ultra-High Frequency
UL Underwriter’s Laboratories
ULSI Ultra-Large Scale Integration (Integrated Circuit)
UPH Unit Per Hour
URL Uniform Resource Locator
VAR Value-Added Reseller
VHDL Vhsic Hardware Description Language
VHF Very-High Frequency
VHSIC Very-High Speed Integrated Circuits
VLSI Very-Large Scale Integration (Integrated Circuit)
VME Versa-Module Electronic
VOC Volatile Organic Compound
VSAG VHDL Standardization And Analysis Group (IEEE)
WIP Work In Process
WSI Wafer-Scale Integration
WWW World Wide Web
WYSIWYG What You See Is What You Get
XIP Execute In Place
ZAF Z-Axis Adhesive Film
ZIF Zero-Insertion Force
ZIP Zigzag Inline Package