| Term |
Definition |
| G |
back to top |
| GEM |
see General Equipment Module |
| General
Equipment Module (GEM) |
A protocol for communicating between production equipment. |
| Gerber Data |
Used in directing a photoplotter during printed circuit board
artwork fabrication. |
| GHz |
A frequency measurement which equals one billion hertz.
|
| Gigabits per
second (Gbps) |
A measurement of speed for digital signal transmission expressed
in billions of bits per second. |
| Golden Board |
A known good printed circuit board used for evaluating other
printed circuit boards or assemblies. |
| GSM 1800 (A digital network
working on a frequency of 1800 MHz) |
Used in Europe, Asia-Pacific and Australia. Also
know as DCS 1800 or PCN. |
| GSM 1900 (A digital network
working on a frequency of 1900 MHz) |
Used in the US and Canada and is scheduled for parts
of Latin America and Africa. Also know as PCS 1900. |
| H |
back to top |
| HASL |
Hot air (solder) leveling. A process used in solder dipping of
bare copper circuitry in which high-velocity air is used to blow
solder clear from plated-through holes and to minimize solder thickness. |
| HASS |
Highly Accelerated Stress Screening |
| HAST |
Highly Accelerated Stress Testing |
| HDD |
Hard disk drive.
|
| HDI |
High-Density Interconnect |
| Head |
An element of a pick and place machine that positions (i.e.,
rotates, feeds-back x-y location, and moves on z axis) nozzles to
pick and place components. |
| Help desk support |
This service consists of a knowledgeable group of individuals
that can answer questions that a customer may have on a product.
Typically, the support staff will answer calls as if they work for
the OEM. |
| Hermetic Seal |
The total fusion and sealing of materials, or usually an enclosure,
to ensure that they are airtight. Hermetic sealing is common for
fiber-optic devices to ensure proper operation by limiting environmental
impacts to the device. |
| High Mix (PCBA) |
Greater than 200 distinct parts/assemblies |
| High Volume (PCBA) |
Greater than 20,000 units/mo. |
| Hipot |
An electrical test to measure the voltage breakdown of a substrate
or material. |
| Hot Air Solder
Leveled (HASL) |
A printed circuit board fabrication process that applies an oxidation
preventing solder coating to copper pads on the printed circuit
board. Solder leveling. |
| Hz (Hertz) |
A radio frequency measurement (one hertz = one cycle per second).
|
| I |
back to top |
| I/O |
Input/Output |
| ICP |
Inductively Coupled Plasma |
| IC |
Integrated Ciruit |
| ICT |
see In-Circuit Test |
| Industrial Park |
These parks are located in low cost regions around the world,
like Mexico, China and Hungary. These parks incorporate the manufacture
of PCBs, components, cables, plastics and metal parts needed for
product assembly becoming complete manufacturing centers. Each park
integrates strategic suppliers who partner with the EMS in order
to contribute to the manufacturing and distribution of electronic
products to the local community. |
| Industrialization |
Industrialization derives from the term "transfer."
During this stage the product's design moves through the NPI center
where component management, inspection and testing are concurrently
performed. This stage of the product's development prepares the
product for the transfer into high volume manufacturing. |
| IEC |
International Electrotechnical Commission
|
| IEEE |
Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers.
|
| IMAPS |
International Microelectronics and Packaging Society |
| IMD (In-Mold Decoration) |
A process of injection molding which usually includes a printed
decorative laminate.
|
| Impedance |
A measurement of resistance of electrical energy passed through
a conductor circuit. |
| Implementation |
The re-writing of a system in a hurry. |
| In-Circuit Test
(ICT) |
see Test, In-Circuit |
| Industrial Park
|
need definition |
| Industrialize |
The NPI activities to develop and verify processes required to
manufacture, assemble and test a product. |
| Injection
Molded Boards |
Printed circuit boards made by molding filler-reinforced resins
into a desired shape. Routing and through hole metallizations are
performed by seeding and plating, or by printing. An alternative
approach is to transfer mold the interconnect directly onto the
injection molded cards. |
| Injection Molding |
A production method for molding plastics.
|
| Insertion Loss |
The total optical power loss caused by the insertion of an optical
component such as connnector, splice, or coupler into a fiber-optic
system. |
| Institute
for Interconnecting and Packaging Electronic Circuits (IPC) |
A research and standard setting organization focused on fabricating
and assembling printed circuit boards. |
| Integrated Circuit
(IC) |
An integrated circuit, sometimes called a chip or microchip,
is a semiconductor wafer on which thousands or millions of tiny
resistors, capacitors, and/or transistors are fabricated. |
| Integrated
E-commerce Systems |
File Transfer Protocol. A protocol that makes it possible for
a user to transfer files from one location to another over the Internet.
|
| Integrated Optics |
A broader term used for an optical device containing miniature
optical components connected via optical waveguides on a singular
substrate. These devices perform the same function as a device fabricated
by interconnecting numerous individual bulk optical components and
fiber. Integrated optical devices are manufactured using semiconductor-based
fabrication technologies. Also known as planar lightwave chips,
optical chips, integrated optical circuits, and others. |
| Integration |
The state in which all aspects of plant-wide operations are tied
together in a continuous loop of information. |
| Interconnection
and packaging consulting |
Service of assisting or advising customers in the areas of: selecting
the appropriate packaging and materials, design tradeoffs in board
wiring and spacing densities, and determining internal wiring and
components usage based on performance, reliability, manufacturing
and cost considerations. |
| Interlayer
Connection |
see Connection,
Interlayer. Via |
| Internal Layer |
A conductive pattern that is contained entirely within a multilayer
PCB. |
| International
Organization for Standardization (ISO) |
An international standard setting organization based in Geneva,
Switzerland. |
| Intrusive Soldering |
Pin-in-paste technique to interconnect leaded packages (such
as a connector) to the PCB through reflow.
|
| Inventory Management |
The systematic determination of items and quantities to be ordered;
the coordination of order release and order due dates; changes in
the required quantities; and the rescheduling of planned orders. |
| IPC |
see
Institute for Interconnecting and Packaging Electronic Circuits |
| IR Reflow |
InfraRed Reflow. Reflow Soldering, Infrared (IR) |
| IS-136 (EIA Interim Standard
136 - DADC with Digital Control Channels) |
The North American digital mobile telephony standard based on
TDMA technology. It is the version of the TEMA specification resulting
in a fully digital 2nd generation system and is backward compatible
with analog AMPS.
|
| ISDN (Integrated Services
Digital Network) |
A technology offering switched and fixed high-speed transmission
of voice, data and video through the existing telephone infrastructure.
The service is based on 1 or more 64 kbps digital channels and does
not use traditional modems.
|
| ISO |
International Standards Organisation. A United Nations agency
which coordinates and publishes international standards governing
product performance [BSI] |
| ISO 14000 |
The Environmental Management Standard that specifies the elements
of an environmental control system. |
| ISO 9000 |
The Quality System Management Standard that specifies the elements
of a quality system. |
| IST |
Internal Stress Testing |
| ITRI |
Interconnection Technology Research Institute |
| J |
back to top |
| Jig |
Similar to a fixture.
|
| JIT |
see Just in time manufacturing
(kanban) |
| Jitter |
Small spurious variations in a waveform, such as in pulse repetition
rate, amplitude, frequency or phase, that stem from supply-voltage
variations, mechanical instability, and other factors. Jitter becomes
a larger problem as transmission speeds increase and can detrimentally
impact the bit error performance of a transmission system. |
| Joint
Electronic Device Engineering Council (JEDEC) |
The component standardization group within EIA. |
| Just in
time manufacturing |
The material handling practice that minimizes or eliminates the
amount of product brought into inventory by setting up a delivery
schedule that brings materials directly from the supplier to the
production floor. This manufacturing philosophy is in contrast to
build-to-forecast which is based on manufacturing a product based
on a customer's forecast or projections. |
| K |
back to top |
| kHz (KiloHertz) |
A radio frequency measurement (one kilohertz = one thousand cycles
per second).
|
| L |
back to top |
| Laminate |
A product made of two or more layers of materials. |
| Lamination.
C-stage |
A heat and pressure process used to consolidate a stack of prepregs
into a solid block. The term also refers to the consolidation of
a stack of laminates (with circuitry) to form a printed circuit
board. |
| LAN (Local Area Network) |
A small data network covering a limited area, such as within
a building or group of buildings.
|
| Large-Scale-Integration |
Arrays of integrated circuits on a single substrate that comprise
100 or more individual active circuit functions or gates. |
| Laser |
Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation |
| Lay-Up |
In printed circuit board fabrication, stacking and registering
the layers of a multilayer printed circuit board. |
| Layout |
Depicts the physical size and location of electronic and mechanical
components on a circuit board and the routing of conductors that
electrically interconnect the components. Information is provided
in sufficient detail to allow the preparation of documentation and
artwork for fabrication, assembly and test of a PCB. |
| LCC |
Leadless Chip Carrier |
| LCCC |
Leadless Ceramic Chip Carrier |
| Lead Free Solder |
A solder alloy that does not contain lead. Generally, its is
an alloy of tin and another metal such as antimony, bismuth, copper,
magnesium, silver or zinc.
|
| Leaded Device |
Electronic device with electrical leads extending from the body
of the package. |
| Leadless
Ceramic Chip Carrier |
A package in which an integrated circuit chip can be mounted
to form a surface mounted component. It is made of a ceramic material
that can withstand high temperatures and can be hermetically sealed.
It does not have leads but has pads around its perimeters (called
castellations) for connection to the PCB footprint. |
| Leadless Device |
Electronic device without electrical leads extending from the
body of the package. These packages could have solder bumps or lands
located on the package. |
| LED |
Light-Emitting Diode |
| Legend |
Silk screened circuit designations on a printed circuit board. |
| LEM |
Light Emission Microscope |
| Light Pipe |
A part this is used to direct light difference directions.
|
| Logistics |
(1) Generally refers to the following functions as part of a
supply chain: warehousing, transportation, materials handling, packaging,
distribution, order management, configutation, and trade compliance,
plus design and planning activities such as transportation planning,
network design, stocking, and distribution planning. (2) More recently
the definitions have been broadened to coincide with supply chain
management, e.g. according to CLM: "Logisitics is the process
of planning, implementing and controlling the efficient flow and
storage of raw materials, work in progress, finished goods, services,
and related information from the point of origin to the point of
consumption for the purposes of conforming to customer requirements."
|
| Logistics Management |
This service consists of the management and warehousing of raw
materials and finished product. |
| Low Mix (PCBA) |
Less than 100 distinct parts/assemblies |
| Low Volume (PCBA) |
Less than 2,000 units/mo. |
| LSI |
Large Scale Integration (Integrated Circuit) |
| M |
back to top |
| Machine Vision |
Interpretation of an image of an object or scene through the
use of optical noncontact sensing mechanisms for the purpose of
obtaining information and/or controlling machines or processes.
Machine vision is frequently incorporated into fabrication, automation,
and inspection equipment. |
| Manual Assembly |
An electronic assembly process carried out by an operator primarily
using hand tools, including a soldering iron. |
| Manufacturing
Defects Analyzer (MDA) |
Test, Manufacturing Defects Analyzer |
| Manufacturing
Execution Systems (MES) |
A system that, rather than focusing on measurements of material
usage or process control, centers on the product itself as it moves
through the plant on the way to the customer. |
| Mask |
A material applied to allow selective etching, plating, or protection
of the surface of a printed circuit board. |
| Material
Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) |
A US OSHA standard format that suppliers use to describe the
hazards of the materials they provide for use by others. |
| Materials
Requirement Planning (MRP) |
A software tool that enables a manufacturer to plan, allocate,
and track material and financial resources for a production process. |
| MCM-C |
Ceramic MCM |
| MCM-D |
Deposition MCM |
| MCM-L |
Laminated MCM |
| MDA |
see Manufacturing Defects
Analyzer |
| Mean Time
Between Failures (MTBF). |
Average time an assembly or machine is available to operate. |
| Mean Time To Repair
(MTTR). |
Average time required to repair the various problems of an assembly
or machine. |
| Mechanical Design |
Ability to do physical designs that accomplish a specific function
through the work of electronic subassemblies and mechanical parts
and sub-assemblies. Gears, sheet metal, and plastic parts are some
of the mechanical components. Power supplies, PCB assemblies, fans
are some of the mechanical sub-assemblies. |
| Mechanical
Product Design |
This service provides customers with design capabilities for
the exterior of the product. The mechanical design staff uses computer
aided design/computer aided engineering (CAD/CAE) tools to create
a visual design of the product, which is then used to develop initial
prototypes of the product. |
| Medium Mix (PCBA) |
100-200 distinct parts/assemblies |
| Medium Volume (PCBA) |
2,000-20,000 units/mo. |
| Memory Module |
A PCB with memory attached that is used to expand memory capacity
in an electronic product. |
| Memory Module
Assembly |
Memory modules are essentially printed circuit boards with memory
(e.g. DRAM, SDRAM, etc.) chips attached to them. |
| MEMS |
Micro Electro-Mechanical System.
|
| MES |
see Manufacturing Execution
System |
| Metal-Core Boards |
Boards built with a metallic core and an organic or inorganic
insulation on either sides of the core. The core could be made of
steel, stainless steel, aluminum, copper, or a laminate of metals
(in most cases copper Invar copper or copper tungsten copper). The
insulation of the core is done prior to metallization. |
| MHz (Megahertz) |
A unit of frequency equal to one million-hertz or cycles per
second. Wireless communications occur in the 800 MHz, 900 MHz and
1900 MHz bands.
|
| Micro BGA (µBGA®) |
A brand name for a fine pitch BGA. |
| Micro-Beam
X-Ray Fluorescence (MXRF) |
X-Ray Fluorescence |
| Micron |
(µ) A unit of length in the metric system, also known as micrometer,
which is equal to 10 -6 m. |
| Microsectioning |
A destructive test showing an encapsulated cross section of a
part or assembly. |
| Microvia |
A design technique aimed at reducing substrate (product) size.
A microvia is a via less than 150um in diameter, about half the
size of common via, and normally blind. Laser drilling makes microvias
at 500X the speed of mechanical drills. |
| Mil-Spec |
Military specification similar to Mil-Std.
|
| Mil-Std. |
Standard for aerospace.
|
| Mixed Technology |
Describes the assembly process used when pin through hole, surface
mount and other mounting technologies are on the same printed circuit
board. |
| MLB |
see Multilayer Board |
| MLF Package |
Micro Lead Frame Package.
|
| Mock-up |
A very preliminary 3D model.
|
| Molding Press |
Machine used to injection mold plastic parts
|
| Motherboard |
The primary circuit board used in a computer system. |
| Mounting Hole |
(1) Plated-Through-Hole (PTH). (2) A hole used in mechanically
mounting a printed circuit assembly to a housing. |
| MRP |
(1) Matterials Resource Planning is a manufacturing approach
which assumes that production can be planned in advance using knowledge
of the BOM, available inventories, and lead-times for materials.
Essentially, materials are purchased according to a production schedule.
Unfortunately, MRP does not take into account realities such as
forecast volatility, change orders, and normal production problems.
Therefore MRP can lead to excessive inventories and unresponsive
production plans. The MRP approach has been replaced by "kan
ban" or "just-in-time" approaches such as the Demand
Flow Technology approach used by Flextronics. (2) Materials Resource
Plan. A plan of scheduled material receipts prepared using an MRP
technique.
|
| MSC (Mobile Switching Center) |
The location providing the mobile switching function in a second-generation
network wireless network. The MSC switches all calls between the
mobile and the PSTN and other mobiles.
|
| MTTF |
Mean time to failure.
|
| Multichip Module |
A modular package with both active and passive devices in one
package. Versions; MCM-L, MCM-C, and MCM-D; vary according to substrate. |
| Multilayer Board |
Printed circuit board composed of several layers of laminate
and circuitry. |
| Multilayer
Printed Circuit Board |
A laminate with more than two layers of copper foil. |
| Multilayer
Substrate |
Usually referring to cofired multilayer ceramic substrates. |
| Multiplexing |
An electronic or optical process that combines a large number
of lower-speed transmission lines into one high-speed line by splitting
the total available bandwidth into narrower bands (frequency/wavelength
division), or by allotting a common channel to several different
transmitting devices, one at a time in sequence (time division). |
| MultiProtocol
Label Switching (MPLS) |
One of a number of emerging, next-generation communications protocols.
MPLS is for layer 3 switching specified by the IETF. MPLS uses labels,
or tags, that contain forwarding information, which are attached
to IP packets by a router that sits at the edge of the network known
as a label edge router (LER). The routers in the core of the network,
known as label switch routers (LSRs), examine the label more quickly
than if they had to look up destination addresses in a routing table. |
| MUX / DEMUX Devices |
"A MUX (multiplexer) is a device that combines multiple inputs
into an aggregate signal to be transported via a single transmission
channel. A DEMUX (demultiplexer) device splits an aggregate signal
to be transported via multiple transmission channels. MUX/DEMUX
devices are critical to the operation of a DWDM transmission system." |
| MXRF |
see Micro-Beam X-Ray Fluorescence |
| N |
back to top |
| NEMA (National Electrical
Manufacturers Association) |
Provides specifications and classifications for electrical enclosures.
|
| New Product
Introduction |
Provides a business process to help the customer achieve a cost-effective
quick-to-volume production design. The process is most effective
when the customer engages at the concept phase of the product's
development cycle. It can include technology selection, design,
test and material strategies, DFX, component, design and development
engineer services and rapid board and system proto build services. |
| Nickel Over Gold |
Generally, Electroless Nickel-Immersion Gold. |
| NIST |
National Institute of Standards and Technology |
| Node |
An electrical connection of two or more components on a printed
circuit board. |
| Nozzle |
(1) A tool selected to interface between a pick and place head
and each particular part being placed. (2) Tip. A tool used in dispensing
adhesives. |
| NPI |
see New Product Introduction |
| O |
back to top |
| ODM |
see Original Design Manufacturer |
| OEM |
see Original Equipment
Manufacturer |
| Omegameter |
A brand name for an instrument used to measure ionic contamination
(residues) on a printed circuit board. |
| Open |
A loss of electrical continuity caused by (1) a break in a trace
path on a printed circuit board or (2) solder failing to bridge
the gap between lead termination and the pad. |
| Operations |
A series of processes required to provide product or services
meeting certain requirements. Printed circuit board fabrication
is an operation. |
| Optical Switch |
A device that can steer light pulses among different fiber spans
without converting them into electrical signals at any point. Optical
switches are critical to the evolution of the all optical network. |
| Optoelectronic
Devices |
Any device that interacts with electrons and photons for operation
or control. Optoelectronic devices respond to optical power, emit
or modify optical radiation, or utilize optical radiation for its
internal operation. In optical communications it includes active
devices such as lasers, photodetectors, and modulators. |
| Original
Design Manufacturer (ODM) |
A business model/product manufacturing method where a product
is designed and assembly is performed upon receipt of functional
requirements for a type of product. In the typical ODM model, the
manufacturer designs the complete product. In other cases, the ODM
may rely on a combination of original design capabilities for some
assemblies/components and off-the-shelf components and assemblies
to meet the customer requirements. This allows for the greatest
level of customization and product differentiation. |
| Original
Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) |
The manufacturer, rather than the distributor or retailer, of
a component or piece of software. For example, OEM documentation
refers to manuals provided, with a computer system, by the makers
of individual elements such as the video card or hard disk drive,
rather than the vendor whose name is on the front of the computer. |
| Over
Molded Plastic Array Carrier (OMPAC) |
A brand name for plastic ball grid array. |
