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ADSL
Asymmetric Digital Subscriber
Line, a technology that allows standard telephone wires to be used to carry
information at up to 6 Megabits per second.
Analog
1. Analog
circuits can handle input and output signals that can take any value between
appropriate upper and lower limits, as opposed to digital signals that can only
take dis-crete values. A typical application is the reception of a signal from
a microphone and its amplification and output to a loudspeaker. The real world
functions on an analog basis. Therefore, even though digital electronics are
becoming increasingly wide-spread, many systems still have to be analog to
interface with the human end-user.
2. A signal that varies in amplitude
continuously and without interruption. Also called linear. Contrast with
digital.
Back-end
In the semiconductor
industry, back-end is the second phase of manufacturing when the silicon chip
is assembled in a protective package, followed by testing, finishing and
packing. The package protects the chip and also provides external connections
via a series of very fine wires.
Bipolar
A type of transistor
where the current flowing between the main terminals is controlled by a smaller
current flowing through a control terminal called the base. Bipolar devices are
particularly useful when fast switching or high analog performance is
required.
Chip
A component made from a
silicon wafer without any connectors. Common term for a semiconductor
device.
CMOS
Complementary MOS (Metal
Oxide Semiconductor) is the main process used for making microprocessors,
memories and complex logic devices because of its scal-ability and low power
consumption.
Discrete component
Semiconductor
devices such as transistors and diodes that perform a single ele-mentary
electronic function.
DRAM
Dynamic Random Access
Memory. A type of volatile memory in which the presence or absence of a
capacitive charge represents the state (0 or 1) of a binary storage element.
The charge must be periodically refreshed.
Flas
Flash
memories combine the high density and cost effectiveness of EPROM memo-ries
(Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) with the electrical erasability of
EEPROMs (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory). Today, the Flash
memory market is one of the most exciting areas in the semiconductor industry.
Flash memories are ideal for a broad spectrum of applications requiring
in-system repro-gramming such as cell phones, automotive engine management
systems, PC cards, PC BIOS software, fax and other modems, digital TV set-top
boxes and multimedia CD-ROMs, among others.
Front-end
The
first phase of the semiconductor production cycle where circuits are
manufac-tured on a silicon wafer, followed by wafer testing and the back-end
process.
GPRS
General Packet Radio Service
for the next generation of mobile handsets and mobile Internet devices.
Sometimes called 2.5G.
GSM
Global System for Mobile
communications. The European standard for cellular mobile phones.
Integrated
Circuit (IC)
An electronic circuit that is fabricated on a
semiconducting substrate, usually silicon. ICs may contain anything from just a
few transistors (plus diodes, resistors and capacitors necessary to complete
the circuit), to several hundred millions of transis-tors on the same
chip.
IPAD™
The combination of
silicon active discrete elements with passive functions.
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MEMS
(Micro-Electro-Mechanical
System) MEMS technology extends conventional microelectronics technology by
adding physical motion to the movement of electrons in circuits. In this way,
novel accelerators, micro-actuators and other components that involve physical
motion can be built using established microelectronics fabrication
techniques.
Microcontroller
An integrated
circuit combining a microprocessor with peripheral functions such as memories,
timers and converters.
Micron
A thousandth of a
millimeter —about one tenth the thickness of a human hair. Also written as
“µ” or “µm”.
MPEG(Motion Pictures
Experts Group)
An international standards committee comprising the
International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the Comité
Consultative International Télégraphique et
Télé-phoniqe (CCITT), representatives of electronics companies,
such as ST, and broad-casting organizations. It defines standards for the
“compression” of digital video signals for consumer products and
computers.
Non-volatile Memory
A term used
to describe memories that retain their data if the power supply is turned off.
PowerMesh™
PowerMesh™
is a proprietary
ST technology that replaces the traditional Power MOSFET cell geometry by a
strip layout for the transistors on the chip. This reduces on-resistance by
more than 20% and improves the dynamic performance due to a significant
reduction of the drain-gate capacitance. It also increases manufacturabil-ity
by eliminating a critical mask alignment stage.
SAM
Serviceable
Available Market.
Semiconductor
A semiconductor is
a material with an electrical conductivity between that of a conductor and that
of an insulator. Semiconductors can be single elements such as silicon or
germanium or compounds such as gallium arsenide or indium phosphide. In
everyday usage, the term more frequently refers to components manufactured from
semiconductor materials.
Silicon Germanium
(SiGe)
Semiconductor IV-IV alloy used as a thick layer to improve
device performances.
Smartcard
Smartcards are plastic
cards the size of a credit card which interface to network ter-minal devices.
They are used for a variety of purposes including banking and per-sonal
identification applications. Smartcards have an embedded IC which usually
includes programmable memory and/or a microprocessor. Security is the most
important issue in the use of Smartcards and data encryption features protect
the card from invalid use.
System-on-Chip
Advanced
semiconductor manufacturing techniques result in silicon chips with millions of
transistors available, which makes it possible to put different types of
functions on the same chip. A complete system, including microprocessors,
memory, analog and power, can be built to put the system on a single
chip.
TAM
Total Available
Market.
VIPower ®
VIPower ® is a
family of proprietary ST technologies in which discrete power structures are
integrated with analog and digital control and diagnostic circuitry, resulting
in a device that combines the robustness of discrete technology with integrated
control and diagnostic circuitry.
Wafer
A wafer of silicon sliced
from a 4, 5, 6, 8 or 12-inch diameter silicon bar (2.54 cm = 1 inch), which is
used as the foundation on which to build semiconductor products.
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