Peak-to-peak
Picoampere(s)
Power amplifier: An amplifier used to drive significant power levels. An audio amplifier that drives a loudspeaker and the final stage of a transmitter are common examples.
A semiconductor package is a metal, plastic, glass or ceramic casing containing one or more semiconductor electronic components.
Power-added efficiency
Phase alternate line: A television standard used in most of Europe. Similar to NTSC, but uses subcarrier phase alternation to reduce the sensitivity to phase errors that would be displayed as color errors. Commonly used with 626-line, 50Hz scanning system
A parallel interface (as distinguished from a serial interface) is one in which data is sent on several wires (or several wireless channels) at once. Examples: GPIB, byte-wide parallel interfaces to data converters, memory and data buses on computer board
The device derives its supply power directly from the serial interface (1-Wire).
The ability to lockout writes and/or reads to certain sections of the memory.
Passive components include two-terminal components such as resistors,capacitors, inductors, and transformers.
Port bypass circuit
1. pC: Picocoulomb(s), a unit of electrical charge.
Add-in cards that conform to the PC Card specification (formerly called PCMCIA). A PC Card is a removable device, approximately the size of a credit card, designed to plug into a matching slot.
"Printed Circuit Board" Conductive pathways are etched or "printed" onto board, connecting different components on the PCB, such as transistors, resistors, and integrated circuits.
Peripheral Component Interconnect: A standard interface used primarily on computer backplanes to connect interface cards and peripheral devices to the processor bus. PCI is often used for video display cards, network interfaces (e.g. Ethernet), and periph
PCI Express® (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express), officially abbreviated as PCIe®, is a computer expansion card standard designed to replace the older PCI, PCI-X, and AGP standards. It is used to link motherboard-mounted peripherals and as an expa
Pulse-Code Modulation (PCM) is the conversion of an analog signal (e.g. audio) into digital, binary (0 or 1), coded pulses, decreasing noise susceptibility. PAM, PFM and PWM are examples of PCM methods.
Personal Computer Memory Card International Association: A standard for miniaturized laptop expansion cards for modems, storage, and other devices. The standard was officially renamed "PC card."
Personal Digital Cellular: The digital wireless standard used in Japan. PDC uses TDMA air interface.
Phase-detector input
Pattern-dependent jitter
Pulse density modulation
Phase-detector output
Peak Inverse Voltage (PIV) or Peak Reverse Voltage (PRV) refer to the maximum voltage a diode or other device can withstand in the reverse-biased direction before breakdown. Also may be called Reverse Breakdown Voltage.
Positive-referenced emitter-coupled logic
Picofarad. A Farad is the unit of capacitance. A pF is 10-12 of a Farad. (1000pF = 1nF, 1000nF = 1 microfarad).
Phase/frequency detector
Power-fail input
Pulse-Frequency Modulation: A pulse modulation technique in which the frequency is varied with the input signal amplitude. The duty cycle of the modulated signal does not change. Because it is always a square wave with changing frequency, PFM is also refe
Process Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (PFMEA): A methodology for assessing the weaknesses of production processes and the potential effects of process failures on the product being produced.
Power-fail output
Power-good; power gain
Programmable Gain Amplifier: An amplifier whose gain can be varied by a separate input (usually a digital value).
A photodiode is a semiconductor device that converts light into an electrical current.
Photovoltaics (PV) is a term which covers the conversion of light into electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect, a phenomenon studied in physics, photochemistry, and electrochemistry.
Electronic circuitry in an automated tester (ATE system) that connects to the device under test.
Public Key Infrastructure: A combination of standards, protocols, and software that creates, edits, and revokes digital public key certificates.
A Programmable Logic Controller (PLC, or Programmable Controller) is a ruggedized, microprocessor-based system which provides factory or plant automation by monitoring sensors and controlling actuators in real time.
Leaded Chip Carrier, also called PLCC or Plastic Leaded Chip Carrier: A square surface mount chip package in plastic with leads (pins) on all four sides.
The time-division multiplexed network used by telecommunications companies to transport phone calls and data over copper cabling. The entire network shares a common frequency throughout it's tree-like structure, although phase and time delay variations ex
A phase-locked loop (PLL, or phase lock loop) is a control system that generates a signal that has a fixed relation to the phase of a "reference" signal. A phase-locked loop circuit responds to both the frequency and the phase of the input signals, automa
Pad limiting metal
PMBus is an open standard power-management protocol.
Power Management Integrated Circuit: Circuits used to regulate and control power.
Power-management mode
Pmods are small I/O interface boards used to extend the capabilities of FPGA/CPLD and embedded control boards. Pmods communicate with system boards using 6- or 12-pin connectors.
A p-channel metal-oxide semiconductor (pMOS) transistor is one in which p-type dopants are used in the gate region (the "channel"). A negative voltage on the gate turns the device on.
Private Mobile Radio: Radio bands generally for use within a defined user group, such as the emergency services or by the employees of a mining project.
Power-over-Ethernet: A means for delivering power to a remote device using the same cable lines used to deliver Ethernet data.
Point-of-load (POL) power supplies solve the challenge of high peak current demands and low noise margins, required by high-performance semiconductors such as microcontrollers or ASICs, by placing individual power supply regulators (linear or DC-DC) close
Power-OK
Passive optical network: A cost-effective way to provide high performance Fiber to the Home (FTTH) connectivity via shared optical fiber. PON connects up to 32 (or more) homes on the same network using passive optical components (splitters).
Periodic Operating Point (POP) Analysis is a simulation technique (used by EE-Sim) to find the steady state operation condition of a switching power supply design.
Power-on reset
Variable resistor in which a wiper sweeps from one end of the resistive element to the other, resulting in resistance that is proportional to the wiper's position.
In an RF power amplifier, power added efficiency (PAE) is defined as the ratio of the difference of the output and input signal power to the DC power consumed. In other words:
Power conversion is converting electric energy from one form to another such as converting between AC and DC; or just changing the voltage or frequency; or some combination of these.
Electric power distribution is the final stage in the delivery of electric power; it carries electricity from the transmission system to individual consumers.
Power factor correction (PFC) is used in computer power supplies. PFC is applied to the circuits that include induction motors as a means of reducing the inductive component of the current and thereby reduce the losses in the supply.
A feature in a microprocessor supervisory circuit that provides early warning to the microprocessor of imminent power failure.
Power IC properties that differentiates it from other semiconductor technologies is its ability to handle high voltage, high current, or a combination of both.
Power management integrated circuits (power management ICs or PMICs or PMU as unit) are integrated circuits (or a system block in a system-on-a-chip device) for managing power requirements of the host system.
Electrical Units of Measure. The standard units of electrical measurement used for the expression of voltage, current and resistance are the Volt [ V ], Ampere [ A ] and Ohm [ ? ] respectively.
A power module or power electronic module provides the physical containment for several power components, usually power semiconductor devices.
A power MOSFET is a specific type of metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) designed to handle significant power levels. ... Thepower MOSFET is the most widely used low-voltage (that is, less than 200 V) switch.
Electric power quality, or simply power quality, involves voltage, frequency, and waveform.
A power semiconductor device is a semiconductor device used as a switch or rectifier in power electronics; a switch-mode power supply is an example. Such a device is also called a power device or, when used in an integrated circuit, a power IC.
A power supply is an electrical device that supplies electric power to an electrical load.
A special surface-mount package with access to the internal cavity via an openable top. This packaging scheme allows easy upgrade of NV RAMs without having to change the PCB hardware layout. The user can simply open the lid and swap out the IC.
Production Part Approval Process. Used by automotive industry for acceptance of new products for release and use on automobiles.
Pseudorandom binary (bit) sequence
Parasitic resistance cancellation
Parasitic resistance cancellation mode
A power-supply feature that prevents discharging of the output capacitor when the power supply starts up. Discharging the output capacitor could create either start up oscillation problems at cold start or large voltage disturbances on the output voltage
In some transmission and recording systems (e.g. vinyl records, FM radio, analog magnetic tape), there is more noise at higher frequencies. To offset this, the audio signal is "preemphasized" at the transmitter -- filtered with a high-pass filter to boost
A Pressure Cooker Test (PCT) tests a part under high temperature, humidity, and pressure conditions. Also called an Autoclave Test or Pressure Pot Test (PPOT).
A printed circuit board, or PC board, or PCB, is a non-conductive material with conductive lines printed or etched. Electronic components are mounted on the board and the traces connect the components together to form a working circuit or assembly.
Performance report message
Digital output pin on Intel's Pentium 4 processors that indicates the internal Thermal Control Circuit has activated. This occurs when the processor has reached its maximum safe operating temperature.
Vendor-independent open fieldbus standard used in manufacturing, building automation, and process control. Utilizes a nonpowered two-wire (RS-485) network. PROFIBUS is standardized under the European Fieldbus Standard EN 50 170. It includes three versions
Programmable read-only memory
Platinum Resistance Thermometer, a resistance temperature device (RTD).
Power sense
Preamble-switched diversity
Phase-shift keying (PSK): A modulation technique in which the phase of the carrier conveys the input signal's information.
Power-supply rejection
Power Supply Rejection Ratio (PSRR) is the ability of an amplifier to maintain its output voltage as its DC power-supply voltage is varied. PSRR = (change in Vcc)/(change in Vout)
Program status word
Positive Temperature Coefficient (PTC): When the resistance of a component rises with temperature, it is said to have a positive temperature coefficient.
Pulse-Amplitude Modulation (PAM) is a pulse modulation technique in which the amplitude of the pulse is varied with the input signal amplitude.
Pulse-width modulation (PWM), or pulse-duration modulation (PDM), is a modulation technique used to encode a message into a pulsing signal.
An output structure which uses one active device to source current and a second device to sink current. Common examples are: a CMOS stage in which an n-channel device pulls toward ground or a negative supply and a p-channel device pushes current to bring
Picovolt second(s)
Pulse-width distortion
1. A method for using pulse width to encode or modulate a signal. The width of each pulse is a function of the amplitude of the signal.
Temperature sensor with digital, logic-level output. The output has a fixed frequency and the duty cycle varies with the measured temperature.
