Welcome to the electronics glossary in our library!

The following glossary entries were abstracted from the book, Bebop to the Boolean Boogie (An Unconventional Guide to Electronics), with the kind permission of LLH Technology Publishing, Eagle Rock, VA, USA                          ( to return to the main glossary.)

A logic function defined by the manufacturer of an application-specific integrated circuit. The function is described in terms of the simple functions provided in the cell library and the connections between them. The manufacturer also defines how the cells forming the macro will be assigned to basic cells and the routing of tracks between the basic cells.

Generally understood to refer to any of the physical portions constituting an electronic system, including components, circuit boards, power supplies, cabinets, and monitors.

Unit of frequency. One Hertz equals one cycle, or one oscillation, per second.

The interface between two regions of dissimilar semiconductor materials. The interface of a hetrojunction has naturally occurring electric fields which can be used to accelerate electrons, and transistors created using hetrojunctions can switch much faster than their counterparts of the same size.

Base-16 numbering system. Each hexadecimal digit can be directly mapped onto four binary digits, or bits.

The state on a signal that is not being driven by any value. A high-impedance state is indicated by the character Z.

A three-dimensional image (from the Greek: holos meaning "whole" and gram meaning "message").

A form of optical interconnect based on a thin slice of quartz, into which three-dimensional images are cut using a laser beam. Thus, the quartz is referred to as a computer-generated hologram, and this interconnection strategy is referred to as holographic.

The art of obtaining three-dimensional images known as holograms.

An interface between two regions of semiconductor having the same basic composition but opposing types of doping. Homojunctions dominate current processes because they are easier to fabricate than hetrojunctions.

An electronic sub-system in which a number of integrated circuits (packaged and/or unpackaged) and discrete components are attached directly to a common substrate. Connections between the components are formed on the surface of the substrate, and some components such as resistors and inductors may be fabricated directly onto the substrate.

The electrons in a water molecule are not distributed equally, because the oxygen atom is a bigger, more robust fellow which grabs more than its fair share. The end result is that the oxygen atom has an overall negative charge, while the two hydrogen atoms are left feeling somewhat on the positive side. This unequal distribution of charge means that the hydrogen atoms are attracted to anything with a negative bias; for example, the oxygen atom of another water molecule. The resulting bond is known as a hydrogen bond.

Unit of frequency. One Hertz equals one cycle, or one oscillation, per second.

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