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 device such as a read-only memory which is programmed during its construction using a unique set of masks.

A linear feedback shift register whose taps are selected such that changing a single bit in the input data stream will cause the maximum possible disruption to the register's contents.

A linear feedback shift register that sequences through (2n - 1) states before returning to its original value.

A never-before-seen-in-public, soon-to-be-famous, mind-bogglingly-convoluted algorithm for automatically extracting Reed-Müller expressions.

The logical OR of the inverted variables associated with an input combination to a logical function.

a

A technique for creating thin films on substrates in precise patterns, in which the substrate is placed in a high vacuum, and a guided beam of ionized molecules is fired at it, effectively allowing molecular-thin layers to be "painted" onto the substrate where required.

A generic name for a group of advanced interconnection and packaging technologies featuring unpackaged integrated circuits mounted directly onto a common substrate.

Refers to the number of logic gates in a device. By one convention, medium-scale integration represents a device containing 13 to 99 gates.

Unit qualifier (symbol = M) representing one million, or 10⁶. For example, 3MHz stands for 3 x 10⁶ Hertz.

A unit of memory used to store a single binary digit, or bit, of data.

A number of memory cells logically and physically grouped together. All the cells in a word are typically written to, or read from, at the same time.

A layer of conducting material on an integrated circuit that is selectively deposited or etched to form connections between logic gates. There may be several metalization layers separated by dielectric (insulating) layers.

A family of transistors where the controling terminal is connected to a plate that is seperated from the semiconduxtor by an insulating layer. This plate was originally made out metal (we now use polysilicon, or poly) and the insulator is an oxide -- hence the "metal-oxide" appellation.

A condition where the outputs of a logic function are oscillating uncontrollably between undefined values.

Unit qualifier (symbol = u) representing one millionth, or 10^-6. For example, 3uS stands for 3 x 10^-6 Seconds.

A trade name for one incarnation of discrete wire technology. Microwire augments the main attributes of multiwire with laser-drilled blind vias, allowing these boards to support the maximum number of tracks and components.

Unit qualifier (symbol = m) representing one thousandth, or 10^-3. For example, 3mS stands for
3 x 10^-3 seconds.

The process of reducing the complexity of a Boolean expression.

The logical AND of the variables associated with an input combination to a logical function.

Refers to the number of states that a function such as a counter will pass through before returning to its original value. For example, a function that counts from 00002 to 11112 has a modulus of 16 and would be called a modulo-16 or mod-16 counter.

A technique for creating thin films on substrates in precise patterns, in which the substrate is placed in a high vacuum, and a guided beam of ionized molecules is fired at it, effectively allowing molecular-thin layers to be "painted" onto the substrate where required.

A family of transistors where the controling terminal is connected to a plate that is seperated from the semiconduxtor by an insulating layer. This plate was originally made out metal (we now use polysilicon, or poly) and the insulator is an oxide -- hence the "metal-oxide" appellation.

The binary digit, or bit, in a binary number that represents the most significant value (typically the left-hand bit).

The byte in a multi-byte word that represents the most significant values (typically the left-hand byte).

MSB may stand for most-significant bit or most-significant byte. The most-significant bit is the binary digit (bit) in a binary number that represents the most significant value (typically the left-hand bit). Similarly, the most-significant byte is the byte in a multi-byte word that represents the most significant values (typically the left-hand byte).

Refers to the number of logic gates in a device. By one convention, medium-scale integration represents a device containing 13 to 99 gates.

A generic name for a group of advanced interconnection and packaging technologies featuring unpackaged integrated circuits mounted directly onto a common substrate.

A printed circuit board constructed from a number of very thin single-sided and/or double-sided boards which are bonded together using a combination of temperature and pressure.

A logic function that uses a binary value, or address, to select between a number of inputs and conveys the data from the selected input to the output.

A trade name for one incarnation of discrete wire technology.

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