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.)

Base-8 numbering system. Each octal digit can be directly mapped onto three binary digits, or bits.

Unit of resistance. The Greek letter omega, *, is often used to represent ohms; for example, 1M* indicates one million ohms.

A form of state assignment for state machines in which each state is represented by an individual state variable.

A device such as a PAL, PLA, or PROM that can only be programmed a single time and whose contents cannot be subsequently erased.

The collective name for the set of master programs that control the core operation and the base-level user-interface of a computer.

The generic name for interconnection strategies based on opto-electronic systems, including fiber-optics, free-space, guided-wave, and holographic techniques.

A process in which radiation at optical wavelengths (usually in the ultraviolet range) is passed through a mask, and the resulting patterns are projected onto a layer of resist coating the substrate material.

A sheet of material carrying patterns that are either transparent or opaque to the wavelengths used in an optical-lithographic process. Such a mask can carry hundreds of thousands of fine lines and geometric shapes.

Refers to a system which combines optical and electronic components.

A material which is used to coat a substrate and is then selectively cured to form an impervious layer. These materials are called organic because they are based on carbon compounds as are living creatures.

A solvent for organic materials such as those used to form organic resists.

Substrate materials such as FR4, in which woven glass fibers are bonded together with an epoxy. These materials are called organic because epoxies are based on carbon compounds as are living creatures.

One of the final stages in the integrated circuit fabrication process in which the entire surface of the wafer is coated with a layer of silicon dioxide or silicon nitride. This layer may also be referred to as the barrier layer or the passivation layer. An additional lithographic step is required to pattern holes in this layer to allow connections to be made to the pads.

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