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Acceptor An impurity that can make a semiconductor P-type by causing the absence of electrons in the conduction band (called “holes”). These holes are carriers of positive charge.
Access Time Time needed by the device to present the data out after the address has been validated.
Active Component A (non-mechanical) circuit component that has gain or switches current flow, such as a diode, transistor, etc.
Alignment The arranging of a mask and wafer in correct positions with respect to each other. After align- ment, radiation-sensitive photoresist on the wafer is exposed by radiation passing through the non-opaque areas of the mask.
Amplifier A device that uses an active component to increase the voltage or power of a signal without distorting its waveshape.
Analog A continuous, non-digital representation of phenomena. An analog voltage, for example, may take any value.
AND Gate A gate whose output is ON only if all input signals are ON.
Angstrom A unit of length measuring 1/10,000 of a micrometer (10-4μm).
Array A group of items arranged in rows and columns. Termed cell array for memory devices. See Core.
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Arsenic An N-type dopant used as an implant source/drain for NMOS type transistors.
ASIC Application specific integrated circuit. An IC designed to meet a specific customer requirement.
ASM Application-specific memory.
ASP Average selling price.
Assembly The final stage of semiconductor manufacturing where the active device is encased in a plas- tic, ceramic, or metal package. Referred to as “back-end” processing.
Asynchronous When outputs change states in time with an address change.
ATA Card AT-Attachment interface standard used for miniature flash cards.
ATD Address Transition Detection. Circuit added in some static memories (SRAM, ROM, EPROM ...), to generate an internal clock each time a new address is presented.
ARAM Audio RAM. DRAM used for audio applications.
Avalanche Injection Hot electron or avalanche injection is a mechanism used to charge the floating gate with electrons.
Bandwidth The measure of an amount of data that can be transferred in a given time. Typically described in megabytes per second.
BiCMOS Bipolar-CMOS. A technology made by combining bipolar and CMOS technologies on the same chip.
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Cache High-speed SRAM memories used between the microprocessor and the main memory (DRAM) to increase the bandwidth and reduce the latency. See L1 and L2 caches.
CAGR Cumulative Average Annual Growth Rate.
CAM Content Addressable Memory.
Capacitance (C) The capability of storing electrical charge. Unit of measure is the Farad (F).
CAS Column Address Strobe. Clock used in DRAM to validate the column addresses.
CD-ROM Compact-Disk ROM.
CDRAM Cache DRAM. Memory integrating DRAM plus some L2 cache SRAM.
CE, CS Chip enable or chip select. This signal active or inactive (power down) the device. When inac- tive, the device cannot be addressed, but keeps its information.
Cell Also called memory cell. Elementary structure on which on bit of information is stored. With the development of multi-level cell, there will be more than one bit of information per cell.
Channel Length Path between the source and the drain of the MOS transistor. Major element the of transistor, the channel length is used to define the technology level.
Chip An integrated circuit or discrete device. Also called a die.
Circuit Design Techniques used to connect devices (transistors, capacitors, resistors, etc.) to perform a function.
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Circuit Layout See Layout.
Cleanroom Class Government specification FED-STD-209 that defines the number of particles of a given size and distribution per cubic volume of space for each class.
Clock Frequency The master frequency of the periodic pulses that synchronizes operations of a logic circuit.
CMOS Complementary metal-oxide semiconductor. A technology made by combining NMOS and PMOS transistors.
Cold-Electron Tunneling See Fowler-Nordheim tunneling.
Core Part of the memory device where the cells are located. Also called memory array.
CPU Central Processing Unit. The CPU is the brain of the computer.
Critical Dimensions (CD) The width or space of critical circuit elements in an integrated circuit.
Current (I) The flow of electrons. Usually measured in Amperes (A).
Data Any information stored or retrieved from a memory device.
Data Sheet Technical paper giving the complete characteristics of a memory device.
Date Code Manufacturing date usually indicated on the package.
DC Test A sequence of direct current measurements performed in IC pads to determine probe contact, leakage currents, voltages levels on inputs and outputs, power supply currents, etc.
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Direct Current The flow of electrons that only goes in one direction. Abbreviated DC.
Doping The introduction of a dopant into a semiconductor to modify its electrical properties by cre- ating a concentration of N or P carriers. Doping is normally accomplished through diffusion or ion implantation processes.
Drain The working current terminal (at one end of the channel in a MOS transistor) that is a drain for holes or free electrons exiting from channel.
DRAM Dynamic Random Access Memory. Device used for main memory in subsystems. The ele- mentary cells must be periodically refreshed.
Driver An element that is coupled to the output stage of a circuit in order to increase its power, cur- rent handling capability, or fanout. For example, an address driver is used to supply the cur- rent necessary for an address line.
Dual-Port DRAM See Video DRAM.
Dummy Cell Mainly used in DRAMs, the dummy cells are additional cells used as reference by the sense amplifier during read cycle.
DUT Device Under Test.
EDO Extended Data Out DRAM. Also called Hyper Page Mode DRAM. Improvement of the Fast Page Mode by latching the old output data while new data is addressed.
EDRAM Enhanced DRAM. DRAM taking advantage of the internal architecture of a standard Fast Page Mode by using the sense amplifiers as an internal Level 2 Cache SRAM.
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EEPROM
(Electrically-Erasable PROM). Similar to ROM, but with the capacity of selective erasure and programming through electrical stimulus.
Electron An elementary, negatively charged atomic particle.
Enhancement Transistor NMOS transistor with a positive threshold voltage (Vt) or PMOS transistor with negative Vt.
Epi Short for epitaxy, the controlled growth of a layer of crystalline semiconductor material on a suitable substrate.
EPROM Erasable Programmable ROM. Also called UV-EPROM. The information is written (pro- grammed) electrically by hot electrons and erased using an Ultra Violet source. The package is in ceramic with a quartz window to allow the UV light to reach the die.
Erasure The action of removing the information of a non-volatile memory. Erasure is in bulk, for the whole chip, or in blocks or sectors.
ESD Electrostatic discharge.
Fab Wafer manufacturing fabrication facility.
Fabless A semiconductor company that does not have its own wafer manufacturing facility, but sub- contracts the wafer manufacturing.
Fabrication In semiconductor manufacturing, fabrication usually refers to the (front-end) process of making devices in semiconductor wafers, but usually does not include the packaging, assem- bly, and test (back-end) stages.
Failure Analysis An orderly procedure for determining the reason that an IC device has failed. The results are frequently useful for enhancing the reliability of subsequent products.
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FPM
Fast Page Mode. See Page Mode.
FRAM Ferroelectric RAM. The cell is similar to an DRAM cell, but the cell capacitor dielectric is made of ferroelectric material, which keeps the information when the power supply is off.
Frequency The number of times per second an alternating signal goes through a complete cycle. Expressed in Hertz (Hz).
Functional Test Tests to determine whether the logic and analog behavior of a circuit is correct.
Fuse A circuit element used in MOS memory circuits as programmable connection in the redun- dancy circuitry.
Gate The primary control terminal of a MOS transistor.
Gate Oxide The thin layer of thermal oxide separating the gate electrode (terminal) from the semiconduc- tor substrate.
Giga Prefix meaning one billion (x10^9 ). Symbol is G.
Glassivation Passivation using silicon dioxide (glass).
Granularity Granularity quantifies the smallest memory increment available to expand a memory system.
Hi-Z High-Impedance. Used for an output in Hi-Z state.
Hole The absence of a valence electron in a semiconductor crystal. The movement of a hole is equivalent to the movement of a positive charge.
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Hot Electrons See avalanche injection.
IC Integrated circuit. A semiconductor die containing multiple elements that act together to form the complete device circuit.
Interconnect A conductive connection between two or more circuit elements. The conductors among ele- ments (transistors, resistors, etc.) on an integrated circuit or between components on a printed board circuit.
Ion An atom that has either gained or lost electrons making it a charged particle (either negative or positive, respectively).
Ion Implantation A means for adding dopants to a semiconductor material. Ions are accelerated in an electri- cal field into the semiconductor material. It is especially useful for thin doped areas. This process is much more precise than the diffusion method of doping.
I/O Input/Output.
ISSCC International Solid-State Circuits Conference. Annual conference on advanced integrated cir- cuits.
Junction (P-N) The line of demarcation where the number of P- and N-type carriers are exactly equal with a surplus of P-type on one side and N-type on the other.
KGD Known Good Die. Die tested to be sold as bare die.
Kilo A prefix meaning a multiple of 1,000 (x10^3 ).
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MPU
Microprocessor Unit.
NAND Configuration Internal cell configuration used mainly for flash memory.
NMOS N channel transistor. The source and drain of the transistor is N doped. The transistor is on when the gate voltage is increased.
Node Area in an integrated circuit not separated by an active of passive device; interconnect area.
Non-Volatile Memory Memory that does not lose its content after power-off. Essentially ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory.
NOVRAM Non-volatile RAM. See NVRAM.
NVRAM Non-volatile RAM. SRAM with an EEPROM back-up to store the data during power-off.
OE Output Enable. Signal that controls the high impedance of valid states on the data out.
OEM Original Equipment Manufacturer.
OTP One Time Programmable EPROM. EPROM packaged in a plastic or ceramic windowless package. The device cannot be erased as the package is hermetic to UV light.
Package The protective container for an electronic component, with terminals to provide electrical access to the components inside.
Page Mode A feature mainly used for DRAMs but which can also but used on other memory types that addresses data from a same row to increase the bandwidth.
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Parallel Access A feature of a memory by which all the bits of a byte are entered or retrieved simultaneously.
PC Personal computer.
PCMCIA Card Personal Computer Memory Card International Association card.
PDA Personal Digital Assistant.
Pipeline Register added between the memory array and the output.
PMOS P-channel transistor. The source and drain of the transistor are P doped. The transistor is on when the gate voltage is decreased.
Power-Down A mode of a memory during which the device is operating in a low-power or standby mode.
Process A series of manufacturing steps and a set of conditions which together produce the integrated circuit.
Program Enable An input signal, which, when true, puts a programmable memory into a program mode.
Programming Writing new information to memory. Term normally used for non-volatile memories (EPROM, EEPROM, Flash). For volatile memories (RAM), the term “writing” is used in place of “programming.”
PSRAM Pseudo Static DRAM. A DRAM with internal refresh circuitry that performs like an SRAM.
Quartz Window Quartz included in a ceramic package of EPROMs to allow the UV light to reach the silicon during erase step.
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SIA
Semiconductor Industry Association.
SGRAM Synchronous Graphic DRAM. The SGRAM adds special features on SDRAM to address video applications.
SIMM Single In-Line Memory Module.
SRAM Static RAM. A type of semiconductor memory in which a flip-flop stores the information. The information is stored as long as the power voltage is applied.
SSRAM Synchronous SRAM.
Stack Capacitor One method of reducing the cell size of a DRAM by stacking the capacitor over the bit line above the surface of the silicon.
Standby Current Current consumed by the memory when de-selected by Chip Enable or Chip Select clocks.
Storage Capacitance Ability for a node to store a charge. Used for DRAM cells that are composed of one access transistor plus a storage capacitance.
Substrate The material on which a microelectronic device is built.
Subthreshold Current MOS transistor channel leakage current that flows between source and drain when the tran- sistor is off.
Supply Voltage Power supply provided to the memory. Acronyms: VCC and VDD.
Synchronous When outputs change states in time with a clock.
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Technology See Process.
TFT Cell Thin Film Transistor Cell. The TFT cell is a type of SRAM cell that consists of a poly load acting as a PMOS transistor.
Three State Output High Impedance state (see Hi-Z).
Threshold Voltage (Vt) The voltage at which a transistor turns on or off.
Transistor An active semiconductor device with three electrodes that is mainly used as a switch.
Trench Capacitor One method of reducing the cell size of a DRAM by folding the capacitor vertically into the surface of the silicon in the form of a trench.
ULSI (Ultra Large Scale Integration). IC containing 10 million or more transistors.
UMA Unified Memory Architecture. PC architecture providing logic and graphic memory sharing for memory saving.
UV-EPROM See EPROM.
VESA Video Electronics Standard Architecture.
Video RAM This device is also called Dual-Port DRAM. A VRAM has separate parallel and serial inter- faces for video applications.
VLSI Very Large Scale Integration. ICs that contain 100,000 or more transistors, but less than 10 mil- lion transistors.
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