Abbreviations, Acronyms, and other stuff....

Assumptions:

Readers know the element symbol for all relevant metals and gases used in the semiconductor industry. However often-occurring compounds are included in the list. 

Also, associations and society acronyms have been avoided for the most part.

Note:

This is a list of oft-used abbreviations and definitions. This is does not imply all companies use the exact same in their operations. Some may use different meanings/full-forms for abbreviations which imply something different in other parts of the industry. Hence, this list is only for quick reference.

A

8-D Report 8 Disciplines Report

AA        Atomic Absorption

AAS      Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy

ABC      Activity-based Costing

ABC      Auto-adjustment Of Image Brightness And Contrast

ABM     Activity-based Management

ABS      Antilock Braking System

ABT      Abrasive Technology

ABW     Apparent Beam Width

Ac         Actinium

AC        Alternating Current

AC        Activated Carbon

acceptor

An impurity from group III of the periodic table that creates mobile holes in silicon, making it p-type and able to accept electrons. Boron is the main acceptor used for silicon doping. (see also ‘donor’).

ACCESS   Analysis Computer For Component Engineering Services Support

ACF      Anisotropic Conductive Film

ACI       After Clean Inspection

ACLV    Across-chip Linewidth Variation

ACP      Anisotropic Conductive Paste

ACR      Absolute Cryogenic Radiometer

ACT      Alternative Control Techniques

ACT      actual Cycle Time

A/D converter

Analog-to-Digital Converter (see ADC). A circuit or chip that transforms analog input signals into digital output values. Widely used in signal processing. See also D/A converter and signal processing.

ADC      Automatic Defect Classification

ADC      Analog-to-Digital Converter

ADC      Automated Data Collection

ADE      Advanced Development Environment

ADIG    Application Development Interface Guidelines

ADIO    Analog/digital Input/output

ADL      Add Lot

ADP      Administrative Data Processing

ADR      Automatic Defect Review

ADT      Applied Diagnostic Techniques

ADTSEM  Apply/Develop Track Specific Equipment Model

Advancell

Libraries of standard cells created by Intersil, Siemens, and Toshiba for high performance and wide application use. The Advancell library includes basic functions (gates, latches/flip-flops, buffers, I/O) and a broad set of macrocells. See standard cell.

AE        Atomic Emission

AE        Acoustic Emission

AE        Absolute Ellipsometry

AE        Advanced Energy

AEC      Advanced Equipment Controller

AECS    Advanced Equipment Control System

AECS    Automated Equipment Control System

AEI       After Etch Inspection

AEI       Automated Equipment Interface

AEM      Analytical Electron Microscopy

AES      Auger Emission Spectroscopy

AES      Auger Electron Spectroscopy

AEX      Acid Exhaust

AFD      Application Framework Definition

AFM     Atomic Force Microscopy

AFP      Abrasive-free Polish

AGV      Automated Guided Vehicle

AHF      Anhydrous Hydrogen Fluoride

AHU     Air Handling Unit

AI         Artificial Intelligence

AIB       add-in board/card

AIB       Advanced Interconnect Bus (INTEL)

AID       After Develop Inspection

AIMS    Aerial Image Microscope

AIMS    Aerial Image Measurement System

AIMS    Aerial Image Monitoring System

AIR       Automated Image Retrieval

AIT       Aerial Image Tool

ALCVD Atomic Layer Chemical Vapor Deposition

ALD      Atomic Layer Deposition (a type of CVD). See CVD.

ALE     Atomic layer Etching

ALE Atomic Layer Epitaxy

A specialized form of thin film growth (epitaxy) that typically deposits alternating monolayers of two elements onto a substrate. See also ALD.

ALE      Application Logic Element

AlF       Aluminum Fluoride

ALID     Alarm Event Identifier

aligner

A tool that transfers lithographic patterns from a photomask to a silicon wafer. Types include contact, proximity, projection, and steppers. Contact aligners, the earliest, touch the wafer and risk contamination, while newer types avoid contact and improve resolution and linewidth control. See also lithography, mask, and stepper.

ALS      Advanced Light Source (LBNL)

ALS      Advanced Low-power Schottky

Alt        Alternating

altPSM Alternating Phase Shift Mask

ALU Arithmetic Logic Unit

One of the three essential components of a microprocessor (with data registers and control). It performs addition, subtraction, logic operations, masking, and shifting (multiplication and division).

AMC     Airborne Molecular Contamination

AMH     Automated Material Handling

AMHS   Automated Material Handling System

AML     Automatic Model Linking

AMOLED Active-Matrix OLED

AMP      Asymmetric Multi Processing

AMT     Advanced Manufacturing Technology

AMU     Atomic Mass Unit

analog

A continuous representation where each point blends smoothly into the next. For example, an analog voltage can take any value. Real-world phenomena like heat and pressure are analog.

analog DI Analog Dielectric Isolation

An analog integrated circuit technique using dielectric isolation technology. See dielectric isolation.

analog semicustom

Analog ICs that can be specified by a designer using semicustom design techniques to meet a specific design requirement. 

analog signal processing

Processing of analog signals within the analog domain, including amplification, filtering, signal conditioning, multiplication, and comparison.

angstrom

A unit of length: 10,000 Å = 1 µm, 10⁸ Å = 1 cm. Silicon’s lattice spacing being 5.43 Å. Symbol: Å. See micron.

ANN     Artificial Neural Network

ANOVA Analysis Of Variance

ANS      Advanced Nanodefect Surface Inspection System

ANSI     American National Standards Institute

AOI       Automated Optical Inspection

AOM     Acousto-optic Modulators

AOQL   Average Outgoing Quality Level

AOV      Air-operated Valve

AP         Access Point

AP         Adhesion Promoter

APA      Advanced Performance Algorithm

APC      Advanced Process Control

APCD   Add-on Pollution Control Devices

APCVD Atmospheric Pressure CVD

APD      Adhesion Promoter Dispense

APEC    Advanced Process Equipment Control

API       Application Programming Interface

API       Atmospheric Pressure Ionization

APIMS  Atmospheric Pressure Ionization Mass Spectroscopy

APM     Atmospheric Passivation Module

APM     Acoustic Plate Mode

APM     Ammonium Hydroxide/hydrogen Peroxide Mixture

APRDL Advanced Products Research And Development Laboratory

APSM   Attenuating Phase Shift Mask

APT      Advanced Probe Technology

AQL      Acceptable Quality Level

AR        Aspect Ratio

AR        Antireflective

ARAMS Automated Reliability, Availability, And Maintainability Standard

ARC      Antireflective Coating

ARDE   Aspect Ratio-dependent Etching

ArF       Exposure Wavelength

ARIMA Auto Regressive Moving Average With Integration

ARO      After Reciept Of Order

ARS      Angle-resolved Scattering

AS/RS   Automated Storage And Retrieval System

ASAP    Advanced Stepper Application Program

ASAP    As Soon As Possible

ASCII American Standard Code for Information Interchange

An 8-bit code for alpha-numeric character transfer adopted by the American Standards Association to achieve universal compatibility among data devices. 

ASIC Application Specific Integrated Circuit 

Semiconductor circuits tailored to a customer’s specific needs, unlike general-purpose parts such as DRAM or microcontrollers. See custom IC and semicustom IC.

ASME   American Society For Mechanical Engineering.

ASO      Automatic Shutoff

ASP      Advanced Strip And Passivation

ASP      Advanced Strip Processor

ASP      Average Selling Price

ASR      Automated Send Receive

assembly

The semiconductor manufacturing step where the device is enclosed in plastic, ceramic, or another package, or sometimes mounted directly on a printed circuit board.

ASSP Application Specific Standard Product

A standard product that has been designed to implement a specific application function, as opposed to a general-purpose product (eg RAM).

ASTM   American Society For Testing And Materials. Provides standards.

ASV      Advanced Safety Vehicle

At         Astatine

ATDF    Advanced Tool Development Facility

ATE      Automatic Test Equipment

ATF      Automation Test Facility (see SIL)

ATG      Automatic Test Generation

ATLAS  Abbreviated Test Language For All Systems

atm       Atmosphere

ATP      Advanced Technology Program

ATP      Acceptance And Tool Performance

ATP      Assembly, Test and Packaging (equipment)

ATPG Automatic Test Program Generation 

Automatic conversion of a test description language into a tester-specific program for testing a device. It can also generate patterns for ASIC simulation on engineering workstations.

ATR      Attenuated Total Reflectance

ATR-FTIR Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy

Att        Attenuated

AttPSM Attenuated Phase Shift Mask

AVL      Approved Vendors List

AVLSI   Advanced Very Large Scale Integration

AVP      Advanced Vertical Processor

AVS      Advanced Visualization System

AWE     Asymptotic Waveform Evaluation

AWISPM   Above-wafer In Situ Particle Monitoring

AWS     Advanced Wet Station

B

back end

The package assembly and test stages of production during semiconductor manufacturing. Includes burn-in and environmental test functions. Compare with front end.

BACT    Best Available Control Technology

bandwidth

The range of a signal or channel from lowest to highest frequency (analog, in Hz) or bit rate (digital, in bits per second). In semiconductors, it’s the frequency or bit rate range where performance stays within specified limits.

BARC   Backside Antireflective Coating

base

One of the three regions of a bipolar transistor, separating the emitter and collector. Minority carriers from the emitter either recombine in the base or diffuse to the collector. See also bipolar transistor, collector and emitter.

BAW     Bulk Acoustic Wave

BC        Bias Contrast

BCAD   Business Computer-aided Manufacturing

BCB      Benzocyclobutene

BCD      Binary Coded Decimal

BCD      Bulk Chemical Distribution

BD        Bonding Diagram

BDEV   Behavior-level Deviation

BDP      Bilateral Datum Plane

BDS      Brownian Dynamics Simulation

BDS      Beam Delivery System

behavioral simulation

The ability to simulate the behavior of a function described by a high-level descriptive language such as C, Pascal, Verilog HDL and VHDL.

BENU   Bull's Eye Nonuniformity

BEOL    Back-End-Of-Line

BER      Bit Error Rate

BES      Backscatter Electron Signal

BESOI  Bonded And Etchedback SOI

BF     Brightfield Illumination. 

Brightfield illumination is a type of optical inspection used in semiconductor wafer inspection to examine pattern defects.

BFGS    Broyden-Fletcher-Goldfarb-Shanno Optimization Algorithm

BFL      Buffered Field-effect-transistor Logic

BGA      Ball grid array

A type of chip carrier used for IC packaging.

BGS      Bulk Gas System

BHT      Brinell Hardness Test

BI         Burn In

BiCMOS Bipolar Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor 

An IC technology that combines bipolar speed and linearity with CMOS low-power efficiency. BiCMOS supports ECL or TTL levels and is ideal for mixed-signal devices. See also CMOS, ECL, TTL, HBC-10, and Power BiMOS.

BIFET  Bipolar Field-effect Transistor

BIM      Binary Intensity Mask

BiMOS Bipolar Metal Oxide Semiconductor

A general term to refer to bipolar and MOS on one chip. Sometimes used interchangeably with "BiCMOS." See also Power BiMOS.

binary number system

A number system used in computers where digits represent powers of 2 instead of 10. For example, the decimal number 11 is represented by the binary number 1011 (1 x 23 + 0 x 22 + 1 x 21 + 1 x 20). Binary digits (bits) are represented electronically, typically with high voltage for "1" and low voltage for "0". See bit.

bipolar transistor

An active semiconductor device with two P-N junctions that amplifies electric current. Bipolar transistors are NPN or PNP, with three regions: emitter, base, and collector. They rely on both electron and hole movement, unlike field-effect transistors which use a single carrier type.

BIR Building In Reliability

BIST     Built-in Self Test

BIT       Bulk Ion Temperature

bit Binary digit 

A digit (1 or 0) in the representation of a number in binary notation. The smallest unit of information recognized by a digital computer. Used to represent two states in the binary number system. 8 bits = 1 byte. See also binary number system.

BITE     Built-in Test Equipment

BKM     Best Known Methods

BLD      Beam Lead Device

BLEVE Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion

BLOK   Barrier Low-k

BMC     Bubble Memory Controller

BMD     Bulk Micro Defect

BOE      Buffered Oxide Etchant

BOM Bill of Materials

A set of specifications that defines the materials, procedures, and sequence used to manufacture a specific product.

bonded wafer

A composite, dielectrically isolated substrate made by fusing the oxidized surfaces of two silicon wafers at high temperature.

bonding

The process of connecting package leads to the chip’s bonding pads or securing a semiconductor die to a lead frame or package, part of assembly. See bond pad.

bond pad

A small area (typically 100µm x 100µm) on a silicon die used to connect to package pins. A fine gold or aluminum wire is bonded using heat and ultrasonic energy. See bonding.

BOR      Bottom Of Range

BOSS    Book Of SEMI Standards

BOSS    Binary Object Storage System

BOSS    Burn-out Of Sacrificial Substances

boundary scan

Adding a test circuit at an IC’s I/O boundary to monitor and control the logic states of internal nodes.

BOX      Buried Oxide

BPE      Beam Profile Ellipsometry

BPR      Beam Profile Reflectometry

BPR      Business Process Re-engineering

BPSG BoroPhosphoSilicate Glass

BPSG is an oxide mainly used as a field dielectric. Deposited via PECVD from SiH₄, B₂H₆, PH₃, and N₂O under controlled temperature and pressure, it has a lower melting point than other oxides, allowing it to flow over polysilicon without affecting dopant profiles. This smoothing improves metal step coverage, but BPSG is not a good passivation material because it is hygroscopic. See PECVD.

BPTEOS   Borophosphosilicate Glass From A TEOS Oxysilane Source

BSA      Beta Site Agreement

BSA      Basic Service Area

BSE      Back-Scattered Electrons

BSED   Backscattered Electron Detection Or Detector

BSR      Backside Rinse

BST      Ball Shear Test

BT        Bismallimide Triazene

BTAB    Bumped Tape Automated Bondin

BTI       Bias-Temperature Instability

BTS      Biased Thermal Stress

buffer

1.   In electronics: a device that is used to provide compatibility between two signals. Typically the device is used to change the voltage/current level capability, e.g. interfacing the output of a CMOS device to the input of a TTL device. See also bus driver, CMOS, TTL.

2.    In computing: an area of memory used for temporary storage of information. Typically, the buffer is used to pass or share information between different processes.

3.    In chemistry: a solution characterized by the ability to withstand changes in pH when limited amounts an acid or base are added.

bus

Four or more parallel conductors that transmit data between parts of a system. A common bus links the microprocessor, memory, peripherals, and other components.

bus driver

An integrated circuit added to the bus to facilitate sufficient drive to the CPU when several peripheral devices are tied to the bus. Drivers overcome capacitive loading, which can slow data rates and disrupt system timing. See buffer.

BV        Breakdown Voltage

BVH      Buried Via Hole

BW       Bandwidth

byte

From the expression "by eights." A group of 8 contiguous bits handled as a unit in computer processing. A byte can store one alphanumeric character. A kilobyte (KB) is 1024 bytes or 8192 bits. A megabyte (MB) is 1024 kilobytes or 1,048,576 bytes or 8,388,608 bits. See bits.

C

C (programming language)

A general-purpose programming language developed in the 1970s by Dennis Ritchie at Bell Labs. Known for its efficiency, portability, and versatility, C became widely used across applications. Unix was written in C, making it the de facto standard in engineering software development.

C4         Controlled Collapse Chip Connection

C-to-C   Cassette-to-cassette

CA        CIM Architecture

CA        Clear Aperture

CA        Collision Avoidance

CAA      CIM Applications Architecture

CAB      Competitive Analysis Benchmarking

CABGA chip array ball grid array

CAD Computer-Aided Design 

The use of computer tools (hardware and software) for designing and verifying electrical and physical systems. While CAD once mainly referred to physical design, today the distinction from electrical design is largely irrelevant.

CAD      Computer-aided Design

CADT   Control Application Development Tool

CAE Computer-Aided Engineering 

Traditionally, CAE referred to electrical design rather than physical design, though the distinction has since blurred. See CAD.

CAF      Controlled Ambient Facility

CAG      Competitive Analysis Group

CAGR   compound annual growth rate

CAI       Computer-assisted Instruction

CAM Computer-Aided Manufacturing

The use of computer tools (hardware and software) to plan, track, analyze, and implement manufacturing. CAM systems monitor product flow, equipment use, downtime, change requests, rework, and personnel.

CAP      Consumables Acceleration Program

CAPS    Computer-assisted Problem Solving

CAR      Computer-aided Research

CAR      Corrective Action Request

CARC   Critical Aspect Ratio Collapse

CARL    Chemically Amplified Resist Lithography

CARRI  Computerized Assessment Of Relative Risk Impacts

CAS      Chemical Abstract Service

CASE    Computer-aided Software Engineering

CASE    Computer-aided Systems Engineering

CAT      Computer-aided Testing

CAT      Cassette Alignment Tool

CAW     Construction Analysis Workgroup

CAWC   Cryogenic Aerosol Wafer Cleaning

CBD      Correct-by-design

CBGA   Ceramic Ball Grid Array

CBIR     Content-based Image Retrieval

CBRAM Conductive Bridging RAM

CBS      Chemical Bottle Storage Area

CBT      Computer-based Training

CC        Chip Carrier

CC        Cluster Controller

CCB      Copper Core Balls

CCC      Ceramic Chip Carrier

CCD      Charged Coupled Device

CCOS   Computer-controlled Optical Surfacing

CCS Custom cell synthesis

The automated or semi-automated process of generating optimized layouts for custom-designed logic blocks or standard cells from a transistor-level netlist.

CCSL    Compatible Current-sinking Logic

CCW      Counterclockwise

CD        Critical Dimension

CD        Collision Detection

CDA      Clean Dry Air

CDE      Chemical Downstream Etch

CDEM  Customer Delivery Enterprise Model

CDF      Cumulative Distribution Function

CDG      Ceramic Diaphragm Gauge

CDI       Collector-diffusion Isolation

CDM      Common Device Model

CDM      Charge Device Model

CDM ESD Charged Device Model Electrostatic Discharge

CD/OL  Critical Dimension Overlay

CDO      Controlled Decomposition/oxidation

CDR      Chemical Distribution Room

CD-ROM   Compact Disk Read-only Memory

CD-SEM    Critical Dimension-Scanning Electron Microscope

CDU      Chemical Dispense Unit

CE        Capillary Electrophoresis

CE        Conversion Efficiency

CEC      Cell Evaluation Chip

CEE      Control Execution Environment

CEID      Collection Event Identifier

CEM      Continuous Emissions Monitoring

CEN      Change Engineering Notice

CERDIP CERamic Dual-Inline Package

A package with a leadframe enclosed between two ceramic layers, sealed using a glass frit.

CERPACK CERamic PACKage

A CERDIP-style package with the leadframe extended on two or four sides, usually for surface mounting. Variants include CERQUAD (four sides), CERPAC, and CERPAK.

CET      Capacitance Equivalent Thickness

CF         Contention-Free

CFA      Component Failure Analysis

CFC      Chlorofluorocarbon

CFD      Computational Fluid Dynamic

CFE      Cold Field Emission

CFM      Contamination-free Manufacturing

CFP      Contention-Free Period

CFT      Cross-functional Team

channel

The region separating the source and drain of a FET. In depletion-mode devices, the channel is normally on; in enhancement-mode, normally off. Applying gate voltage changes its conductivity, controlling current flow. Channel length strongly affects current and speed. See also drain, FET, gate, and source.

channeled array

A gate array base die with basic cells in rows or columns, leaving channels between them for routing. This layout gives high routing efficiency (often 90%+), with macros typically placed along single rows or columns.

channelless array

A gate array base die with cells filling the entire core and no spacing, often called a “sea-of-gates” (LSI Logic trademark). Routing is harder, with efficiencies typically 35% or less, but macros can be placed in blocks for better performance.

characterization node

It is a parameter affecting reliability, measured during initial process/product characterization and occasionally thereafter. See characterization parameter, critical node, and performance node.

characterization parameter

A characterization parameter is a measurement taken on a process, tool, or product during a process or product characterization and at infrequent intervals thereafter. See characterization node.

chip

Also called a die. Common term for a section of a wafer containing a discrete component or an IC. Multiple chips are fabricated on a single wafer, then separated into dice and packaged individually.

chip carrier

A low-profile component package (commonly square-shaped), whose active chip cavity or mounting area occupies most of the package, with external connections typically on all four sides.

chip-level integration

The combination of two or more IC functions and/or technologies in a single IC. This achieves miniaturization, reduces systems cost, and makes new applications possible. Important for signal processing and power control solutions.

CHP      Coat Hotplate

CHR      Communication History Report

CI     Carrier Illumination

CI     Confidence Interval

CIC       Cleanroom Interface Chamber

CIC       Commodity integrated circuits

CID       Charge-injection Device

CIE       Computer-integrated Engineering

CIM Computer-Integrated Manufacturing

The integration of computer control and monitoring into a manufacturing process.

CIM-OSA  Computer-integrated Manufacturing-open Systems Architecture

CIP       Continuous Improvement Program

circuit

A combination of electrical / electronic components, interconnected to perform specific function(s).

circuit simulation

A reliable way of verifying the behavior of a circuit before it is manufactured. Simulators use accurate device models and numerical algorithms to solve circuit equations efficiently.

CIS       CMOS Image Sensor

CISC Complex Instruction Set Computer 

A processor architecture that uses a large and complex set of instructions, some capable of executing multi-step operations or addressing modes within a single instruction. This design reduces the number of instructions per program but often requires more cycles per instruction compared to RISC. Compare with RISC.

CL     Cathodo-luminescent

Class 'B'

A screening process for circuits that are intended for use in ground-based military electronic systems. Must conform with screening standards per MIL-std 883-C and MIL-M-38510. See Class 'S'.

Class 'S'

A screening process for circuits that are intended for use in satellite systems for military space applications. Must conform with screening standards per MIL-std 883-C and MIL-M-38510. See Class 'B'.

CL     Cathodo-luminescent

CLC      Cancel Lot Cycle

CLCC    Ceramic Leaded Chip Carrier

clean room

A fabrication (fab) clean room is a highly controlled environment used in the semiconductor industry to manufacture microchips and other electronics. The room is engineered to minimize pollutants such as dust, airborne microbes, and chemical vapors, which can cause defects and lower the yield of delicate, nanoscale products. The clean room achieves and maintains its contamination-free status through a combination of engineering, specialized equipment, strict protocols, and advanced filtration systems. Clean rooms are classified according to the number and size of airborne particles permitted per cubic meter of air. The most common standard is from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The lower the ISO class number, the cleaner the room. Semiconductor manufacturing requires extremely high levels of cleanliness and typically operates in ISO Class 5 or lower environments.

CLIC      Closed-loop Intensity Control

closed architecture

A system whose proprietary hardware or software design restricts third-party expansion, modification, or interoperability. This creates "vendor lock-in," as users are limited to the manufacturer's products and services for any enhancements. Compare open architecture.

CLY      Circuit Limited Yield. See yield.

CM        Configuration Management

CM        Cassette Module

CMA      Cylindrical Mirror Analyzer

CMC      Cassette Module Controller

CML      Current Mode Logic

CMM      Capability Maturity Model

CMM      Coordinate Measuring Machine

CMOS Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor

A MOS technology for building ICs that uses a pair of complementary (or paired) p-type (PMOS) and n-type (NMOS) transistors. This design creates logic gates and other digital circuits that are highly efficient, consuming very little power when idle. 

CMP      Chemical Mechanical Planarization

CMP     Chemical-Mechanical Polish (for planarization of wafers).

CMR      Common-mode Rejection Ratio

CMR      Cancel Move Request

CMS      Coordinate Measuring System

CNC      Computer Numerical Control

CNC      Condensation Nucleus Counter

CNN      Convolutional Neural Network

CNS      Central Nervous System

CNT      Carbon Nanotube

COB Chip-On-Board

an assembly technology where unpackaged semiconductor chips are mounted directly onto a printed circuit board (PCB). This method eliminates the need for bulky individual chip packages, resulting in a smaller, lighter, and more compact final product. After mounting, the chips are covered with an epoxy or resin sealant to protect them from damage and contaminants. The method includes wire bonding, TAB, or flip-chip interconnections.

COC      Cost Of Consumables

CODEC Coder-decoder

COED   Computer Optimized Experimental Design

COG      Chip On Glass

COG      Chrome On Glass (Mask)

COGS   Cost Of Goods Sold

COL      Chip On Lead

collector

One of the three regions of a bipolar transistor. The base-collector junction is typically reverse-biased, allowing minority carriers from the emitter to flow efficiently into the collector. See also base, bipolar transistor and emitter.

COM     Computer on module

COMFET  See IGBT.

comparator

A device that compares two inputs. Voltage comparators output “less than” or “greater than,” binary comparators output “less than,” “equal to,” or “greater than,” and phase/frequency comparators provide an analog voltage based on input relationships.

compiler

(1) Software that translates high-level languages (e.g., C, FORTRAN, COBOL) into machine code, (2) Software that converts circuit function specifications (e.g., RAM, ROM, ALU, controller) into schematics and layouts.

complementary

Refers to ICs using both polarity types so one’s operation complements the other. Complementary bipolar circuits use NPN and PNP transistors; CMOS uses N-channel and P-channel devices. These devices operate with opposite voltage and current polarities, benefiting many circuits.

COMSEC COMmunications SECurity

In semiconductors, devices (usually embedded modules) built into a communications system to prevent unauthorized access.

concurrent engineering

A parallel development approach that shortens time-to-market and improves product quality and impact. Teams include engineering, manufacturing, marketing, and quality representatives, with active customer involvement in product definition. See ACT-PTM.

conductor

Any material, such as aluminum, copper or gold, that offers low resistance to electrical current flow.

contamination

The presence of unwanted particles, chemicals, or other substances in a desired-pure medium.

control block

CPU circuitry that decodes instructions and generates internal control signals to execute the requested operations. 

control parameter

A measurement used to control an in-line process or to test a product. See critical node.

Converter  See A/D converter, D/A converter and DC-DC converter.

convolver

A circuit that performs convolution, a key operation in DSP and filtering. Filters remove unwanted image elements and enhance important features: low-pass filters reduce noise, high-pass filters highlight details, and edge detectors outline objects.

COO      Cost of Ownership

COP Crystal Originated Particle (One of the various silicon wafer surface defects)

COPS    Crystal Oriented Pits

Copy Exactly!

A manufacturing strategy developed by Intel to ensure the complete and precise duplication of a production process across multiple sites. The core principle is that identical inputs and procedures will produce identical, high-quality, and high-yield results, no matter where the manufacturing occurs. This strict discipline is most critical in complex manufacturing industries like semiconductor fabrication.

CORBA Common Object Request Broker Architecture

CORE   Composite Object Reference

COSS    Common Object Services Specification

COT      Customer-owned Tooling

CoV       Coefficient Of Variance

CoWoS  chip-on-wafer-on-substrate

Cp     Process Capability

CP     Chip Place

CP         Contention Period

CP/M      Computer Program/maintenance

CPA      Commercial Product Adhesive

CPD      Concurrent Product Development

CPGA   Ceramic Pin Grid Array

Cpk       Process Capability Index

CPM      Chamber Pressure Management

CPO      Co-packed optics

CPP      Contacted Poly Pitch

CPU Central Processing Unit

The primary component of a computer that acts as its "brain," processing instructions and handling all calculations. It executes program commands, manages the flow of data, and controls the operations of other hardware components like memory and input/output devices. It is made up of data registers, computational circuits, control block, and I/O.

CQFP    Ceramic Quad Flat Pack

CQN      Closed-queuing Network

CR        Collisional Radiative

CRC      Cyclic Redundancy Check

critical node

A control parameter that affects the reliability of a circuit in a specific technology. See control parameter, characterization node, and performance node.

CRM      Cost/Resource Model

CRT      Cathode Ray Tube

CSA      CIM Systems Architecture

CSAM   C-mode Scanning Acoustic Microscopy

CSE      Control Systems Engineering

CSF       Critical Success Factor

CSL       Current-steering Logic

CSMA   Carrier Sense, Multiple Access

CSMA/CD Carrier-sense, Multiple-access/collision Detection

CSP      Chip Size Package, or Chip Scale Package

CSPED Concurrent Semiconductor Production and Equipment Development

CST       CIM Systems Technology

CSTR    Continuously Stirred Tank Reactor

CSV      Comma-separated Variable

CT     Cycle Time

CTC      Cluster Tool Controller

CTE      Coefficient of Thermal Expansion

CTF      Contrast Transfer Function

CTI       Computer-telephone Integration

CTI       Cycle Time Improvement

CTL      Complementary Transistor Logic

CTMC   Cluster Tool Modular Communications

CTS       Clear To Send

CUB      Central Utility Building

CUBES Capacity Utilization Bottleneck Efficiency System

CUI       Common User Interface

CUP      capillary underfill

current

The flow of electrons or holes, measured in amperes (A) or fractions thereof (mA, µA). It can be driven by an electric field in a conductor or by a changing electric field across a capacitor (displacement current). 

custom IC

An integrated circuit designed with a full set of masks for a specific function or application, often tailored for a particular customer and capable of withstanding harsh environments.

CUSUM Cumulative Sum

CV        Capacitance Voltage

CVC      Chemical Vapor Cleaning

CVCM   Collected Volatile Condensable Materials

CVD Chemical Vapor Deposition

A high-temperature gas-phase process that deposits insulating films or metals onto a wafer, often under reduced pressure to enhance the reaction. One of the most important processes in semiconductor fabrication.

CVS      Cyclic Voltammetry Stripping

CVS      Constant Voltage Stress

CW        Continuous Wave

CW        Clockwise

CWS      Chilled Water System

CYM      Cycle Model

Czochralski (CZ)

The most common technique for producing large single crystals of silicon, germanium, or gallium-arsenide. A seed crystal is dipped into molten silicon and pulled vertically as it grows to a constant diameter, with the crystal and crucible rotating in opposite directions. The resulting rods are sliced into wafers for IC manufacturing.  

D

D/A converter

Digital-to-Analog converter. Circuit that converts digital I/P signals to analog O/P signals. See A/D converter and signal processing.

D/B       Die Bonding

D/I        Develop Inspect

D/I        Dense Vs. Isolated

D2D      die-2-die

DAC      Digital-to-Analog Converter

DAC      Dielectric Aging Chamber

DARPA Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

DAS      Direct Absorption Spectroscopy

DASSL  Differential Algebraic System Solver

data acquisition

The process of converting real-world events into machine-readable signals, typically using automated systems with sensors attached to equipment.

daWP    decawatt package

dBa       Adjusted Decibel

DBG      Dice before Grind

DBMS   Database Management System

DBP      Data Processing Board

DC        Direct Current

DC-DC converter

A circuit that changes direct current from one voltage level to another, commonly used in battery-powered systems. 

DC parametrics

The measurable operating properties of an IC or discrete device under static (non-changing) conditions. See parametric tests.

DCA      Direct Chip Attach

DCATS Double-contained Acid Transfer System

DCCF   Discounted Cumulative Cash Flow

DCE      Distributed Computer Environment

DCF      Distributed Coordination Function

DCG      Distortion Calibration Grid

DCG      Domain Coordination Group

DCIV      Direct-current Current-voltage

DCL      Digital Command Language

DCL      Display Communication Log

DCP      Dry Chemical Planarization

DCS      Dichlorosilane

DCT      Defect Control Tool

DCVD   Dieletric Chemical Vapor Deposition

DD        Defect Density

DDD Double Diffused Drain. See diffusion and drain.

DDH      Direct-to-digital Holography

DDL      Device Description Language

DDM Defect Diagnostic Matrix. See defect.

DDMS   Defect Data Management System

DDR      Double Data Rate

DEDS   Discrete-event Dynamic Simulation

DEE      Detailed Equipment Events

defect

A chemical or structural irregularity that degrades silicon or deposited materials. Defects may be active impurities affecting device performance over time or inactive particles disrupting photolithography. Common sources include human contamination (oil, skin flakes, etc.).

depletion-mode FET

A FET whose channel is normally “on” when no gate voltage is applied. See also channel, enhancement-mode FET, FET, gate and source.

deposition

The process of applying materials onto a substrate, typically thin conductive or insulating films for MOS gates, capacitors, resistors, or IC interconnects.

DES      Data Encryption Standard

DES      Display Equipment Status

DESC Defense Electronic Supply Center

Based in Dayton, Ohio, this agency handles procurement of electronic supplies for the U.S. military. It ensures semiconductor vendors meet military specifications (e.g., MIL-M-38510) and stocks spare parts.

device design

The operation in which a designer customizes the transistors exactly to their function in the circuit.

DF     Darkfield 

A method for detecting defects on non-patterned semiconductor wafers by measuring light reflected at low angles.

DFA      Differential Fault Analysis

DFC      Densified Fluid Clean

DFE      Dual Frequency Etch

DfESH  Design For Environment, Safety, And Health

DFLP    Design For Low Power

DFM Design For Manufacturability

DFM uses statistical data on process characteristics to ensure circuit designs stay within normal manufacturing variances, optimizing performance, improving yields, and reducing costs. 

DFP      Dual Flat Pack

DFR      Design For Reliability

DFT Design For testability

A design approach that enables easy test generation, lowering test costs and improving product quality, typically by adding overhead circuitry. 

DGM      Dynamic Grid Matching

DGOX   Dual Gate Oxide

DHF      Dilute Hydrofluoric Acid

DI     Deionized

DI         dielectric isolation

A method that electrically isolates IC components using an insulating material, typically silicon dioxide. DI surrounds each transistor’s sides and bottom, enhancing performance for analog ICs. In bipolar ICs, the wafer’s bottom side is etched into V-shaped grooves, filled with silicon dioxide and polysilicon, then polished before standard diffusion and metallization complete the IC.  See bonded wafer, junction isolation.

DI     Dissolution Inhibitor

DIBL      Drain-induced Barrier Leakage

DIC       Differential Interference Contrast

DICMOS Dielectric Isolated Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor 

die

A single square or rectangular piece of semiconductor material containing a fabricated circuit. Plural: dice. Also called a chip. 

dielectric

An insulating material. In semiconductors, dielectrics provide electrical isolation between dice, metal layers, and the gate and channel. 

diffusion

A high-temperature process where chemical impurities (dopants) move through a semiconductor’s crystal lattice to alter its electrical properties, typically in a furnace at 850–1150 °C. 

DIFS     Distributed Inter-frame Space

digital

Information represented by discrete digits, manipulated by switching current on or off. Compare with analog.

digital integrated circuit

ICs that process binary information through arithmetic operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division) or logical operations, detecting input patterns and producing corresponding binary outputs. 

DIL       Dual Inline

diode

A two-terminal semiconductor that allows current in one direction and blocks it in the opposite. Terminals are anode and cathode. Types include P-N junction diodes and Schottky diodes (metal-semiconductor barrier). See rectifier.

DIP Dual In-line Package

A common IC package, plastic (DIP-Plastic) or ceramic (CERDIP), with pins extending symmetrically from opposite sides. A side-brazed DIP has externally brazed leads. 

discrete device

An electronic component, usually with one active element (e.g., transistor or diode), including power MOSFETs, rectifiers, optoelectronic devices, and hybrids. Unlike ICs, which may contain thousands or millions of active elements in one die. 

Dit     Interface Trap Density

DJS      Diminishing JAN Source

DL         Deep Learning

DLB      Dielectric Low Temperature Bake

DLBI      Device Level Burn-in

DLM Double-Level Metal

An IC interconnect process with two metal layers separated by an insulator, enabling smaller die sizes compared to single-level metal (SLM) for the same functionality. Compare with SLM.

DLOC   Developed Source Lines Of Code

DLRM   Deep Learning Recommendation Model

DLS      Display Lot Status

DLT      Device Level Test

DLTS    Deep Level Transient Spectroscopy

DLY      Design Limited Yield. See yield.

DM        Defect Management

DMA      Direct Memory Access

DMA      Dynamic Mechanical Analysis

DMH      Display Message Helps

DML      Data Manipulation Language

DML      Display Message Log

DMM    Digital Multimeter

DMOS   Diffused Metal-oxide Semiconductor

DMR      Display Move Requests

DMS      Data Management Standard

DMS      Data Management System

DNN      Dark Narrow Normal

DNN     Deep Neural Network

DNO      Dark Narrow Oblique

DO        Dynamic Optimization

DO        Diode Outline

DOA      Dead-on Alignment

DOAS   Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy

DOE     Design of Experiments

DOF      Depth Of Field

DOF      Depth Of Focus

donor

A group V impurity that adds a mobile electron to silicon’s conduction band, making it N-type. Common donors include arsenic and phosphorus. Compare acceptor.

DOP      Dioctylphthalate

doping

The deliberate addition of chemical impurities to a semiconductor to alter its electrical properties. For example, boron makes silicon P-type. Concentrations range from parts per billion to fractions of a percent. 

DOS      Disk Operating System

DOTS   Digital-optical Technology System

DPA      Destructive Physical Analysis

DPA      Differential Power Analysis

D-pack

An epoxy package for power MOSFETs, IGBTs, and bipolar transistors, available as straight-lead (TO-251) or surface-mount (TO-252) versions.

DPAK   decawatt Package

DPB      Data Processing Board

DPF      Dense Plasma Focus

DPI       Dots Per Inch

DPM      Digital Panel Meter

DPM     Defects Per Million (referring to the defects)

DPM     Defectives Per Million (referring to the defective products)

DPP      Discharge-produced Plasma

DPS      Display Process Status

DPS      Decoupled Plasma Source

DPSRAM  Dual-port Static Random Access Memory

DQE      Detective Quantum Efficiency

DR        Design Rule

drain

One of the three FET regions where majority carriers from the source are collected, completing the current path. Current flow is controlled by the gate voltage. See also channel, FET, gate and source.

DRAM Dynamic Random Access Memory

A low-cost, widely used semiconductor memory where binary states are stored as capacitive charges that must be periodically refreshed. 

DRC Design Rule Check

Verifies layout dimensions—spacing, overlap, and sizes—against fabrication process capabilities. 

DRE      Destruction Removal Efficiency

DRIFTS Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transform Spectroscopy

driver

An electronic circuit that amplifies signals to drive high-current loads. Includes bus drivers for fast capacitance charging/discharging and circuits controlling power devices like solenoids. 

DRT      Defect Review Tool

DSA      Display System Activity

DSA      Dimensionally Stable Anode

DSA      Directed Self Assembly

DSC      Die Side Capacitor

DSC      Differential Scanning Calorimetry

DSE      Droplet Surface Etching

DSF      Dead Space Free

DSIMS  Dynamic Secondary Mass Spectroscopy

DSMBGA  double-sided molded ball grid array

DSMC   Direct Simulation Monte Carlo

DSP      Differential Signal Processing

DSP Digital-Signal Processing package

Digital circuits that perform tasks traditionally handled by analog components, such as enhancing, analyzing, filtering, or modulating signals. DSP offers greater stability over time and temperature, and is used for processing images, sounds, radar pulses, and other real-world waveforms.

DSQ      Downstream Quartz

DSQ      Decoupled Source Quartz

DSS       Display Stocker Status

DSW      Direct Step-on-wafer

DT     Dynamic Test

DTA      Differential Thermal Analysis

DTC      Direct Thermocouple Control

DTHM  Dual Top Hardmask

DTL      Diode Transistor Logic

DTM      Defect Test Monitor

DTM      Delay Time Multiplier

DTM      Device Test Module

DTM      Digital Terrain Map

DTM      Demonstration Test Method

DTMPN Defect Test Monitor Phase Number

DUF      Diffusion Under Epitaxial Film

DUI       Detached User Interface

DUT      Device Under Test

DUT      Design Under Test

DUV      Design Under Verification

DUV      Deep Ultraviolet

DUVSE Deep Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Ellipsometry

DV        Design Verification

DVER   Design Rule Verification

DVI       Digital Video Interactive

DVM      Digital Voltmeter

DVS      Display Vehicle Status

DVS      Dynamic Voltage Stress

DVS      Dynamic Voltage Screen

DWN      Dark Wide Normal

DWO      Dark Wide Oblique

DYM Defect and Yield Management. See yield.

E

E-beam Electron beam

A machine that generates an electron beam to expose photoresists sensitive to electrons. Used in electron-beam lithography, a direct-write microprinting method for wafers or masks. 

E3     Early Equipment Evaluation

EAPSM Embedded-attenuated Phase Shift Mask

EAROM Electrically Alterable Read-only Memory

EASE    Equipment And Software Emulator

EBHF Enhanced Back-diffused High-Frequency

A bipolar process technology optimized for very high performance, supporting semicustom tile arrays and parametric analog cell capabilities. It can use single- or double-level metal interconnects and is compatible with both plastic and hermetic packages. 

EBHT   Electron Beam High Throughput Lithography

EBIC      Electron Beam-induced Current

EBIT      Electron Beam Ion Trap

EBR      Edge Bead Removal

EBR      Etchback Rate

EBSD   Electron Backscattering Diffraction

EC        Engineering Change

EC        Equipment Controller

ECA      Engineering Capability Assessment

ECA      Elemental Criticality Analysis

ECAD   Electronic Computer-aided Design

ECAD   Engineering Computer-aided Design

ECAE   Electronic Computer-aided Engineering

ECAG   Equipment Class Application Guideline

ECC      Error Control Coding

ECD      Electron Capture Detector

ECD      Electrical Critical Dimension

ECD      Electrochemical Deposition

ECL circuit Emitter-Coupled Logic circuit

A high-speed digital logic family that uses bipolar transistors biased in the active region. ECL circuits achieve very fast switching speeds but consume relatively high power, making them suitable for applications requiring maximum performance, such as high-frequency logic and communication systems. 

ECMD  Electrochemical-mechanical Deposition

ECN      Engineering Change Notice

ECO      Engineering Change Order

ECO      Edge Control Only

ECP      Electrochemical Plating

ECQB   Electrochemical Quartz Crystal Balance

ECR      Electron Cyclotron Resonance

ECTFE Ethylene Chlorotrifluoroethylene

EDA      Electronic Design Automation

EDA      Equipment Data Acquisition

EDD      Earliest Due Date

EDI       Electronic Data Interchange

EDIF Electronic Design Interchange Format

EDP      Electronic Data Processing

EDS      Energy-dispersive Spectroscopy

EDS      Electron-dispersive Spectroscopy

EDS      Electrical Die Sorting

EDU      Equipment Dependent Uptime

EDX     Energy Dispersive X-ray

EDXA   Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis

EEC      Equipment Engineering Capability

EEDF   Electron Energy Distribution Function

EELS    Electron Energy-loss Spectroscopy

EEPROM or E2PROM Electrically-Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory

A type of non-volatile memory similar to PROM, but with the ability to be selectively erased and reprogrammed using electrical signals. Data stored in EEPROM is retained even when power is removed, making it useful for applications requiring long-term storage with occasional updates, such as configuration data and firmware. Compare with PROM.

EFEM   Equipment Front End Module

EFO      Electronic Flame-off

EFOCS Evanescent Fiber Optic Chemical Sensors

EFTIR  Emission Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy

EFV      Excess Flow Valve

EG        Extrinsic Gettering

EGE      Ethylene Glycol Ethers

eHARP  Enhanced High Aspect Ratio Process

EHO      Estimated Hourly Output

EHS      Extremely Hazardous Substances

EI     Equipment Integration

EIC       Extracted Ion Count

EID       Equipment Interface Development

EID       Energy Isolation Device

EIP       Equipment Improvement Program/Project

EIS       Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy

EIS       Environmental Impact Study

EKF      Extended Kalman Filter

EL     Experience Level

EL     Exposure Latitude

ELAT    Exposure Latitute

electromigration

The transport of metal atoms in a conductor (e.g., aluminum) caused by the momentum transfer from high-density electron flow. This atomic movement can create voids or hillocks in interconnect lines, eventually leading to open circuits or short circuits. The effect worsens at high current densities and elevated temperatures, making it a key reliability concern in IC design. Mitigation techniques include lowering current density and alloying metals (e.g., adding copper or titanium to aluminum) to improve resistance to electromigration.

ELF      Extremely Low Frequency

ELF      Early Life Failure

ELL      Entrance Loadlock

ELNES Energy Loss Near Edge Structure

ELS       Extended Life Source

ELU      Environmental Loan Unit

EM        Enterprise Model

EM        Electromagnetic

EM        Electromigration

EMA      Effective Medium Approximation

EMA      Equipment Maturity Assessment

EMC      Electromagnetic Capability

EMC      Electromagnetic Compatibility

EMF      Electromagnetic Field

EMG      Electromigration

EMI      Electromagnetic Interference

EMIB    Embedded Multi-die Interconnect Bridge (INTEL)

emitter

One of the three regions of a bipolar junction transistor (BJT). When the emitter–base junction is forward biased, the emitter injects minority carriers (electrons in an NPN, holes in a PNP) into the base. These carriers either recombine in the thin base region or diffuse across it to reach the collector. This injection process enables the transistor’s ability to amplify signals, since a small base current controls a much larger collector–emitter current. See also base, bipolar transistor and collector.

EMMA  Electron Microscopy And Microanalysis

EMO      Emergency Off

EMP      Electromagnetic Pulse

EMR      Enter Move Request

EMU      Electromagnetic Unit

enhancement-mode FET

A type of field-effect transistor (FET) in which the channel is normally off (non-conductive) when no voltage is applied to the gate. To turn it on, a gate-to-source voltage of the correct polarity must be applied to induce a conducting channel. This design results in low quiescent (standby) power consumption, making it widely used in modern digital and power applications (e.g., MOSFETs in logic circuits and switching regulators). See also channel, depletion-mode FET, FET, gate and source.

ENIG    electroless nickel immersion gold

EOL      End-of-line

EOS Electrical OverStress

A transient or steady-state electrical condition that exceeds a device’s specifications or limits. The magnitude and duration of EOS events can vary. Mild cases may cause oxide rupture or junction damage with visible stress marks, while severe cases can result in bond wire vaporization, interconnect melting, or carbonized plastic packages. See ESD.

EOT      End Of Transfer

EOT      Equivalent Oxide Thickness

EOY      End Of Year

EP     Extreme Pressure

EP     Electropolish

EP     Electroplating

EP     Ellipsometric Porosimetry

EPI       Epitaxial Layer

epitaxy

The controlled growth of a crystalline layer, called an epilayer, on a crystalline substrate. In homo-epitaxy (such as silicon grown on silicon), the epilayer duplicates the substrate’s crystal structure and properties. In hetero-epitaxy (such as silicon grown on sapphire), the epilayer is a different material with a different crystalline structure than the substrate. 

EPL      Electron Projection Lithography

EPM      Equipment Performance Metrics

EPMA   Electron Probe MicroAnalysis

EPO      Emergency Power Off

EPR      Electron Paramagnetic Resonance

EPRI      Electrical Power Research Institute, Inc.

EPROM Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory

Similar to PROM, but allows the stored information to be erased. It is a non-volatile memory device whose contents can be erased by exposure to ultraviolet light. See also PROM, EEPROM.

EPSM   Embedded Phase Shift Mask

EPSS      Electronic Performance Support System

EPT      Equipment Performance Tracking

EPT      Endpoint

EQUIP C/I Equipment Control And Integration

EQUIP RTC   Equipment Real-time Control

ERAM   Equipment Reliability, Availability, And Maintainability

ERC      Equivalent Release Concentration

ERC Electrical Rules Check

Software that verifies a schematic for correct and reasonable connections between circuit elements. Compare DRC.

ERD      Elastic Recoil Detection

ERG      Enhancement And Review Group

ERM      Enterprise Reference Model

ERN      External Recurrent Neural Network

ERP      Extended Range Pyrometer

ERS      Event Reporting Standard

ERT      Emergency Response Time

ES     Engineering Specification

ES     Expert System

ESA      Electrostatic Attraction

ESC      Electrostatic Chuck

ESCA    Electron Spectroscopy for Chemical Analysis

ESD ElectroStatic Discharge

The sudden release of a static charge through a conductive path to ground. ESD can irreparably damage electronic components, causing junction failure, contact damage, filamentation, oxide breakdown, charge injection, or interconnect fusing. Pulse magnitude varies, but duration is usually very short. Common ESD models include the human body model, charge device model, and machine model. ESD typically results from improper handling, often worsened by low humidity, ungrounded equipment, or poor device design. See also EOS.

ESDS    ESD Sensitivity

ESED   Environmental Scattered Electron Detector

ESEM   Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope

ESH      Environment, Safety, And Health

ESL       Etchstop Layer

ESL       Electronic System Level

ESM      Electronic Service Manual

ESR      Electron Spin Resonance

ET         Electrical Test

etch

The process of removing material from a wafer, such as oxides or other thin films, using chemical, electrolytic, or plasma (ion bombardment) methods. Examples include nitride etch and oxide etch. 

ETQR   External Total Quality And Reliability

ETS       Engineering Test Stand

EUV     Extreme Ultraviolet. See X-ray lithography.

EUVL   Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography. See X-ray lithography.

EUVLLC   EUV Limited Liability Corporation

eV     Electronvolt

EVC      Equilibrium Vapor Concentration

EW        Electrolyzed Water

EWF      Effective Workfunction

eWLB   embedded wafer-level ball grid array

EWMA  Exponentially Weighted Moving Average

EYE      Edinburgh Yield Estimator

F

F/E        Focus/exposure

F/I     Final Inspect

F.A.      Failure Analysis

F.A.       Factory Automation

F.A.B.   Fast Atom Bombardment

fab Fabrication

In semiconductor manufacturing, fabrication refers to the front-end process of creating devices and integrated circuits on wafers, excluding back-end package assembly. 

FACS    Fast Access To Critical Solutions

FAE      Field Application Engineer

FAMOS Floating-gate avalanche-injection metal-oxide semiconductor

FASTRACK

A suite of electronic design automation (EDA) tools used for analog and mixed-signal integrated circuit design. FASTRACK provides simulation, analysis, and modeling capabilities—including tools like SCAN (Switched Capacitor Analysis) and SAM (Statistical Analysis and Modeling)—to predict circuit behavior across process variations and aid in accurate IC design. 

fault

A defect in an IC that may lead to operational failure, typically caused by processing errors. 

fault coverage

The percentage of all possible internal faults in a circuit that can be detected externally using a functional test vector set, typically considering faults modeled as signals stuck at power or ground. 

fault simulation

A gate-level simulation method where the circuit is modified to include specific faults representing processing defects. The simulation is rerun to determine if the test program detects these defects, providing an estimate of the test program’s fault coverage. 

FB     Floating Body

FBGA   Fine Pitch Ball Grid Array

FC     Flip Chip

FCBGA Flip-chip ball grid array

FCC      Face-centered Cubic

FCM      Facilities Cost Model

FCOL    Flip Chip on Lead

FCS       Factory Control System

FD     Fully Depleted

FDC      Fault Detection And Classification

FDE      Frequency Domain Experiments

FD-SOI  Fully Depleted Silicon on Insulator

FDTD   Finite Difference Time Domain

FE     Finite Element

FE     Field Emission

FE     Field Engineer

FEC      Fabrication Evaluation Chip

FED      Field Emission Display

FEG      Field Emission Gun

FEM      Finite Element Model

FEM      Focus-exposure Matrix

FEM      Final Energy Magnet

FEOL    Front-End-Of-Line

FESEM Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope/microscopy

FET Field Effect Transistor 

A solid-state device where current between the source and drain is controlled by voltage applied to a non-conducting gate terminal. See also channel, drain, gate and source.

FFT       Fast Fourier Transform

FFU      Filter Fan Unit

FG     Finished Goods

FG     Forming Gas

FI     Filterability Index

FI     Factory Integration

FIA       Field Interferometer Alignment

FIB       Focused Ion Beam

FICDM ESD  Field-Induced Charged Device Model ESD

FID       Flame Ionization Detector

FIDAP  Fluid Dynamics Analysis Package

FIFO     First In First Out

FIM       Field Ion Microscope

FIMA    Factory Integration Maturity Assessment

FIMS      Front-opening Interface Mechanical Standard

FinFET Fin field-effect transistor

FIT        Failure Unit

FITS      Failures In Time

FL         Flat Lead

FL     Fuzzy Logic

flat pack

A package with leads parallel to the component body. Hermetic flat packs have leads on two or four sides, while plastic flat packs typically have leads on all four sides (plastic quad flat pack). 

FLI       First Level Interconnect

flip-chip

A method of bonding chips face-down using solder bump connections on contact pads. 

FLOODS   Florida Object-Oriented Device Simulator

FLOOPS   Florida Object-Oriented Process Simulator

floorplanning

A chip planning technique that partitions chip space efficiently to minimize area. It is also used early in layout to explore tradeoffs in pinout, block placement, rotation, and routing area. 

FLOPC Floating Point Operations Needed Per Cycle

FLOTOX   Floating Gate Tunnel Oxide

FLRT    Factory Layout/relayout Tool

FM        Foreign Material

FMEA   Failure Modes and Effects Analysis

FMMC  Factory Material Movement Component

FMS      Forms Management System

FMS      Facility Management System

FMVP   Framework Member Validation Project

FNN      Feed-forward Neural Network

FOCoS  Fan-out Chip on Substrate

FOCS    Fiber Optic Chemical Sensors

forward bias

A voltage applied across a rectifying junction that allows current to flow easily. In contrast, reverse bias blocks current. See P-N junction.

FOSB    Front Opening Shipping Box

foundry

A wafer fabrication and processing facility, often offering contract services to companies without their own fab or to supplement existing capabilities.

FOUP   Front Opening Unified Pod

FOV      Field Of View

FoWLP Fan out Wafer Level Package

FOX      Field Oxide

FP     Flash Point

FPD      Focal Plane Deviation

FPD      Flat Panel Display

FPG      Field Programmable Gate

FPGA    Field Programmable Gate Array

FPLA    Field-programmable Logic Array

FPLF    Field-programmable Logic Family

FPLS      Field-programmable Logic Switch

FPM      Flexual Plate Mode

FPMS   Factory Performance Modeling Software

FPROM Field-programmable Read-only Memory

FQA      Fixed Quality Area

FRACAS   Failure Reporting, Analysis, And Corrective Action System

FRAME Failure Rate Analysis And Modeling

frit

Another term for glass, as used in frit- or glass-sealed packages like CERDIP and CERPACK. 

FRMB   Fast Ramp Mini Batch

front end

The semiconductor fabrication stage where the integrated circuit is created on the wafer. Compare with back end.

fRTA      Flash Rapid Thermal Annealing

FS     Fused Silica

FSE       Field Service Engineers

FSG      Fused Silica Glass

FSG      Fluorinated Silicate Glass

FSM      Finite State Machine

FT     Final Test

FT     Fourier Transform

FTA      Fault Tree Analysis

FTAB    Focus Technical Advisory Board

FTICR  Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Spectroscopy

FTIR     Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrophotometry

FTP       Fast Thermal Processing

FTY      Final Test Yield. See also yield.

functional tests

Applying input vectors and checking outputs to verify correct operation of a digital IC. 

FW        Full Wave

FWHM  Full-width Half-maximum

FWT      Fluoride Wastewater Treatment

FZ         Float-Zone technique (for ingot preparation)

G

GAA      Gate-All-Around

GaAs Gallium Arsenide

A III-V compound semiconductor material used for making optoelectronic devices and high-frequency ICs. GaAs has higher electron mobility than silicon, enabling faster device operation. Electrons in GaAs travel at about twice the speed of those in silicon. 

GaAs FET Gallium Arsenide Field Effect Transistor 

A high-frequency voltage-controlled current amplifier similar to a silicon MOSFET. Also known as GaAs MESFET (gallium arsenide metal semiconductor field effect transistor).

GaAsIC Gallium Arsenide Integrated Circuit

GAC      Granular Activated Carbon

GAE      Gas-assisted Etch

GaN LED Gallium Nitride-Based Light Emitting Diode

GASAD Gate And Source And Drain

gate

(1) The control electrode in a field-effect transistor (FET). A voltage applied to the gate regulates the conducting properties of the semiconductor channel region beneath it. In a MESFET (metal semiconductor field-effect transistor), the gate directly contacts the semiconductor. In a MOSFET (metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor), it is separated from the semiconductor by a thin oxide layer, typically 100–1000 Å thick. (2) A combination of transistors that form a circuit performing a logic function, such as NAND or NOR.  See also channel, drain, FET, MESFET, MOSFET and source.

gate array

A semicustom IC consisting of a regular arrangement of gates that are interconnected through one or more layers of metal to provide custom logic functions. Gate arrays are typically preprocessed up to the first interconnect level, allowing rapid customization through final metal layers to meet a customer’s requirements. 

gate length

The physical distance between the source and drain of a MOS transistor as defined on the photomask plate. Also referred to as "patterned" or "drawn" gate length. When determined from actual transistor characteristics, it is called "effective" gate length. See source and drain.

GBps     gigabit per second

GC        Gas Chromatography

GC        Gravimetric Calibrator

GCC      Generic Cell Controller

GCD      Gas Chromatography Distillation

GCIB      Gas Cluster Ion Beam

GCMS   Gas Chromatography Mass Spectroscopy

GCR      Generalized Cambridge Ring

GDP      Gas Distribution Plate

GDPP   Gas Drive Plasma Pinch

GDS      Graphical Design System

GDS      Graphical Design Software

GEM      Generic Equipment Model

GEMVS GEM Verification System

GES      Generic Equipment Simulator

GFA      Gas Fusion Analysis

GFAAS Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy

GFAAS Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometry/spectroscopy

GFC      Gas Filter Correlation

GFCI      Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter

GFIS      Gas Field Ion Source

Gfx       Graphics

GHG      Greenhouse Gas

GI     Global Irrigation

GI-XRD Grazing Incidence X-ray Diffraction

GIDL      Gate-induced Drain Leakage

GILD      Gas Immersion Laser Doping

GISAXS Grazing Incidence Small-angle X-ray Scattering

GJG      Global Joint Guidance

GLC      Gas Liquid Chromatography

Gm        Transconductance

GMCH  Graphics and Memory Controller Hub

GOF      Goodness Of Fitness

GOI       Gate Oxide Integrity

GOX      Gate Oxide

GPIB      General Purpose Interface Bus

GPL      Gas Path Length

GPS      Global Positioning System

GPU      Graphics Processing Unit

GRC      Gas Reactor Column

GRTV   Graphite Rapid Thermal Vulcanization

GSCE   Gas Source Control Equipment

GSED   Gaseous Scattered Electron Detector

GSPID  Gain-scheduled Proportional Integro-differential

GTO      Gate turn-off thyristor

GTS      GEM Test System

GUI       Graphical User Interface

gullwing

A common lead configuration used for surface-mounted packages, where the leads extend out from the package body, curve downward, and then outward again to make contact with the printed-circuit board. 

GWIM   Global Warming Impact Model

GWLE   Good Wafer Level Exposure

GWP      Global Warming Potential

H

HAADF-STEM   High Angle Annular Dark Field Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy

HAP Hazardous Air Pollutant

hardware

The physical, both active and passive, components of a circuit or a system. Compare software.

HARI    High Aspect Ratio Inspection

HARP   High Aspect Ratio Process

HAST    Highly Accelerated (Temperature Humidity) Stress Test

HAZ      Heat Affected Zone

HAZCOM  Hazard Communication Standard

HB        Horizontal Bridgeman Crystal

HBM     High Bandwidth Memory

HBM ESD Human Body Model Electrostatic Discharge

HBT      Heterojunction Bipolar Transistor

HCE      Hot Carrier Effects

HCI       Hot Carrier Injection

HCl       Hydrochloric Acid

HCM      Hollow Cathode Magnetron

HCMOS High Density Complementary Metal-oxide Semiconductor

HCS      Hot-carrier Stress

HD        High Density

HDD      High Density Disk

HDI      High Density Interconnect

HDL      Hardware Description Language

HDP      High Density Plasma

HDPE   High Density Polyethylene

HE        High Energy

HEM      High Efficiency Matching

HEPA   High Efficiency Particulate Air

HEX      Heat Exhaust

HF        Hydrofluoric Acid

HFRR   Hydrofluoric Acid Reprocessor Return System

HI         Heterogeneous Integration

HIBS      Heavy Ion Backscattering Spectrometry

high-level language

A programming language designed for solving problems in a form closer to human logic than machine code. Examples include Ada, C, COBOL, FORTRAN, Lisp, and Pascal. 

HIM      Heated Injection Manifold

HiPOx   High-pressure Oxygen

HIR      HI Roadmap

HLF      Horizontal Laminar Flow

HMC     Hybrid Memory Cube

HMDS  Hexamethyldisilizane

HMIS    Hazardous Materials Inventory Statement

HMMP  Hazardous Materials Management Plan

HMOS  High Performance MOS

HMOS  High-density MOS

hole

A mobile vacancy created when an electron is missing from a covalent bond in a semiconductor crystal. It behaves as a positively charged carrier (+1.6 × 10⁻¹⁹ coulomb) with an effective positive mass. Under an electric field, holes move opposite to electrons, contributing to electric current. Holes are introduced into silicon by doping with acceptor impurities. See also acceptor.

HOMER Hazardous Organic Mass Emission Rate

HOPG   Highly Oriented Pyrolitic Graphite

HP        High Purity

HPC      High Performance Computing

HPCC   High Performance Computing and Communicating

HPEM  Hybrid Plasma Equipment Model

HPI       High Pressure Isolation

HPL      High Performance Logic

HPLC   High Performance Liquid Chromatography

HPM      Hazardous Production Materials

HPM      High Purity Metal

HPM      Hydrochloric Peroxide Mix

HPV      High Pressure Vent

HRA      Human Reliability Analysis

HRR      High Ramp Rate

HRTEM High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy

HSA      High Speed Amplifier

HSC      High Speed Converter

HSFR   High Spatial Frequency Roughness

HSMS   High Speed Messaging Services

HSQ      Hydrogen Silsesquioxane

HTDR   High Temperature Data Retention

HTF      High Temperature Film

HTH      Head-to-head

HTL      High Threshold Logic

HTO      High Temperature Oxide

HTOL   High Temperature Operating Life

HTRB   High Temperature Reverse Bias

HTS      High Temperature Storage

HTSL    High Temperature Storage Life

HTU      Height Of Transfer Unit

HUPW  Hot Ultrapure Water

HV        High Voltage

HVAC   Heating, Ventilating, And Air Conditioning

HVIC High-Voltage Integrated Circuit 

An IC built with dielectric or junction isolation to handle high-voltage AC inputs (e.g., 120–240 V) and convert them to regulated DC. HVICs offer a compact, low-cost alternative to using separate transformers, rectifiers, and regulators.  See DI and JI.

HVM      High Volume Manufacturing

HVM/EH   High Volume Manufacturing And Exception And Handling

HVP      High Volume Production

HWS      Heating Water System

HY        Hybrid

hybrid circuit

(1) A circuit that combines passive and active miniature devices on an insulating substrate to perform a complete function. (2) A circuit combining one or more integrated circuits with discrete components. (3) A package that integrates more than one type of IC into a single unit.

I

I/O        Input/output

I2L        Integrated Injector Logic

I300I      International 300 Mm Initiative

IA     Instrument Air

iALD      Ionized Atomic Layer Deposition

IBF       Ion Beam Figure

IC         Integrated Circuit. See integrated circuit.

IC     Ion Chromatography

ICAP      Inductively-coupled Argon-plasma Spectrometry

ICCG      Incomplete Conjugate Gradient

ICMS    Integrated Circuit Measurement System

ICP       Inductively-coupled Plasma

ICP-AES   Inductively-coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy

ICP-MS Inductively-coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry

ICT       Ideal Cycle Time

ICT       In-Circuit Test

ICW      Industrial City Water

Id     Drain Current

IDA       Intentional Defect Array

IDDQ    Direct Drain Quiescent Current

IDEAL  Initiating, Diagnosing, Establishing, Acting, Leveraging

IDL       Interface Definition Language

IDL       Implant Data Log

IDLH    Immediately Dangerous To Life Or Health

IDM      Integrated device manufacturers

IDS       Interactive Diagnostic System

Idsat      Saturation Current

IEA       Ion Energy Analysis

IEC       Infused Emitter Coupling

IEDF      Ion Energy Distribution Function

IEEE     Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

IEP       Interferometric Endpoint

IERN    Internal-external Recurrent Neural Network

IF     Interface

IF     Intermediate Focus