Common Acronyms
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- ADC
- Analog to Digital Converter - a unit that transforms analog signals to digital signals.
- ASIC
- Application Specific Integrated Circuit - an IC designed for a specific application.
- Automotive Band
- Frequency band specified for automotive applications, 24 GHz, 77 GHz - 79 GHz.
- BGA
- Ball Grid Array - a packaging technology for silicon chips where the contacts of the chips are connected to metal balls (dots of solder) arranged in an array under the molded chip, also see #LGA, #PGA.
- Bistatic Radar
- Radar system with separate antennas for the receive and transmit channel.
- BIST-Circuit
- Build In Self-Test-Circuit - a structure in an IC or circuit that simplifies testing or enables a self-test of the circuit.
- Bonding / Wire Bonding
- A method to connect a silicon chip to peripherals by attaching wires from the chip to the peripherals.
- Bump Chip
- Alternative method to wire bonding to connect a silicon chip to peripherals.
- DSP
- Digital Signal Processing - methods to process a signal in the digital domain, such as filtering or analysis, e.g. Fast Fourier Transformation, also see #FFT.
- ESD
- Electrostatic Discharge - an electricity flow between two electrically charged objects that can cause damage to electronic devices.
- ESD-Structures
- Structures in a circuit / IC, which protect the circuit from destruction by ESD. In Silicon Radar's ICs commonly made up of special diodes.
- FAM
- Film Assisted Moulding - a method to mold silicon ICs in a package. It allows free spaces in the molding.
- FFT
- Fast Fourier Transformation - a method to convert analog signals from the time domain to the frequency domain to be able to analyse their frequencies and signal strengths, also see #DSP.
- Flip Chip
- Alternative method to wire bonding to connect a silicon chip to peripherals. The chip is mounted "top side down".
- FMCW
- Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave - a method to operate a radar system.
- FMEA
- Failure Mode and Effects Analysis - a method to calculate the time to live and risks of failure.
- Foundry
- Factory or company that produces silicon chips. Usually, technologies and chip designs are not interchangeable between foundries, since they use different technologies and processes.
- FSK
- Frequency Shift Keying - a method to encode a digital signal using analog frequencies above and below a carrier frequency.
- Globtop
- Moulding on a silicon chip without a mold. The chip is attached to a carrier and the molding mass is "dropped" on the chip.
- GWR
- Guided Wave Radar - a method where a radar impulse is sent along a guiding tube or probe, mainly used for distance and level measurement in liquid or bulky media.
- ISM-Bands
- License free Industrial-Scientific-Medical bands for millimeter waves.
- Lead Frame
- Frame to which a silicon chip is attached, e.g. by wire bonding or flip-chip technology before it is molded.
- LGA
- Land Grid Array - a packaging technology for silicon chips where the contacts of the chips are connected to flat patches of metal arranged in an array under the molded chip, also see #BGA, #PGA.
- LNA
- Low Noise Amplifier.
- MIMO System
- Multiple Input Multiple Output System - a system using more than one recipient and transmit antenna, also see #MISO System.
- MISO System
- Multiple Input Single Output System - a system using more than one receive antennas and only one transmit antenna, also see #MIMO System.
- MMIC
- Millimeter Wave IC - an IC designed to generate or process millimeter waves.
- Monostatic Radar
- A radar system using only a single common antenna for the transmit and receive channel.
- MPW
- Multi Project Wafer - a technology of a foundry where several silicon chips for the various projects are produced on the same wafer.
- MTBF
- Mean Time Between Failures - the average time before a device fails again after a failure/repair, also see #MTTF.
- MTTF
- Mean Time To Failure - the average time before a device fails (this is not the live time), also see #MTBF.
- Multistatic Radar
- A radar system using separate antennas for the receive and transmit channel.
- Passive Radar
- A radar system without a transmitting channel. It processes signals and their reflections transmitted by mobile devices, radio stations, and so on.
- PGA
- Pin Grid Array - a packaging technology for silicon chips where the contacts of the chips are connected to pins of metal arranged in an array under the molded chip, also see #BGA, #LGA.
- Phase noise
- The difference between the real phase and a theoretical phase of a signal seen in the time domain.
- PLL
- Phase Locked Loop - a method to stabilize or adjust a frequency in a circuit by looping the output signal back to the input and comparing the phase of both signals.
- PRI
- Pulse Repetition Interval - the time between two pulses, also see #PRF.
- PRF
- Pulse repetition Frequency - Frequency of repeating pulses, also see #PRI.
- Pulse Radar
- A radar system using short pulses as a transmit signal.
- Pulse Compression
- A method to compress a complex signal to a short pulse.
- SPI
- Serial Peripheral Interface - a digital communication interface.
- TPV
- Through Polymer Via - a molding technology where conducting vias are created from a silicon chip to the surface of the molding mass.
- VCO
- Voltage Controlled Oscillator - an oscillator where the output frequency can be controlled by an input voltage.