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The dsi glossary provides a comprehensive list of Acronyms and Abbreviations as well as definitions for several Terms commonly used in the PCB industry.
| A-B | C | D | E-F | G-I | J-L | M-N | O-P | Q-R | S | T-Z |
| AOI | automated optical inspection |
| µBGA | micro ball grid array |
| ASIC | application-specific integrated circuit |
| ATE | automated test equipment |
| ATG | automatic test generation |
| AXI | automated x-ray inspection |
| BBT | bare board test |
| BGA | ball grid array |
| BOM | bill of material |
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| C | capacitance |
| CAD | computer aided design |
| CAM | computer aided manufacturing |
| CED | CAD Engineering Division (dsi) |
| CIM | Computer Integrated Manufacturing |
| CPD | Customer Products Division (dsi) |
| CPP | custom prototype production |
| CPU | central processor unit |
| CS | chip scale |
| CSL | Contamination Studies Lab |
| CSP | chip-scale packaging |
| CTE | coefficient of thermal expansion |
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| DCA | direct chip attachment |
| DFA | design for assembly |
| DFM | design for manufacturability |
| DFT | design for testability |
| DI | deonized water |
| DRC | design rule check |
| DSI | Diversified Systems, Inc. |
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| EMI | electromagnetic interference |
| ENG | engineering |
| EPA | Environmental Protection Agency, a federal government regulatory group |
| Er | dielectric constant |
| ESD | electrostatic discharge |
| FDR | frequency domain reflectometry |
| FHP | flying head probe |
| FPD | flat panel display |
| FPD | flat panel display |
| FR4 | epoxy-glass laminate |
| FS | Fourth Shift (dsi's computer system) |
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| HASL | hot air solder leveling |
| I/O | input/output |
| IC | ion chromatography, integrated circuit |
| ICT | in-circuit test |
| IPC | Institute for Interconnecting and Packaging Electronic Circuits |
| IPC-PC-90 | Industry standard for statistical process control (SPC) |
| ISO | International Standards Organization |
| ISO | International Standards Organization |
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| KGD | known-good die |
| LPI | liquid photoimageable |
| LPSM | liquid photoimageable soldermask |
| LSF | low-solids flux |
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| MCM | multi-chip module |
| MECH | mechanical |
| MFG | manufacturing |
| MIS | mounting and interconnection structure |
| MLB | multi-layer board |
| MPU | microprocessor unit |
| MRC | manufacturing rules check |
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| OA | water soluble (flux), organic acid |
| OEM | original equipment manufacturer |
| OSP | organic surface protectant |
| PCB | printed circuit board |
| PCD | Printed Circuit Division (PCB fabrication at dsi) |
| PGA | pin grid array |
| PTH | plated through hole |
| PWB | printed wiring board |
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| QA | quality assurance |
| QC | quality control |
| QFP | quad flat pack |
| QS | quality systems |
| R | resistance, resistivity |
| RBB | Rapid Bare Boards (quick turn board fabrication at dsi) |
| RCR | resin-coated copper |
| RH | relative humidity |
| RIE | reactive ion etching |
| RMA | rosin mildly activated |
| ROI | return on investment |
| ROSE | resistivity of solvent extract |
| RPT | Rapid Prototyping Division (dsi) |
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| SIR | surface insulation resistance |
| SMA | surface mount assembly |
| SMD | surface mount devices |
| SME | Society of Manufacturing Engineers |
| SMOBC | solder mask on bare copper |
| SMT | surface mount technology |
| SMTA | Surface Mount Technology Association |
| SPC | statistical process control |
| SVC | split via connection |
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| T/R | transmit/receive |
| TC | thermal cycle |
| TDR | time domain reflectometry |
| THB | temperature/humidity/bias |
| VI | visual inspection (human) |
| WOA | weak organic acid, water-soluble organic acid |
| WSF | water soluble flux |
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| A-B | C | D | E-H | I-K | L-N | O-P | Q-R | S | T-Z |
| Annular Ring | The conductive material surrounding a hole. |
| Aspect Ratio | The ratio of the circuit board thickness to the diameter of the smallest drilled hole. |
| Base Copper | Copper foil provided in sheet form or clad to one or both sides of the laminate to be used as either internal or external layers of a circuit board. |
| Base Laminate | The dielectric material upon which the conductive pattern is formed. |
| Bed-of-Nails | Test method that uses an array of contact pins to test components. |
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| Center-to-Center Spacing | The nominal distance between the centers of adjacent features or traces on any layer of a printed circuit board. Also known as "pitch". |
| Characteristic Impedance | A compound measurement of the resistance, inductance, conductance, and capacitance of a transmission line expressed in ohms. |
| Component Hole | A hole used for the attachment and electrical connection of component terminations, including pins and wires, to the printed circuit board. |
| Conductor | A thin conductive area on a PCB surface of internal layer usually composed of lands and traces. |
| Contaminant | An impurity or foreign substance whose presence on printed circuit assemblies could electrolytically, chemically, or galvanically corrode the system. |
| Continuity | An uninterrupted flow of electrical current in a circuit. |
| Cooldown | The period in the reflow process after peak temperature when the temperature drops to the point where the solder joints solidify or freeze. |
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| Defect | Any deviation from the normally accepted characteristics of a product or component. |
| Desmear | Removal of epoxy smear (melted resin) and drilling debris from a hole wall. |
| Dielectric | An insulating material that forms a nonconducting region between two or more conductors. |
| Dielectric Constant | The ratio of permittivity of the material to that of a vacuum (referred to as relative permittivity). |
| Drying Time | A portion of the reflow process after preheat and before the reflow spike where volatile materials escape from solder paste. |
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| Etch | Chemical removal of metal (copper) to achieve a desired circuit pattern. |
| Flux | A substance used to promote or facilitate fusion such as a material used to remove oxides from surfaces to be joined by soldering or welding. |
| Hole Density | The quantity of holes in a printed circuit board per unit area. |
| Hot Air Solder Leveling | The process of dipping printed circuit boards into hot solder and leveling the surface finish with hot air. Also known as HASL. |
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| Innerlayer | Any layer which will be pressed on the inside of a multilayer board. |
| Insulation Resistance | The electrical resistance of the insulating material (determined under specified conditions) as measured between any pair of contacts or conductors. |
| Jumper Wire | An electrical connection formed by wire between two points on a printed board added after the intended conductive pattern is formed. |
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| Laminate | A product made by bonding together two or more layers of material. |
| Laminate Thickness | Thickness of the base material, not including metal-clad, prior to any processing. Applies to single- or double-sided material. |
| Land | A portion of a conductive pattern usually, but not exclusively, used for the connection and/or attachment of components. Also called Pad. |
| Mask | A material applied to enable selective etching, plating, or the application of solder to a printed circuit board. |
| Microvia | A via used to make a connection between two adjacent layers, typically less than 6 mils in diameter. Microvias are typically formed by laser ablation, plasma etching, or photo processing. |
| Mil | One-thousandth of an inch (0.001"). |
| Nail Heading | The flared condition of copper on the inner conductor layers of a multilayer board caused by hole drilling. |
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| Oxide | A chemical treatment to inner layers prior to lamination, for the purpose of increasing the roughness of clad copper to improve laminate bond strength. |
| Pad | The portion of the conductive pattern on printed circuit boards designated for the mounting or attachment of components. Also called Land. |
| Panel | The square or rectangular base material containing one or more circuit patterns that passess successively through the production sequence and from which printed cirucit boards are extracted. |
| Permittivity | The measure of the ability of a material to store electrical energy when exposed to an electrical field. |
| Photomask | A silver halid or diazo image on a transparent substrate that is used to either block or pass light. |
| Pinhole | A minute hole through a layer or pattern. |
| Pitch | The nominal distance between the centers of adjacent features or traces on any layer of a printed circuit board. Also known as "center-to-center spacing". |
| Plated Through Hole | A hole in a circuit board that has been palted with metal (usually copper) on its sides to provide electrical connections between conductive pattern layers of a printed circuit board. See PTH. |
| Plating | Chemical or electromechanical deposition of metal on a pattern. |
| Plating Resists | Material over coductive areas used to prevent the plating of the covered areas. |
| Polymerize | To unite chemically two or more monomers or polymers to forma molecule with a higher molecular weight. |
| Prepreg | Sheet material consisting of the base material impregnated with a synthetic resin, such as epoxy or Polymide. |
| Printed Circuit | A conductive pattern of printed components and circuits attached to a common base. |
| Printed Wiring Board | A part manufactured from rigid base material upon which completely processed printed wiring has been formed. |
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| Quench | A cooling process that is used to rapidly cool the molten solder below its melting point in order to solidify it and obtain a strong and reliable solder joint. |
| Reflow | A general term referring to the overall process of reflowing solder paste in attaching surface mount components to various substrates. It usually includes the preheat process, stabilization and/or drying, the reflow spike, and cooldown, but sometimes refers to the reflow spike area only. |
| Reflowing | The melting of an electro-deposit followed by solidifcation. |
| Registration | The degree of conformity of the position of a pattern, or a portion thereof, with its intended position or with that of any other conductor layer of a board. |
| Relative Permittivity | See Dielectric Constant. |
| Residue | An undesirable substance remaining on a substrate after a process step. |
| Resist | Coating material used to mask or to protect selected areas of a pattern from the action of an etchant, solder, or plating. |
| Resistivity | The ability of a material to resist the passage of electrical current. |
| Rework | Reprocessing that makes articles conform to specifications. |
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| Single-sided Board | A printed circuit board with conductors on only one side and no plated-through holes. |
| Solder Resists | Coatings which mask and insulate portions of a circuit pattern where solder is not desired. |
| Solderability Testing | The evaluation of a metal to determine its ability to be wetted by solder. |
| Soldermask | A coating applied to a circuit board to prevent solder from flowing onto undesirable areas or from bridging across closely spaced conductors. |
| Stabilization Period | Period of time after preheat and before the reflow spike where the internal termperature differences between components are allowed to equalize. Also known as "drying time", "preflow", and "soak". |
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| Test Coupon | A sample or test pattern typically made along the edge of the actual board pattern that is used for testing to verify impedance or other parameters without damaging the actual board. |
| Via | A plated through hole that is used as an innerlayer connection but doesn't have component lead or other reinforcing material. |
| Wave Soldering | A process wherein assembled printed boards are brought in contact with a continuously flowing and circulating mass of solder. |
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Resources
EE International Glossary of Terms
IPC Glossary of Terms
Merix Interconnect Vocabulary
Surface Mount Equipment Manufacturers Association Reflow Terms
and Definitions 4.0.
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