Glossary

I²C is short for "inter-IC bus." I²C is a two-wire, low-speed, serial data connection IC bus used to run signals between integrated circuits, generally on the same board.

An electronic circuit consisting of different miniaturized electronic components (e.g. resistors, capacitors, transistors, etc.) integrated into semiconductor material.

A method for energy saving for switching regulators by skipping pulses when the circuit is only lightly loaded.

IEC stands for the International Electrotechnical Commission: An "organization that prepares and publishes international standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies."

Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor Modules (IGBTs) are semiconductor components used in power electronics due to their robustness, high blocking voltage, and their ability to be triggered with negligible power.

IO-Link is a communication standard for connecting sensors and actuators to an industrial automation system.

Infrared Light that has a frequency below the visible light spectrum.

Infrared Data Association: A group of device manufacturers that developed a standard for transmitting data via infrared light waves.

International Standards Organization

Joint Electron Device Engineering Council

The KNX protocol is a global standard for data exchange most often used in building automation.

A low drop out is a linear voltage regulator that will operate even when the input voltage barely exceeds the desired output voltage.

Light-Emitting Diode: A semiconductor device that emits light.

The Local Interconnect Network is a low data-rate, single-wire communications system, used in e.g. automotive applications.

A linear-pass element (BJT or FET) which is used to control/regulate the charging voltage/current.

[Translate to Englisch:] A voltage regulator is placed between a supply and the load and provides a constant voltage by varying its effective resistance.

An element connected between the load and ground. Low-side current sensing applications measure current by looking at the voltage drop across a resistor placed between the load and ground.

Manifold absolute pressure

Micro-electro-mechanical systems are in particular sensors based on semiconductor technologies. Among other values, they can detect pressure, acceleration, or tilt.

A combination of analog and digital signals simultaneously generated, controlled, or modified on one and the same chip.

Metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor; metal-oxide silicon field-effect transmitter. In a MOSFET, the conductive channel between the drain and source contacts is controlled by a metal gate separated from the channel by a very thin insulating layer of oxide. The gate voltage establishes a field that allows or blocks current flow.

An organic light emitting diode is a luminous thin-layer component made of organic semiconductor materials distinguished by LED in that its electric current density and luminance are lower and no monocrystalline materials are required.

Overvoltage Protection protects downstream circuitry from damage due to excessive voltage, e.g. from the DC voltage coming from an external power source.

Pulse-Frequency Modulation: A pulse modulation technique in which the frequency is varied with the input signal amplitude. The duty cycle of the modulated signal does not change. Because it is always a square wave with changing frequency, PFM is also referred to as square-wave FM.

The PIR sensor (for passive infrared) is the most commonly used type of motion detector. It shows the optimal response to angle changes, i.e. when a person walks by the sensor.

A method for using pulse width to encode or modulate a signal. The width of each pulse is a function of the amplitude of the signal.

"Quad, flat, no-lead" package.

Quarter small-outline package

A relay is an electromagnetic switching device to operate one or more switch contacts.

An electronic device e.g. an integrated circuit to control and amplify because a small voltage or current, or a physical stimulus, allows the semiconductor to pass or block electrical current.

Single Ended Primary Inductor Converter: A DC-DC converter topology that acts both as a boost and a buck converter.

Small outline integrated circuit, a packaging technology.

Serial Peripheral Interface. A 3-wire serial interface.

A stepper motor is a synchronous motor whose rotor (rotatable motor part with a shaft) can be rotated through a controlled electromagnetic field of stator coils (stator = non-rotatable motor part), rotating step by step, by either a minimal angle (step) or its multiple.

A System on a Chip (SoC) e.g. combines a microprocessor, interface elements and mixed signal functions in a single IC.

Deactivating a circuit when a measured temperature is beyond a predetermined value in order to protect the IC.

A device that contains both a transmitter and receiver.

TS 16949 is an ISO Technical Specification that aligns previous American (QS-9000), German (VDA6.1), French (EAQF) and Italian (AVSQ) automotive quality systems standards within the global automotive industry. Together with ISO 9001:2000, ISO/TS 16949:2002 specifies the quality system requirements for the design/development, production, installation and servicing of automotive related products.

Thin shrink small-outline package

Universal Asynchronous Receiver-Transmitter: An IC that converts parallel data to serial, for transmission; and converts received serial data to parallel data.

USPA stands for ultrasonic park assist systems, monitoring the parking process and informing the driver optically and acoustically on the distance to the next object.

A circuit which is connected between the power source and a load, which provides a constant voltage despite variations in input voltage or output load.

The basic material in chip production. A wafer is a disc sawn out of a single silicon crystal and polished.

A feature of a microprocessor supervisory circuit that monitors software execution in a microprocessor or microcontroller. It takes appropriate action, e.g. a reset, if the processor has a malfunction.