GLOSSARY OF TERMS: Semicon Process Control

June 27, 2013

Semicon Process Control terms and definitions provided by Omega Engineering, Inc., a process measurement and control solutions provider.

BONDING: Primary method of interconnecting an integrated circuit (IC) and a printed circuit board (PCB).

CALIBRATION: The process of adjusting an instrument or compiling a deviation chart so that its reading can be correlated to the actual value being measured.

CLEAN ROOM: A room in which contaminants such as dust are reduced to a very low level by special procedures so that operations such as the manufacture and assembly of delicate equipment can be performed effectively.

CRYOGENICS: Measurement of temperature at extremely low values, i.e., below -200 C.

CONDUCTIVITY: The conveying of electrical energy or heat through or by means of a conductor.

DATA ACQUISITION: Storing a series of measurements over time, usually from a sensor that converts a physical quantity (e.g. temperature, pressure) into a voltage that is then converted by a digital to analog converter into a binary number.

DISPLACEMENT: The measured distance travelled by a point from its position at rest.

FIBER OPTIC: Glass or fiber tubes, usually bundled into cables, that are used mainly for long-distance communications.

FORCE SENSORS: Measure the level of force applied.

INFRARED: (IR) An area in the electromagnetic spectrum extending beyond red light from 760 nanometers to 1,000 microns (106 nm). Used for non-contact temp. meas.

MEMS: Micro Electro Mechanical Systems.

PID CONTROLLER: Three-mode controller. A time-proportioning controller with integral and derivative functions.

PROCESS CONTROLLER: A device with sizeable zero and span adjustment capabilities, which can be scaled for readout in signals such as 4-20 mA, 10-50 mA and 1-5 V.

SEMICONDUCTORS: Substance with electrical conductivity intermediate between that of an insulator and a conductor—a basic component of electronic circuit elements.

SENSOR: A mechanical device sensitive to light, temperature, radiation level, etc., that transmits a signal to a measuring or control instrument.

THERMOCOUPLE: The junction of two dissimilar metals, which has a voltage output proportional to the diff. in temperature between the hot junction and the lead wires (cold junction).

THIN FILM: A film of material only a few microns thick, deposited on a substrate, as in integrated circuits.

WAFER: A thin slice of semiconductor material, such as a silicon crystal, used in the fabrication of integrated circuits and other micro-devices.

RELATED: Complete the "Semicon Process Control" word search in the June 2013 issue of Flow Control magazine.

Omega Engineering, Inc., a process measurement and control solutions provider, provided the terms and definitions for this word search.