We understand that the jargon and terms we use to describe pcb fabrication and manufacturing can be confusing. We’ve prepared a comprehensive glossary to make the job a little easier.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |
| A | |
| ACF | Anisotropic conductive film |
| ACTIVE COMPONENT | A component which adds energy to the signal it passes, e.g., transistors, rectifiers, diode, amplifiers, oscillators, mechanical relays and almost all IC’s. |
| AEA | American Electronics Association. |
| ALKALINE | A chemical that measures over 7 on a pH scale. |
| ANALOG CIRCUIT | A circuit in which the output varies as a continuous function of the input, as opposed to a digital circuit. |
| ANDON BOARD | A lighted overhead electronic display that gives the current status of the production system and alerts team members to emerging problems. |
| ANNULAR RING | The copper ring around the hole in a printed wiring board. |
| AOI | Automate Optical Inspection |
| AOT | Automated optical test |
| APERTURE | An indexed shape with a specified x and y dimension, or line-type with a specified width, used as a basic element or object by a photoplotter in plotting geometric patterns on film. The index of the aperture is its position or D code. |
| APERTURE LIST | An ASCII text data file which describes the size and shape of the apertures used by a photoplotter for any one photoplot. |
| APICS | American Production and Inventory Control Society. |
| APPROVED VENDOR LIST (AVL) | Parts list specifying the approved manufacturer and part number. |
| AQL | Acceptable Quality Level |
| ARRAY | A group of printed circuits (called modules) arrayed in a panel and handled by both the board house and the assembly house as though it were a single printed wiring board. |
| ARTWORK | Artwork for printed circuit design is photoplotted film, NC Drill File and documentation which are all used by a board house to manufacture a bare PWB. |
| ASCII | American Standard Code for Information Interchange. ASCII is the basis of character sets used in almost all present-day computers. |
| ASIC | Application-Specific Integrated Circuit |
| ASIC DESIGN | Ability to design an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) chip. An ASIC chip is custom designed for a specific application, in contrast to a general-purpose chip such as a microprocessor. |
| ASPECT RATIO | The ratio of the circuit board thickness to the diameter of the smallest drilled hole |
| ATE | Automated Test Equipment |
| ATG | Automated Test Generation |
| AUTO-INSERTION (AI) | A method/equipment used to insert pin-through-hole components to printed wiring boards (PWB’s). |
| AXI | Automatic X-ray Inspection |