Glossary

acceptor atom Atom with three valence electrons added to a

semiconductor to reduce the number of electrons in it,
thus creating holes in the semiconductors valence band.

candela Unit of light intensity in SI.

active region Area on a device characteristic where the ratio

between applied voltage and resulting current is constant.
That is, the device is not operating in regions such as saturation, cutoff, or ohmic.

cascode amplifier High frequency amplifier made up of a common-emitter amplifier with a common-base amplifier in its
collector network.

amplification Process of changing the amplitude of a signal

with minimum alteration in its shape.
amplifier Assembly that produces an output quantity such as
voltage or current in linear proportion to an applied input
quantity. The output quantity is not necessarily larger than
the input quantity.
analog-to-digital converter (ADC) Circuit that converts an
analog signal to a digital signal whose binary value represents the amplitude of the original analog signal.
anode Positive terminal of a bipolar device.
astable multivibrator Oscillator circuit that produces a rectangular wave output.
bandwidth Range of frequencies for which the gain is at least
0.707 of midband gain.
bias line Graphical technique in circuit analysis which describes
the bias circuit, external to a device, on the device transfer
characteristic curve.
bias(ing) Fixed dc voltage applied to a circuit that is intended
to set a devices operation at a particular point on its characteristic curve.
bipolar Type of device whose functioning involves both majority and minority charge carriers.
bipolar junction transistor. See BJT
BJT Bipolar junction transistor is a 3-layer device containing
both types of semiconductor material (either in p-n-p or np-n form). It typically has three terminals.
Bode plot Graph of gain or phase shift versus frequency for a
circuit.
body resistance Inherent resistance of the block(s) of material
composing an electronic deviceone aspect of how a
practical device deviates from ideal.
bridge Network of four components arranged in a square with
identical opposite pairs of elements. The input is attached
across one diagonal, and the output across the other.

cascade amplifier Amplifier with two or more stages in which

the output of one stage serves as the input to the next.

cathode Negative terminal of a bipolar device.

characteristics Set of graphs that display any operating feature
of an electronic device, such as collector current vs. collector-emitter voltage for a set of different base currents.
chip Common name for an integrated circuit. Many chips are
cut from a single wafer of silicon that has been doped and
etched to form many elements and components.
clamping Process of shifting an input ac signal to a different
zero point.
clipper Circuit that cuts off some portion of an input signal.
clipping Failure of a circuit to respond to signals above a certain amplitude, causing distortion of the output signal.
CMOS Complimentary MOS: digital integrated circuitry in
which both n- and p-channel MOSFETs are used.
common Path for current returning to the power supply from a
circuit.
common base (emitter, etc.) Configuration in which the base
(emitter, etc.) the terminal of a three-terminal device is
common to both the input and output loops of the circuit.
common-mode rejection Ratio of the differential gain of an
op-amp to its common-mode gain.
comparator Op-amp circuit that compares two input voltages and
provides a DC output that indicates which input is greater.
conduction angle Portion of a half wave, expressed in degrees,
during which a silicon-controlled rectifier is conducting.
constant-current source Circuit that provides constant current
to a changing load.
contact resistance Resistance at the contacts with the material
of an electronic deviceone aspect of how a practical device deviates from ideal.
conversion efficiency For an amplifier, the ratio of output ac
power to input dc power.
corner frequency Frequency at which the gain of an amplifier
has dropped to 0.707 of midband value.

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