| P1dB |
power
at one-dB gain compression |
|
| P1dBin |
P1dB
referenced to the input |
|
| P1dBout |
P1dB
referenced to the output |
|
|
PA
|
power amp
|
An amplifier that is capable
of applying some real heat to the load.
|
| PAE |
power-added
efficiency |
For
a power amp, the ratio of output power divided by the sum of
input RF and DC power. |
| PAM |
pulse
amplitude modulation |
|
|
PC
|
personal computer, or
politically correct
|
We don’t care if
you think that Microwaves101 is not PC, OK?
|
| PDK |
process design kit |
What TriQuint or IBM or other open fabs will provide when you design an IC into their foundries. |
| PCM |
pulse
code modulation, process control monitor |
|
|
PCS
|
personal communications
systems
|
Wireless stuff, thankfully,
everybody’s gotta have it.
|
|
PDS
|
personal digital cellular
|
Digital cell phone standard.
|
| PEC |
perfect
electrical conductor |
See
our page on EM fundamentals. |
| PECVD |
plasma-enhanced
chemical vapor deposition |
Yet
another way to apply films to a semiconductor wafer. |
| PESA |
passive
electronically steered antenna |
Often
uses MEMS phase
shifter technology. |
|
PHEMT
|
pseudomorphic high electron
mobility transistor
|
|
|
pF
|
pico-Farad
|
A unit of capacitance,
10E-12 Farads.
|
|
pH
|
pico-Henry
|
A unit of inductance,
10E-12 Henries.
|
|
PHS
|
personal handy phone system
|
Digital cordless phone
standard.
|
|
PIN
|
P-type/intrinsic/N-type
|
A diode structure often
used as an RF control component.
|
| PIND |
particle
impact noise detection |
A way
to determine of you have any loose stuff inside your sealed-up
module. |
| PLD |
pulsed
laser deposition |
A laser
is used to blast a plume of material that is transferred to
a heated substrate. |
| PLF |
purse
lepitition flequency |
Term
used during IEEE talks given by Fujitsu
and other Japanese companies. |
| pidooma |
pulled
it directly out of my a$$ |
A widely
accepted method for obtaining a speedy quotation or prediction. |
|
PLL
|
phase locked loop
|
|
| PMC |
perfect
magetic conductor |
See
our page on EM fundamentals. |
| PNA |
programmable network analyzer
Here's Agilent's official
PNA web page.
|
A PNA
is a network
analyzer that runs the Windows operating system instead
of some proprietary interface written in embedded code. It's
"programmable" in that you can install applications,
network it like a PC, and use a thumb drive to get your data.
Thanks to Adam! |
| POS |
piece
of s### |
Like
in the following want ad: 1989 Hyundai, POS, $500 or best offer. |
| PPI |
plan
position indicator |
|
|
PPM
|
parts per million
|
Used to express ratios
that are often very much less than 1%
|
| PR |
photo-resist |
The material
that is used used to pattern printed circuits. |
| PRF |
pulse
repetition frequency |
|
| PSB |
pink-slip
blizzard |
If
you stay in microwave engineering long enough you will know
what this means... |
| PSD |
phase
sensitive detector, power spectral density |
|
| PSIA |
pounds
per square inch, absolute |
This
is pressure, relative to a vacuum. |
| PSIG |
pounds
per square inch, gauge |
This
is pressure,
relative to room pressure. |
| PSK |
phase
shift keying |
|
| PTC |
positive
temperature coefficient |
A thermistor
with resistance value increasing with temperature. |
|
PTFE
|
poly tetra-flouro ethelene
|
A dielectric material invented
in 1938 by Dr.
Roy Plunkett at Dupont, used in most RF coax cables and
many soft boards.
|
| PTH |
plated-through
hole |
|
|
PWB
|
printed wiring board
|
|
| PWM |
pulse-width
modulation |
|
