An information portal for the MEMS and Nanotechnology community hosted by
the MEMS and Nanotechnology Exchange, your microsystem design and fabrication partner.
the MEMS and Nanotechnology Exchange, your microsystem design and fabrication partner.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Bus | Transmission medium for electrical or optical signals that perform a particular function, such as computer control. |
| Byte | A group of eight bits that can represent any of 28 = 256 different entities. |
| Calibration | A process of adapting a sensor output to a known physical quantity to improve sensor output accuracy. |
| Capacitance (C) | The charge-storing ability of a capacitor, defined as the magnitude of charge stored on either plate divided by the applied voltage. A 1-F capacitor charged to 1 V contains C of charge (see also capacitor) and 1 C is an amount of charge equal to that of about 6.24 × 1018 electrons. |
| Capacitor | Energy storage circuit element having two conductors separated by an insulator. |
| Cathode | The electrode in an electrochemical cell or galvanic couple at which a reduction reaction occurs; in other words the electrode receiving electrons from an external circuit. |
| Ceramic | A nonmetallic material made from clay and hardened by firing at high temperature; it contains minute silicate crystals suspended in a glassy cement. |
| Cermet | A composite material consisting of a combination of ceramic and metallic meterials. The most common cermets are the cemented carbides, composed of an extremely hard ceramic (e.g. WC, TiC), bonded together by a ductile metal such as cobalt or nickel. |
| Chip | A die (unpackaged semiconductor device) cut from a silicon wafer, incorporating semiconductor circuit elements such as a sensor, actuator, resistor, diode, transistor, and/or capacitor. |
| Chromatography | The general name for a series of methods for separating mixtures by employing a system with a mobile phase and a stationary phase. |
