If you are new to Flexible Electronics, you are going to run in to unfamiliar phrases. We have started this glossary for you. Please reach out to us when you encounter a term on the FlexTech Info Hub we have not defined below and we will add it.
- AE: AeroMedical Evacuation
- AFRL: Air Force Research Laboratories
- ANT: A proprietary wireless sensor network technology developed by Dynastream Innovations, Inc.
- API: Application Programming Interface
- ARL: Army Research Laboratories
- ASIC: Application Specific Integrated Chip
- ATM: Air Traffic Management
- BDNF: Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor
- BP: Blood Pressure
- C2: Command and Control
- Calcined: 1) Reduce, oxidize, or remove moisture from by roasting or strong heat. 2) Thermal treatment process to bring about thermal decomposition. High Temp but below melting point
- CASEVAC: Casualty Evacuation
- CCATT: Critical Care Air Transport Team
- CLIA: Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments
- CMOS: Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor
- CONOPs: Concept of Operations
- CONUS: Contiguous United States (also Conterminous and/or Continental US)
- COTS: Commercial Off The Shelf
- CPOD: Crew Physiological Observation Device
- CTE: Coefficient of Thermal Expansion
- DFM: Design for Manufacture
- Dielectric: 1) having the property of transmitting electric force without conducting; insulating 2) a medium or substance that transmits electric force without conducting; an insulator. Can be polarized by an applied electric field
- ECG Sensor: Electrocardiogram Sensor
- ECG: Electrocardiogram
- EEG: Electroencephalography
- Egress: is the passage of (material, signal, matter) intended to remain within into the outside
- EMG: Electromyography
- EPD: Electrophoretic Ink Display
- EPHI: Electronic Protected Health Information
- EQE: External Quantum Efficiency
- FDC: Flexible Display Center (at Arizona State University)
- Flexible Electronics: generally refers to a class of electronic devices built on conformable or stretchable substrates, usually plastic, but also metal foil, paper and flex glass. Includes Flexible Hybrid Electronics and Printed Electronics.
- Flexible Hybrid Electronics: printed electronics combined with silicon-based integrated (active) circuits on a conformable substrate. Examples of key active components from Si CMOS processes include microcontrollers, digital signal processors, high density memories and RF chips
- Flexography: (often abbreviated to flexo) is a form of printing process which utilizes a flexible relief plate.
- Flip Chip: a computer chip that is installed face-down
- FPC: Flexible printed circuit
- FPE: Flexible and Printed Electronics
- GW: General Ward
- hCG: Human Chorionic Gonadotropin
- HIPAA: Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
- HIS: Human Systems Integration
- HPA: Human Performance Augmentation
- HR: Heart Rate
- HRV: Heart Rate Variability
- HSP: Heat Shock Protein
- ICU: Intensive Care Unit
- HPM: Human Performance Monitoring
- In site: In Position; In its original place
- Ingress: is the passage of an outside (material, signal, matter) inside
- Interposter: Electrical interface routing between one socket or connection to another. The purpose is to spread a connection to a wider pitch or reroute a connection “to put up between”
- IP: Internet Protocol
- ISF: Interstitial Fluid
- ISR: Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance
- IVD: In-Vitro Diagnostic
- LCD: Liquid Crystal Diode
- LFA: Lateral Flow Assay
- LOC: Lab On a Chip
- LPM: Low Pressure Molding
- LT Soldering: Low Temperature Soldering
- LTPS: Low Temperature Polycrystalline Silicon
- Membrane switch: a flexible printed electrical switch with a user interface.
- MET: Metabolic Equivalent
- MILSPEC: Military Specification
- MOPP: Mission Oriented Protective Posture
- MRL: Manufacturing Readiness Level
- mTBI: Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
- MURI: Multi-University Research Initiative
- NIBP: Non-Invasive Blood Pressure
- NVG: Night Vision Goggles
- OLED: Organic Light Emitting Diode
- OpAmp: An operational amplifier (often op-amp or opamp) is a DC-coupled high-gain electronic voltage amplifier with a differential input and, usually, a single-ended output.
- Organic Electronics: a field of material science concerning the design, synthesis, characterization, and application of organic small molecules or polymers that show desirable electronic properties such as conductivity. Some freely substitute this term with plastic electronics.
- O-TFT: Organic Thin Film Transistor
- PAN: Personal Area Network
- pCO2: Carbon dioxide partial pressure
- PDMA: Poly(dodecylmethacrylate)
- PDMS: Polydimethylsiloxane
- PEN: Polyethylene naphthalate
- PET: Polyethylene terephthalate is the most common thermoplastic polymer resin of the polyester family. Used as a substrate
- Photolithography: "is a process used in microfabrication to pattern parts of a thin film or the
- Plastic Electronics: generally refers to a class of electronic devices built on plastic (polymer) substrates, as opposed to silicon or glass.
- PMA: Pre-Market Approval
- pO2: Oxygen partial pressure
- POC: Point of Care
- PPG: Photoplethysmograph
- Printed Electronics: functional electronics fabricated by laying conductive lines using one of several printing methods, including: screen, ink jet, gravure, flexography and others. Often confused with printed circuit boards, which also often use printing methods to connect discrete active and passive components.
- Printed RFID: Printed Radio Frequency Identification: technology that incorporates the use of electromagnetic or electrostatic coupling in the radio frequency (RF) portion of the electromagnetic spectrum to uniquely identify an object, animal, or person.
- PSA: Pressure sensitive adhesive
- PTSD: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
- PV: Photovoltaics is a term which covers the conversion of light into electricity using semiconducting materials
- PVD: Physical Vapor deposition
- QVGA: Quarter VGA (Video Graphics Array)
- Roll-to-Roll: the process of creating electronic devices on a roll of flexible plastic or metal foil.
- RPV: Remotely Piloted Vehicle
- RR: Respiratory Rate
- SA: Situational Awareness
- SatCom: Satellite Communications
- Sinter: Make a powdered material coalesce into a solid or porous mass by heating it without liquefaction
- SpO2: Saturation of Peripheral Oxygen / Pulse Oximeter Oxygen Saturation
- Sputter Zone: Sputter deposition is a Physical Vapor deposition (PVD) method of thin film deposition. Material is ejected from a source “Target” onto a substrate
- SS: Stainless Steel
- SWaP: Size Weight and Power
- Thin Film Transistor (TFT): a special kind of field-effect transistor made by depositing thin films of an active semiconductor layer as well as the dielectric layer and metallic contacts over a supporting (but non-conducting) substrate.
- TRL: Technology Readiness Level
- UTCP: Ultra-Thin Chip Packaging
- V: Volt
- WSN: Wireless Sensor Network
- YSZ: Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia is a ceramic used for substrates. ENrG has made a flexible version for flexible electronics called Thin E-Strate®.
- μm: Micrometre or Micron is a unit of length equaling 1x10-6 of a metre or one millionth of a metre