In our Test and Measurement Glossary we have collected about 500 different terms that you may come across as you read various literature about electronic test equipment. If you want to add terms, abbreviations and acronyms used in the world of test and electronics, please send them to us!
Test and Measurement Glossary
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
A/m – Ampere per Meter
A2LA – American Association for Laboratory Accreditation
Accuracy – Closeness of agreement between the result of a measurement and its true value
ACLR – Adjacent Channel Leakage Power Ratio
ACP – Adjacent Channel Power
ACPR – Adjacent Channel Power Ratio
ACR – Attenuation to Crosstalk Ratio
ADF – Automatic Direction Finder
AEA – Acoustic Emission Analysis
AFM – Atomic Force Microscope
ALT – Accelerated Life Test
ANOVA – Analysis of Variance
AOI – Automatic Optical Inspection
AOQ – Average Outgoing Quality
APG – Algorithmic Pattern Generator
API – Automatic Paste Inspection
APQP – Advanced Product Quality Planning
APT – Acceptance Test Procedure
APV – Acceptable Process Variation
AQL – Acceptable Quality Level
ASAM – Association for Standardisation of Automation and Measurement Systems
ASQC – American Society of Quality Control
AST – Accelerated Stress Test
ASTM – American Society for Testing and Materials
ATE – Automatic Test Equipment
ATG – Automatic Test Generator
ATLAS – Abbreviated Test Language for Avionics Systems
ATML – Automated Test Markup Language (XML based)
ATPG – Automatic Test Pattern Generation
Auto range – The ability of an instrument to automatically choose the optimum range of the instrument for the magnitude of the measurement being made.
Automatic Test Generator – Software for automatic generation of test programs e.g. for in-circuit testers
AVO – Amps Volts and Ohms
AWGN – Additive White Gaussian Noise
AXI – Automatic X-Ray Inspection
AXIe – Standard based on AdvancedTCA with extensions for instrumentation and test. AXIe leverages existing standards from PXI, LXI, and IVI.
B
BATSO – BATtery Safety Organization
BCI – Bulk Current Injection
Bed of Nails – Fixture type used for in-circuit test
BER – Bit Error Rate
BERT – Bit Error Rate Test
BIB – Burn-in Board
BIP – Bit Parity Check
BIR -Built-In Reliability
BIST -Built-in Self Test
BIT – Built-in Test
BITE – Built-in Test Equipment
BoN – Bed of Nails
Boundary Scan Test – Test method uses special components with integrated test functions. Test vectors are submitted by serial transfer to special pins.
BRAIN – Broadcast Rapid Access Intelligent Network – distributed communication protocol for synchronous process control applications
BS – Boundary Scan
BSCAN – Boundary Scan (IEEE 1149)
BSDL – Boundary-Scan Description Language
BST – Built-in Self Test
Built-in Self Test – Integrated self-test function of a product
Burn-in Board – Board which was tested under extreme temperatures to cause early failures
BVQI – Bureau Veritas Quality International
BW – Bandwidth
C
C&E – Cause and Effect (Diagram)
C-V – Capacitance-Voltage Testing
C/A – Coarse/Acquisition (GPS)
C/N – Carrier-to-Noise Ratio
CAMAC – Computer-Aided Measurement and Control
CAQ – Computer-Aided Quality Assurance
CAT – Computer Aided Test
CBCM – Charge-based Capacitance Measurement
CC – Constant Current
CDC – Compact Diagnostic Chamber
CDN – Coupling/Decoupling Network
CHBW – Channel Bandwidth
CHP – Channel Power
CIP – Continuous Improvement Process
CIT – Current Injection Test
CJC – Cold Junction Compensation
Clamshell fixture – Fixture that probes both sides of a board
Cluster test – In-circuit test method in which several components are tested as a functional unit
CMP – Continuous Monitoring Program
CMRR – Common Mode Rejection Ratio
CMV – Common-Mode Voltage
CMVR – Common-Mode Voltage Ration
Continuity test – Used to check opens on a board or circuit
CoP – Conformity of Production (EMC)
COT – Cost of Test
cp – Process Capability Index
cpk – Process Capability Index
Crosstalk – Unwanted signal transmission between lines
CSIA – Control and Information System Integrators Association
CSO – Composite Second Order
CSP – Continuous Sampling Plan
CTB – Composite Tripple Beat
CTL – CAGE Test Language
CumSum – Cumulative Sum
CWDQ – Company-Wide Quality Control
D
D/S – Driver/Sensor
DACU – Data Acquisition and Control Unit
DANL – Displayed Average Noise Level
dBA – Decibel of audio signals with respect to curve A
dBi – Antenna gain in decibels with respect to an isotropic antenna
dBm – Decibels with respect to 1mW
dBuA/m – Magnetic field intensity
dBV – dB referred to 1 Volt
DCT – Discrete Cosine Transform
DDA – Diagnostic Data Acquisition
DDC – Device Dependant Commands
DFMEA – Design Failure Mode and Effects Analysis
DFT – Design-for-Test
DigRF Digital Radio Frequency – Digital interface standard defined by the Mobile Industry Processor Interface (MIPI) Alliance, used between mobile-phone baseband and RF circuits.
DIR – Designed-In Reliability
DJ – Deterministic Jitter
DMAIC – Define – Measure – Analyse – Improve – Control
DMM – Digital Multimeter
DMR Digital Mobile Radio – open digital radio standard for Professional Mobile Radio (PMR) specified by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI)
DNL – Differential Nonlinearity
DOE – Design of Experiments
DOFS – Distributed Optical Fibre Sensing
DPA – Destructive Physical Analysis
DPM – Digital Panel Meter
DPMO – Defects per Million Opportunities
dpu – Defects per Unit
DSO – Digital Storage Oscilloscope
DTE – Discrete-Time Envelope Analysis
DUT – Device under Test
DVT – Design Verification Test
E
EDA – Electronic Design Automation
EDS – Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectrometer
EFQM – European Foundation for Quality Management
EFR – Early Failure Rate
EIRP – Effective Isotropic Radiated Power
Electronic Design Automation – Tools for the design of electronic components and boards.
ELF – Extremely Low Frequency
ELFEXT – Equal Level Far-End-Crosstalk
EME – Electromagnetic Emission
EMI – Electromagnetic Interference (influence on other devices caused by electromagnetic radiation)
EMS – Electromagnetic Susceptibility
ENI – Equivalent Noise Input
ENR – Excess Noise Ratio
EPA – Edge Placement Accuracy
EQA – European Quality Award
Error – Deviation of measurement from its true value
ESCA – Electron Spectroscopy for Chemical Analysis
ESL – Equivalent Series Inductance
ESS – Electronic Switching System
ETS – Equivalent Time Sampling
EUT – Equipment under Test
F
FA – Failure Analysis
FAR – Fully Anechoic Room
FATE – Functional Automatic Test Equipment.
FBT – Functional Board Test
FCMV – Force Current, Measure Voltage
FDTD – Finite Difference Time Domain
FEXT – Far-end Crosstalk
FFP – Far-Field Pattern
FIB – Fail if Bad
FIR – Finite Impulse Response
FIT – Fault Isolation Test
Fixture – Provides contact between tester and unit under test
FMDRC – Failure Mechanism Driven Reliability Characterization
FME – Failure Mode and Effects
FMEA – Failure Mode and Effects Analysis
FPT – Flying Probe Test – Kind of an in-circuit tester with only a few movable and some fixed probes.
FPY – First Pass Yield – Number of good units produced divided by the number of total units going into the process.
FS – Full Scale (of an instrument)
FSR – Full Scale Range (of an instrument)
FSD – Full-Scale Deflection
FT – Functional Test
FTIR – Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy
Frequency counter – An instrument for measuring the frequency of a signal accurately. It operates by ‘counting’ the number of crossings of the signal that occur across a certain trigger level.
FVMC – Force Voltage, Measure Current
G
G – Conductance – The ability of a material to pass electrons. Measure unit is Siemens. Reciprocal of electrical resistance.
GCF Global Certification Forum – The GCF maintains an independent certification scheme for mobile phones and wireless devices that are based on 3GPP standards.
GET – Group Execute Trigger
GPIB – General Purpose Interface Bus (IEEE-488)
8-bit parallel bus created for use with automated test equipment uses a 24-pin Amphenol connector. Created as HP-IB (Hewlett-Packard Interface Bus) in the late 1960s. One of its main uses is for automatic test applications where a computer is used to control a number of test instruments.
GS – Ground-Signal (Contact Geometry for Probing)
GSG – Ground-Signal-Ground (Contact Geometry for Probing)
GSSG – Ground-Signal-Signal-Ground (Contact Geometry for Probing)
GTEM – Gigahertz Transverse Electromagnetic (Cell)
Guided probe – Fault diagnosis for functional tests using a handheld probe. The test system displays the nodes to be contacted by the operator on the screen.
GWFI – Glow Wire Flammability Index
GWIT – Glow Wire Ignition Temperature
GWT – Glow Wire Test/Temperatur
H
HALT – Highly Accelerated Life Testing
HART – Highway Addressable Remote Transducer – Communication system for industrial field bus applications, based on the 4/20 mA standard
HASS – Highly Accelerated Stress Screening
HAST – Hot Air Storage Test
HBD – Human Body Discharge
HD – Harmonic Distortion
HIPOT – High Potential (Test) – Electrical safety test to verify that the insulation of a product or component is sufficient to protect the operator from electrical shock
HoQ – House of Quality
HPIB – Hewlett-Packard Interface Bus (=GPIB), Aliases (separate with |): GPIB
HS-BERT – High-Speed Bit Error Rate Test
HSMS – High-Speed SECS Message Service
HUM – Humming
HV – High Voltage
HVI – Human Visual Inspection
I
I-V – Current-Voltage Testing
IA – Instrumentation Amplifier
ICE – In-Circuit Emulator
ICRC – International Compliance and Regulatory Committee
ICT – In-circuit Test
IEEE 1149 – see Boundary Scan Test, Aliases (separate with |): JTAG
IEEE 1149.1 – Digital Testing via Boundary Scan (static, digital interconnection test)
IEEE 1149.4 – Analog Testing via Boundary Scan
IEEE 1149.6 – Standard for Boundary-Scan-Test of advanced digital networks
IFM – Instantaneous Frequency Measurement
IFT – Inverse Fast Fourier Transform
IIR – Infinite Impulse Response
IM – Intermodulation
IMD – Intermodulation Distortion
IMMC – Integrated Measurement Module Communications
IMOLA – Intelligent Mobile Lab
In-circuit Test – Test method for testing of boards. Each component on the board is tested “isolated” from the other components.
INL – Integral Nonlinearity
IoT – Interoperability Testing
IP – International Protection Class Rating
IP51 – Protection against dust deposit and vertical water droplets
IP53 – Protection against dust deposit and water splash
IP54 – Protection against dust deposit and water spray
IP55 – Protection against dust deposit and water jet
IP63 – Protection against intrusion and water splash
IP64 – Protection against intrusion and water spray
IP65 – Protection against intrusion and water jet
IP67 – Protection against intrusion and submersion
IP68 – Protection against intrusion and while permanently submersed
IR – Insulation resistance
ISA – Instrument Society of America
ITC – International Test Conference
ITP – Integrated Test Package/Plan
IVI – Interchangeable Virtual Instrument
J
JEMIMA – Japan Electric Measuring Instruments Manufacturers’ Association
JETAG – Joint European Test Action Group
K
KGB – Known Good Board
KGD – Known Good Die
KGU – Known Good Unit
Known Good Board – Board without faults
KOW – Keep on Working
kV – Kilovolt (1000 V)
L
LCA – Life Cycle Analysis/Assessment
LCF – Low Cycle Fatigue
LCL – Lower Control Limit
LCZ – Inductivity, Capacitance, Impedance
LEMP – Lightning Electromagnetic Pulse
LIMS – Laboratory Information Management System (Quality Management System for laboratory environment)
LIV – Light-Current-Voltage
LNA – Low Noise Amplifier
LRM – Load Reflection Match (VNA Standard Calibration Technique)
LSF – Linear Spectral Frequency (Signal Processing)
LSL – Lower Specification Limit
LSSD – Level Sensitive Scan Design
LVDT – Linear Variable Differential Transformer
LVP – Laser Voltage Probe
LXI – LAN Extensions for Instrumentation
M
M7 – Seven Tools for Quality Control (i.e. Histogram, Check Sheet, Pareto Chart, Cause and Effect Diagram (Ishikawa diagram), Run or Flow Chart, Scatter Diagram, Control Chart)
mA – Milliampere (1/1000 A)
MAD – Mean Absolute Difference
Manufacturing Defect Analyser – In-circuit tester without digital test functions
MATE – Modular Automatic Test Equipment
MBNQA – Malcom Baldrige National Quality Award
MDA – Manufacturing Defect Analyser. The in-circuit tester performs only analog tests and does not apply a supply voltage to the board.
MDOF – Multiple Degree of Freedom (Modal Analysis)
MER – Modulation Error Rate
mH – Millihenry (1/1000 H)
MHz – Megahertz (1,000,000 Hz)
mil – Unit of Length (1/1000 inch = 0.0254 mm)
mm – millimeter (1/1000 meter)
Modal Analysis – Study of the dynamic properties of structures under vibrational excitation.
MPT – Moving Probe Tester (Flying Probe Tester)
MS/s – Mega sample per Second
MSO – Mixed Signal Oscilloscope
MSPS – Million Samples per Second
MTBF – Mean Time Between Failures
MTTF – Mean Time to Failure
MTTFF – Mean Time to First Failure
MTTR – Mean Time to Repair
Multimeter – This is a form of meter that is capable of making a variety of measurements. It is normally applied to a meter that can make measurements of current, voltage, and resistance, although digital versions available today may be capable of making a variety of measurements. Normally a multimeter is a small, portable and robust instrument.
mV – Millivolt (1/1000 V)
MVI – Manual Vision Inspection
MXI – Multiplatform Extension for Instrumentation
N
nA – Nanoampere (1/1,000,000,000 A)
NBTI – Negative Bias Temperature Instability
NCSL – National Council of Standards Laboratories
NEP – Noise Equivalent Power
NEXT – Near-end Crosstalk
NF – Noise Figure
NIST – National Institute of Standards & Technology
nm – Nanometer i.e. 1E-9 meter
NMRR – Normal Mode Rejection Ratio
NPLC – Number of Powerline Cycles
NRZI – Non-Return to Zero Inverted Code
NSA – Normalised Site Attenuation
NSY – Next Stage Yield
NTC – Negative Temperature Coefficient
nV – Nanovolt (i.e. 1E-9 Volt)
O
OATS – Open Area Test Site
OC – Open Circuit
OFD – Opportunity for Defects
OLTS – Optical Loss Test Set (consists of a light source and power meter)
ORFS – Output RF Spectrum
OSAT – Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test
Oscilloscope – a form of measuring instrument that displays waveforms of a screen, the horizontal axis is indicative of the time, and the vertical providing the instantaneous amplitude at that given instant. An oscilloscope is an invaluable test tool for anyone testing or developing circuits in which there are repetitive waveforms that need to be viewed.
OTA – Overall Timing Accuracy
OTDR – Optical Time Domain Reflectometer
OTPL – Openstar Test Programming Language
OTX – Open Test sequence eXchange format (ISO 13209)
OUT – Object under Test
P
p-p – Peak to Peak
P1581 – Boundary Scan Enhancement for Memory Devices
pA – Picoampere (= 10E-12 Ampere)
PAA – Part Average Analysis
PAPR – Peak-to-Average-Power-Ratio
PAR – Peak-to-Average Ratio
PAT – Part Average Testing
PAWS – Professional ATLAS/ABBE Workstation
PBTI – Positive Bias Temperature Instability
PCL – Preset Control Limits (Pre control)
PCM – Process Control Monitor
PDCA – Plan-Do-Check-Act
PEP – Peak Envelope Power
PF – Power Factor (ratio of the real power flowing to the load to the apparent power)
PFMEA – Production Failure Mode and Effects Analysis
PGIA – Programmable Gain Instrumentation Amplifier
PICA – Picosecond Imaging Circuit Analysis
PIG – Pass if Good
PIND – Particle Impact Noise Detection
PMU – Parameter Measure Unit
PPAP – Production Part Approval Process
PPM – Parts Per Million
PPS – Pulses per Second
PPSCAN – Pseudo Partial Scan
ppu – Parts per Unit
PRF – Pulse Repetition Frequency
PRN – Pseudo random Noise
Probe – Used to contact nodes on a circuit
PSD – Power Spectral Density
PSI – Pressure per Square Inch
PTPA – Probe to Pad Alignment
PVT – Process Verification Test
Q
Q7 – Seven Tools of Quality
QA – Quality Assurance
QAT – Quality Assurance Testing
QC – Quality Control
QDES – Quality Data Exchange Specification
QE – Quality Engineering
QFD – Quality Function Deployment
QMIS – Quality Management Information System
QMS – Quality Management System
R
R&R – Repeatability and Reproducibility
RAD – Radiation Absorbed Dose
RADAR – Results-Approach – Deployment – Assessment – Review (EFQM Scoring System)
RBW – Resolution Bandwidth
RCA – Root Cause Analysis
Repeatability – Closeness of agreement between successive measurements with same measurement conditions
Reproducibility – Closeness of agreement between measurements with different measurement conditions
Resolution – Smallest portion of the signal that can be observed
RJ – Random Jitter
RLA – Received Level Average
ROI – Region of Interest (optical inspection)
RPN – Risk Priority Number (FMEA)
RQL – Rejectable Quality Level
RRC – Root-Raised Cosine-Filter
RSP – Received Signal Power
RSS – Root-Sum of Square
RSSI – Received Signal-Strength Indicator
RT – Rise Time
RTD – Resistive Temperature Detector
RTM – Reference Test Method
S
S/H – Sample and Hold
S/I – Signal-to-Interference Ratio
S/N – Signal-to-Noise (Ratio)
SA – Signature Analysis
SAOI – Semi-automatic optical inspection
SAR – Specific Absorption Rate
Scalar Network Analyser – An instrument that measures the network parameters of electrical networks, a Scalar Network Analyzer measures only amplitude properties.
SCPI – Standard Commands for Programmable Instruments
SDOF – Single Degree of Freedom (Modal Analysis)
SDR – Signal-to-Distortion Ratio
SEM – Scanning Electron Microscope
Sensitivity – Smallest change in the signal that can be detected
Settling Time – The time required after a change for a circuit or test instrument to reach its steady-state
SFDR – Spurious-free Dynamic Range
SFM – Spectral Flatness Measure
SHF – Super-high Frequency
SI – Signal Integrity
SICL – Standard Instrument Control Language
SILC – Stress-Induced Leakage Current
SIM – Scanning Ion Microscope
SIMS – Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry
SINAD – Signal to Noise plus Distrotion
SIPOC – Supplier – Input – Process – Output – Customer
SIR – Surface Insulation Resistance
SIV – Stress-Induced Voiding
SJTAG – System-level JTAG (Boundary Scan)
SLAM – Scanning Laser Acoustic Microscope
SMART – Standard Module Avionics Repair and Test
SNA – Scalar Network Analyser – an instrument that measures the network parameters of electrical networks, a Scalar Network Analyzer measures only amplitude properties
SNR – Signal-to-Noise Ratio
SOLT – Short Open Load Through – S-parameter error model, VNA Standard Calibration Technique
SPC – Statistical Process Control
SPL – Sound Pressure Level
SPM – Scanning Probe Microscope
SPS -Standard Positioning Service (GPS)
SQC – Statistical Quality Control
SSH – Simultaneous Sample and Hold
STEM – Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope
STEP – Simple Transition Electronic Processing
STIL – Standard Test Interface Language (IEEE 1450)
STIX – Semiconductor Test Interface eXtensions (initiative)
STP – Standard Temperature Pressure – Standard conditions for temperature and pressure – There different standards defined e.g. by NIST: a temperature of 20 °C (293.15 K, 68 °F) and an absolute pressure of 101.325 kPa (14.696 psi, 1 atm)
STPD – Standard Temperature Pressure Dry
STRIFE – Stress and Life (Stress Plus Life Test)
SWEAT – Standard Wafer-level Electromigration Accelerated Test
SWR – Standing Wave Ratio (ratio of the amplitude of a partial standing wave at an antinode (maximum) to the amplitude at an adjacent node (minimum), in an electrical transmission line)
T
T&M – Test and Measurement
T/C – Thermocouple
T/H – Track and Hold
TAAF – Test, Analyze AND Fix
TAP – Test Access Port (Boundary Scan)
TC – Temperature Coefficient
TCE – Thermal Coefficient of Expansion
TCK – Test Clock (Boundary Scan)
TCR – Temperature Coefficient of Resistance
TCVCXO – Temperature-Compensated Voltage Controlled Crystal Oscillator
TCXO – Temperature-Compensated Crystal Oscillator
TDBI – Test During Burn-In
TDI – Test Data In (Boundary Scan)
TDO – Test Data Out (Boundary Scan)
TDR – Time Domain Reflectometer
TEDS – Transducer Electronic Data Sheet
TEM – Transverse Electromagnetic
Testability – Test friendliness
TFA – Thin Film on ASIC (Sensor)
TGA – Thermo Gravimetric Analysis
THD – Total Harmonic Distortion
TIMS – Transition Impairment Measurement System
TM – Test Mode
TMAG – Testability Management Action Group
TMS – Test Mode Select (Boundary Scan)
TOS – Tester Operating System (STC)
TPHM – Telemetric Personal Health Monitoring
TPM – Total Productive Maintenance
TPS – Toyota Production System
TQC – Total Quality Control
TQM – Total Quality Management
TRD – Test Requirement Documentation
TRL – Through Reflection Load (VNA Standard Calibration Technique)
TUR – Test Uncertainty Ratio (used to compare the accuracy of the UUT and the estimated calibration uncertainty)
TVG – Test Vector Generator
U
uA – Microampere (1/1,000,000 A)
UCL – Upper Control Limit
Uncertainty – Estimate of possible deviation from an actual value
Unit under Test – Component or board to be tested
UPV – Unacceptable Process Variation
USL – Upper Specification Limit
UTP – Unit Test Period
uV – Microvolt (1/1,000,000 V)
V
V/F – Voltage to Frequency
V/I – Voltage/in-Current
V/m – Volts per Meter (a standard unit of electric field strength)
VAR – Volt-Ampere Reactive (a unit used to measure reactive power in an AC electric power system)
Vector Network Analyser – An instrument that measures the network parameters of electrical networks. A Vector Network Analyzer measures both amplitude and phase properties
VFC – Voltage to Frequency Converter
VI – Virtual Instrument
VISA – Virtual Instrument Software Architecture
VLF – Very Low Frequency (below 30 kHz)
VNA – Vector Network Analyser (an instrument that measures the network parameters of electrical networks, a Vector Network Analyzer measures both amplitude and phase properties)
VSWR – Voltage Standing Wave Ratio
VT – Voltage Threshold
VXI – VME-Bus Extension for Instrumentation
W
WLBT – Waferl-Level Burn-in and Test
X
XRF – X-ray Fluorescence
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