Glossary

A: Loss per unit length of a transmission line
ac: Alternating current
admittance ( Y): Reciprocal of impedance
array: Multiple MMIC design layouts assembled orthogonally
balun: Converts a balanced signal into an unbalanced signal or visa versa
BCB: Benzocyclobutene
boule: A large, cylindrical, single crystal of semiconductor material pulled from the melt, which is cut into semiconductor wafers
bus-bar: Output combiner that uses a wide track to feed bias current directly to the outputs of a power amplifier stage
C: Shunt capacitance per unit length of a transmission line
CAD: Computer-aided design
cascode topology: Common-emitter FET followed by a common-base FET
characteristic admittance ( Y ₀): The ratio of the current to the voltage at every point on a transmission line
characteristic impedance ( Z ₀): Ratio of the voltage to the current at every point on a transmission line
CMOS: Complementary metal-oxide semiconductor
conductance ( G): Real part of admittance
conjugate (*): Equal real part, opposite imaginary part
CPW: Coplanar waveguide transmission line
CW: Continuous wave

dc: Direct current
depletion region: Region of a doped semiconductor where there are no free carriers
dispersion: Performance variation with frequency
DOE: Design of experiments
dopant: Element or impurity added to a semiconductor to change its conductivity
drain efficiency: Output power divided by the drain do bias power
DRC: Design-rule check
DRO: Dielectric resonator...

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Practical MMIC Design