A circuit in which all components and their interconnections are fabricated on the same chip of semiconductor material and perform the function of an electronic circuit.
Device for creating and administering LANs and connecting them to other LANs.
See also Router.
Characteristic of connectors in which one manufacturer's connector can be replaced by a connector from another manufacturer, and provide the same function in the same panel space as the connector it replaces.
US terminology for a connector.
The wiring between modules, units, or other parts of a system.
A mechanically and electrically joining device that connects elements together to complete an electrical circuit.
See also Interface, 2.
A conductor that connects patterns on opposite sides of a printed circuit board. Also called feed-through.
The compression of the resilient material that faces the mating inserts and provides positive sealing and insulation when plug and receptacle are locked together.
A conductor that connects conductive patterns on opposite sides of a printed circuit board or other base. May be accomplished with a plated through-hole.
Any gap between the faces of mated connectors.
The junction formed by the faces of the two mating halves of a connector. This junction can be tightly compressed or loose, depending on the requirements of the application.
Sealing of a two piece, multiple contact connector over the whole area of the interface to provide sealing around each contact.
Disturbances of an electrical or electromagnetic nature that introduce undesirable responses into electronic equipment.
A clip that holds two or more male and/or female connections ganged, or stacked, to form one larger single- or dual-row connector. Also called a modular branch.
An electrical connection between conductive patterns in different layers of a multi-layer PCB.
A type of stamping die in which multiple terminals are acted upon in one stroke of the press. Terminals are designed with two rows facing each other and the tails interweave to save material. The raw material width is usually less than twice the extended width of each terminal.
The mechanical or electrical interconnection between switches, or between a switch and a mechanism, so that a certain condition in one inhibits operation of the other.
Characteristic of connectors by which a connector half manufactured by one company will mate directly with a connector half manufactured by a different company.
A frequency to which a signal is converted for ease of handling. Receives its name from the fact that it is an intermediate step between the initial and final conversion or detection stages.
In RF connectors, an internal device that allows the phone to switch from the car antenna to the phone antenna. This switch is activated through mating and unmating the connector.
International Electrical Code (IEC 950)
Industry standard in Europe, similar to UL and CSA agency approvals, which applies to consumer goods sold throughout the European Community.
Internet Service Provider (ISP)
A company that provides individuals and other companies access to the Internet and other related services, such as Web site building and virtual hosting. An ISP has the equipment and the telecommunication line access required to have a point-of-presence on the Internet for the geographic area served. The larger ISP's have their own high speed leased lines so that they are less dependent on the telecommunication providers and can provide better service to their customers. Among the largest national and regional ISP's are AT&T WorldNet, IBM, Global Network, MCI, Netcom, UUNet, and PSINet.
A small space between two objects that are purposefully placed in close proximity.
The joining of elements with interconnect devices.
A type of DIN 41612 connector in which the less expensive male connector, rather than the female, is mounted on the backplane. This mounting configuration allows for single pin replacement. Inverse DIN has become the standard DIN 41612 connector.
A circuit that reverses the polarity of a signal at its input to produce an upside-down signal at its output.
An atom that has an excess or deficiency of electrons.
The formation of ions. Ions are produced when ionic compounds are dissolved in a solvent and when a liquid, gas, or solid is caused to lose or gain electrons due to its excitation by an electrical field.
Intellectual Property.
Institute for Interconnecting and Packaging Electronic Circuits
Insulated Power Cable Engineers Association
Irradiated Polyethylene tape.
Infrared. Refers to the use of infrared radiation in a particular application.
A method of designating a voltage drop in terms of both current and
resistance; i.e. 
V = IR (Ohm's Law)
Institute of Radio Engineers
Ignition Radiation Suppression
Industry Standard Architecture. The bus architecture that evolved from the first IBM PC and was the prevalent data bus standard in personal computers until displaced in the 80's by 32-bit buses like EISA and PCI.
Integrated Services Digital Network. A circuit-switched telecommunications network architecture that provides end-to-end transmission of voice and data over a single digital line. The transmission rates, protocols, and interfaces are specified by a CCITT international standard.
See also Broadband ISDN.
International Organization for Standardization
Guidelines and standards for quality systems. The Technical Committee 176 of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) created ISO 9000 to provide internationally uniform standards of quality management in an effort to help ensure consistent quality in goods and services produced in markets around the world. The focus is on the development and management of quality processes. ISO 9000 sets parameters for creating and maintaining quality processes without standardizing procedures and technologies.
ISO 9001, 9002 and 9003 are standards for design and implementation of a quality process model. ISO 9004 helps companies develop and manage their quality processes.
Internet Service Provider
See Internet Service Provider.
Data transmission protocol in which there is always a whole number of unit intervals between individual characters. Isochronous transmission is used for time-dependent applications such as real time voice and video.
The ability of a circuit or component to reject interference, usually expressed in db.
Symbol for reactance, when designated in ohms.
A connector that joins two branch conductors to the main conductor at an angle. The three conductors are in the same plane.