| P1DB | power at one-dB gain compression | -- |
|---|
| P1DBIN | P1dB referenced to the input | -- |
|---|
| P1DBOUT | P1dB referenced to the output | -- |
|---|
| PA | power amp | An amplifier that is capable of applying some real heat to the load. |
|---|
| PAE | power-added efficiency | For a power amp, the ratio of output power divided by the sum of input RF and DC power. |
|---|
| PAM | pulse amplitude modulation | -- |
|---|
| PAPR | peak to average power ratio | Ratio of the peak power (peak amplitude squared) to the average power (the square of the root mean square value). |
|---|
| PAR | peak average ratio | -- |
|---|
| PC | personal computer, or politically correct | We don't care if you think that Microwaves101 is not PC, OK? |
|---|
| PCM | pulse code modulation, process control monitor | -- |
|---|
| PCS | personal communications systems | Wireless stuff, thankfully, everybody's gotta have it. |
|---|
| PDK | process design kit | What TriQuint or IBM or other open fabs will provide when you design an IC into their foundries. |
|---|
| PDM | power distribution network | -- |
|---|
| PDS | personal digital cellular | Digital cell phone standard. |
|---|
| PEC | perfect electrical conductor | See our page on EM fundamentals. |
|---|
| PECVD | plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition | Yet another way to apply films to a semiconductor wafer. |
|---|
| PESA | passive electronically steered antenna | Often uses MEMS phase shifter technology. |
|---|
| PF | pico-Farad | A unit of capacitance, 10E-12 Farads. |
|---|
| PH | pico-Henry | A unit of inductance, 10E-12 Henries. |
|---|
| PHEMT | pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistor | -- |
|---|
| PHS | personal handy phone system | Digital cordless phone standard. |
|---|
| PIDOOMA | pulled it directly out of my a$$ | A widely accepted method for obtaining a speedy quotation or prediction. |
|---|
| PIN | P-type/intrinsic/N-type | A diode structure often used as an RF control component. |
|---|
| PIND | particle impact noise detection | A way to determine of you have any loose stuff inside your sealed-up module. |
|---|
| PLD | pulsed laser deposition | A laser is used to blast a plume of material that is transferred to a heated substrate. |
|---|
| PLL | phase locked loop | -- |
|---|
| PMC | perfect magetic conductor | See our page on EM fundamentals. |
|---|
| PNA | programmable network analyzer | A PNA is a network analyzer that runs the Windows operating system instead of some proprietary interface written in embedded code. It's "programmable" in that you can install applications, network it like a PC, and use a thumb drive to get your data. Than |
|---|
| POS | piece of s### | Like in the following want ad: 1989 Hyundai, POS, $500 or best offer. |
|---|
| PPI | plan position indicator | -- |
|---|
| PPM | parts per million | Used to express ratios that are often very much less than 1% |
|---|
| PR | photo-resist | The material that is used used to pattern printed circuits. |
|---|
| PRF | pulse repetition frequency | -- |
|---|
| PSB | pink-slip blizzard | If you stay in microwave engineering long enough you will learn what this means... |
|---|
| PSD | phase sensitive detector, power spectral density | -- |
|---|
| PSIA | pounds per square inch, absolute | This is pressure, relative to a vacuum. |
|---|
| PSIG | pounds per square inch, gauge | This is pressure, relative to room pressure. |
|---|
| PSK | phase shift keying | A method of transmitting data by modulating the phase of a signal. |
|---|
| PTC | positive temperature coefficient | A thermistor with resistance value increasing with temperature. |
|---|
| PTFE | poly tetra-flouro ethelene | A dielectric material invented in 1938 by Dr. Roy Plunkett at Dupont, used in most RF coax cables and many soft boards. |
|---|
| PTH | plated-through hole | -- |
|---|
| PWB | printed wiring board | -- |
|---|
| PWM | pulse-width modulation | -- |
|---|