Glossary

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Term	Definition
Salt Spray Test	An accelerated corrosion test in which specimens are exposed to a fine mist of a solution usually containing sodium chloride, but sometimes modified with other chemicals.
Saponification Number (Sap. No.)	A measure of the fatty ester content of a material. Expressed as milligrams of potassium hydroxide to hydrolyze one gram of sample.
Self-Assembly	The ability of objects to assemble themselves into an orderly structure. Often seen in living cells, this is a property that nanotechnology may extend to inanimate matter.
Self-Replication	The ability of a living entity to make a copy of itself. Theoretically, nanotechnologists could invent self-replicating devices.
Semiconductor	The generic term for discrete devices and integrated circuits that can control the flow of electrical signals. Silicon is the basic material on which semiconductors are fabricated.
Semiconductor Devices	Electronic components that take advantage of the electronic properties of semiconductor materials. They have replaced thermionic devices (vacuum tubes) in most applications and use electronic conduction in the solid state as opposed to the gaseous state or thermionic emission in a high vacuum. Semiconductor devices are manufactured as single discrete devices, or integrated circuits, which consist of a number of devices manufactured onto a single semiconductor substrate.
Signal Processing	Electronic functions that enhance the representations of physical or electrical phenomena. Temperature, pressure, vibration, acceleration, and flow are examples of physical properties that rely on signal processing enhancements.
Silicon	(Si) The base material used in chips. Besides oxygen, it is the most abundant element in nature and is found in a natural state in rocks and sand. Its atomic structure and availability make it an ideal semiconductor material. In chip making, it is mined from white quartz rocks and put through a chemical process at high temperatures to purify it. To alter its electrical properties, it is mixed (doped) with other chemicals in a molten state.
Silylation	The silylation process requires diffusion of a silicon containing silane, typically HMDS through an exposed resist layer. Where the resist is exposed the acid is neutralized, and the silicon molecules in the silane are left behind only in the exposed resist areas.
Solder	A fusible metal alloy (conventionally tin and lead, although lead-based solders have now been outlawed in many parts of the world), with a melting point or melting range below 450 °C. It is melted to join metallic surfaces of electronics in a process called soldering.
Solder Mask/Resist	Solder mask, or solder resist, is a coating that prevents solder from being deposited over it.
Solid State	Refers to the electronic properties of crystalline material, as opposed to vacuum and gas-filled tubes that transmit electricity.
Solution	A homogenous mixture of two of more kinds of molecular or ionic species. Solutions may be composed of any combination of liquids, solids, or gas, but they always consist of a single phase.
Specific Gravity	The ratio of the mass (in air) of any volume of a material to the mass (in air) of an equal volume of some reference material, usually water, at a stated temperature.
Sputtering	Sputtering systems are used for depositing metal conducting layers onto substrates.
SRAM	Static Random Access Memory. An integrated circuit similar to a DRAM that requires no constant refreshing or recharging. It retains stored information as long as power is applied to the computer, improving information retrieval process time.
Stability	Ability of a neat (undiluted) product of diluted mixture not to separate on standing. The stability of a diluted soluble oil or emulsion is often termed its emulsion stability.
Stainless Steel	Multi-component alloys of iron, carbon (low), silicon, chromium, nickel, and manganese. Stainless steels are extremely corrosion resistant.
Stamping	General term used to denote all sheet metal press working.
Standard Cell	Predefined circuit elements that may be selected and arranged to create a custom or semi-custom IC more easily than through design (designers build ASICs using standard cells).
Steel Hardness (Metallic)	A measure of the resistance of a material to surface indentations or abrasion. There is no absolute scale for hardness. Indentations hardness can be measured by Brinnell, Rockwell, Vickers and Knoop hardness tests.
Stiction	Stiction is undesired static friction that wears down MEMS and NEMS devices. Minimizing stiction with a hydrophobic coating goes a long way towards increasing device reliability and longevity as well as preventing damaging lock-up, which occurs when the device flexes and sticks to itself.
Sublimation	The change from solid—gas or gas—solid without passing the liquid state.
Substrate	The body or base layer of an integrated circuit onto which other layers are deposited to form the circuit. The substrate is typically silicon, sapphire is sometimes used when radiation resistance is needed. The substrate is the original part of the wafer from which the die is cut and is used as the electrical ground for the circuit.
Sulfur	An element used in metal working fluids for its extreme pressure (EP) lubricating properties.
Surface Energy	Surface energy quantifies the disruption of chemical bonds that occurs when a surface is created.
Surface Tension	That property, due to molecular forces, that exists in the surface film of all liquids and tends to prevent the liquid from spreading.
Surfactant	A compound that reduces the surface tension of water or the interfacial tension between two liquids or between liquid and a solid (a surface active agent).
Synchrotron	A device used to produce high energy Xrays to inscribe features on a chip as small a 100 nanometers.
Synthetic Fluid	A metal working fluid that contains no mineral (refined hydrocarbon) oils. Some synthetics are totally water soluble (chemical solutions) while others are emulsions of water insoluble synthetically derived lubricants (micro emulsions).
System on a Chip	A chip that is a self-contained system, with processing, memory and input-output functions.