Catalog E 074484 04/10 Edition 9 www.erni.com 295
2.0 mm ERmet Hard Metric Connector System
Glossary Of Terminology
2.0 mm ERmet
EMI – Electromagnetic interference.
Etch – To incise an area of a printed wiring board by immersing
the board in an acid batch. The parts of the board not covered
with an acid-resistant coating will be eroded.
ERNIPRESS – The particular compliant section design uti-
lized by ERNI for many DIN 41612 and D-Sub pressfit con-
tacts. This coined, elastic section provides a very reliable
gas tight connection with the plated through hole in the
backplane or daughter card.
Eye of the Needle – This is the compliant section design
utilized by ERNI for our 2 mm ERmet pressfit contacts. This
pierced and coined elastic section provides a very reliable
gas tight connection with the plated through hole in the
backplane or daughter card.
Function Card – A printed circuit board that plugs into a slot
position of a backplane. Function cards can be custom
designed by the user or bought as a standard off-the-shelf
item. A series of these cards can make up a system or sub-
system to run machinery or many other electronic functions.
GND – An abbreviation for ground. The potential referred to as
zero volts. An electrical connection between any circuit and the
reference potential.
Ground Guard – The pair of traces which surround a third
conductor to minimize crosstalk.
Ground Plane – A common conductive surface that receives
and returns power/signal transmissions.
Ground Shield – A conductor (usually a plane), at some refer-
ence potential (e.g. zero volts), which surrounds some other
insulated conductor.
IEC 61076-4-101 – Global specification that governs 2mm
Hard Metric equipment practices.
IEC 917 (DIN 43355) – Defines a basic pitch of 0.5 mm, with n
x 0.5 mm as the multiple pitch, and a system unit of 25 mm.
This, in turn, relates to Hard Metric Equipment practices, IEE
1301 and DIN 43356, used for mechanical arrangement of
electrical/electronic equipment, including associated board lay-
out and connections.
I/O – Abbreviation for input/output.
IEEE – Abbreviation for the Institute of Electronic and Electrical
Engineers.
Impedance – Resistance of a signal line measured in ohms.
One of the important electrical characteristics of a backplane,
impedance is determined by the physical dimensions of trace
width, dielectric thickness, dielectric constant, and so forth.
Inductance – The ratio of the voltage to the rate of change of
current in a circuit (V/∆L).
Layer – A plane in a printed wiring board which has a copper
covering in some specified pattern (e.g. plane, traces and pads).
Microstrip – (1) The name given to a signal line referenced
above a single ground plane. (2) The outer etched portion of a
backplane transmission line.
Output – The current, voltage, power, or signal which a circuit
or device delivers.
Terminals where a device delivers its information.
Pad – The circular area that commits a hole to an uncommit-
ted layer or trace.
PCMCIA – (Personal Computer Memory Card International
Association). A standard for removable cards.
PICMG – The PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturer’s
Group is a trade association that has developed a number
of specifications related to personal computer architectures
and CompactPCI. Their web address is
http://www.picmg.org.
Pin-out – A term used to describe the actual connections for
each pin of a connector on a printed wiring board.
Plated through-hole – A hole in a printed wiring board, used
to commit external or internal layers to one another produced
by electro deposition of a conductive pattern.
Plating – To form a thin, adherent layer of material (usually
metal) on an object.
PMC – PCI mezzanine card interface, defined by IEEE 1386
Pressfit – An interference connection used in the assembly
process to eliminate the need for solder to make the electrical
connection.
Propagation Delay – (1) Referred to as tpd, commonly
expressed in nanoseconds per inch (ns/in.). It is the time
required for a pulse to travel through a transmission line sys-
tem. (2) The time it takes for a signal to spread or distribute
across an entire circuit.
Rack – (See Subrack) – A sheet metal assembly that is made
up of mounting bars and side plates to which a backplane can
be mounted and printed wiring boards can be inserted
Resistance – The opposition that a material or device offers to
the flow of current, equal to the voltage drop across the ele-
ment, divided by the current through the element.
RFI – Radio Frequency Interference.
Risetime – Often designated as tr, in picoseconds. It is the
time it takes the signal to transition from 10 percent to 90 per-
cent of its' final value.
Skew – The time difference between the arrival of two related
signals, often due to differences in their propagation paths.
Shroud – A male connector body designed to fit over the
extended tails of a long tail connector which allows a female
connector to be mated from the rear side for midplane or rear
I/O applications.
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