Glossary

List of our common terms and abbreviations

Common Terminology

Abbreviation / Term	Description
5G NR	The frequency bands for 5G New Radio. 5G NR, which is the air interface or radio access technology for 5G networks, are divided into two frequency ranges: Frequency Range 1, FR1, (frequency bands under 6 GHz and potential new spectrum offerings from 410 MHz to 7125 MHz) and Frequency Range 2, FR2, (frequency bands from 24,25 GHz to 71,0 GHz).
III-V semiconductors	III-V semiconductors are composed of one or more elements from group III (e.g. boron, gallium, aluminum and indium) and group V (e.g. arsenic, antimony and phosphorus) of the periodic table. Examples include indium arsenide and gallium nitride. They usually display high electron mobility and are used in optoelectronic and electronic applications alike. They are the second most used semiconductor material in industry after silicon.
Chip/microchip	A slice of material, usually silicon, containing an electric circuit. Such a silicon chip can contain everything from an individual transistor to a complete computer system comprising billions of transistors.
CPE, Customer Premises Equipment	Equipment that the customer/subscriber installs locally in their premises and is connected to an operator’s equipment at a demarcation point.
DCI, Data Center Interconnect	DCI technology connects two or more data centers over short, medium or long distances using high-speed optical connectivity. DCIs are becoming increasingly common in order to increase capacity and the trend is towards hyper-scale data centers.
IC, Integrated Circuit	An electronic circuit where the components are manufactured together, unlike a conventional circuit where the components are manufactured individually and then joined. The integrated circuit usually consists of a thin wafer of silicon with integrated thin wires of conductor between individual active components.
InP, Indium Phosphide	A III-V semiconductor.
InP100	Sivers Photonics’ indium phosphide platform for advanced optical communications and applications with very high data speeds.
Li-Fi//LiFi	Wireless communication technology that uses light to transmit data and position between devices.
LiDAR, Light Detection And Raging	Light radar, light-based radar technology. An optical measurement technology that measures the properties of reflected light to determine the distance to and/or other properties of a distant object. Examples of everyday applications include optical rangefinders in the construction industry and traffic speed monitoring.
Light source	Where a laser beam is generated. The most common laser sources include fiber laser, UV laser, CO2 laser, YAG laser and laser diodes.
NRE, Non-recurring engineering	Non-recurring engineering (NRE) covers the research, design, development, testing, and other functions required when coming up with a new product or custom design. It includes the up-front costs incurred during the new product development.
OEM, Original Equipment Manufacturer	Produces original products. A term used by system manufacturers or operators, for example.
Optoelectronics	Technology based on a combination of optics and electronics. Optoelectronics encompasses broad areas of knowledge that include optical radiation, interaction between light and matter, and the properties of radiation sources.
Photonics	The combination of modern electronics and optics. Photonics, i.e. optical fibers and integrated photonic devices, are the backbone of global communication.
PON, Passive Optical Network	A system commonly used by telecommunications network providers that brings fiber-optic cabling and signals all or most of the way to the end user. Depending on where the PON terminates, the system can be described as fiber to the curb, fiber to the building or fiber to the home.
RF module	A small electronic device that is used to transmit and/or receive radio signals between two devices. RF stands for radio frequency. In an embedded system, it is often desirable to communicate wirelessly with another device. This wireless communication can be achieved through optical communications or radio frequency communications.
RFIC, Radio-Frequency Integrated Circuit	A chip/integrated circuit that receives or transmits radio waves and converts them into electric signals. RF chips are found in portable telephones, cellphones, Wi-Fi devices, wireless routers, wireless base stations, satellite transceivers and microwave equipment, for example.
SATCOM	Satellite communications.
Silicon photonics	Silicon-based photonics, a fast-growing technology where copper connections are replaced by small optical circuits that are integrated with electric silicon circuits on the same silicon wafer to enable the transmission of light instead of electric signals.
sub-6GHz-5G	There are two types of 5G network: millimeter wave (mmWave) and sub-6GHz-5G. mmWave networks are ultrafast, but have a short range. Millimeter wave uses high-frequency radio bands that have high capacity (24 GHz to 71 GHz) while sub-6GHz uses medium and low-frequency bands below 6 GHz. Sub-6GHz-5G is the type of 5G currently being rolled out nationally.
Transceiver	A single device that can both send and receive Internet, telephony and radio signals, for example, and where some parts of the device, such as the antenna, are used by both the transmitter and receiver.
Unlicensed 5G	5G in unlicensed frequency bands, usually with mmWave technology.
Wafer	A thin slice of a semiconductor, such as crystalline silicon (c-Si), used for the manufacture of integrated circuits. The wafer serves as the substrate for microelectronics built in and upon the wafer. It undergoes many microfabrication processes, such as etching, thin-film deposition of various materials and photolithographic patterning. Finally, the individual microcircuits are separated by wafer dicing and packaged as an integrated circuit
WISP, Wireless Internet Service Provider	A small independent operator that complements the nationwide operators’ networks with wireless broadband access.