Specifications

CY8C21123/CY8C21223/CY8C21323
Document Number: 38-12022 Rev. *Y Page 40 of 46
master device A device that controls the timing for data exchanges between two devices. Or when devices are
cascaded in width, the master device is the one that controls the timing for data exchanges
between the cascaded devices and an external interface. The controlled device is called the
slave device.
microcontroller An integrated circuit chip that is designed primarily for control systems and products. In addition
to a CPU, a microcontroller typically includes memory, timing circuits, and IO circuitry. The reason
for this is to permit the realization of a controller with a minimal quantity of chips, thus
achieving maximal possible miniaturization. This in turn, reduces the volume and the cost of
the controller. The microcontroller is normally not used for general-purpose computation as is a
microprocessor.
mixed-signal The reference to a circuit containing both analog and digital techniques and components.
modulator A device that imposes a signal on a carrier.
noise 1. A disturbance that affects a signal and that may distort the information carried by the signal.
2. The random variations of one or more characteristics of any entity such as voltage, current, or data.
oscillator A circuit that may be crystal controlled and is used to generate a clock frequency.
parity A technique for testing transmitting data. Typically, a binary digit is added to the data to make the
sum of all the digits of the binary data either always even (even parity) or always odd (odd parity).
Phase-locked
loop (PLL)
An electronic circuit that controls an oscillator so that it maintains a constant phase angle relative
to a reference signal.
pinouts The pin number assignment: the relation between the logical inputs and outputs of the PSoC
device and their physical counterparts in the printed circuit board (PCB) package. Pinouts
involve pin numbers as a link between schematic and PCB design (both being computer generated
files) and may also involve pin names.
port A group of pins, usually eight.
Power on reset
(POR)
A circuit that forces the PSoC device to reset when the voltage is lower than a pre-set level. This is
one type of hardware reset.
PSoC
®
Cypress Semiconductor’s PSoC
®
is a registered trademark and Programmable System-on-
Chip™ is a trademark of Cypress.
PSoC Designer™ The software for Cypress’ Programmable System-on-Chip technology.
pulse width
modulator (PWM)
An output in the form of duty cycle which varies as a function of the applied measurand
RAM An acronym for random access memory. A data-storage device from which data can be read out
and new data can be written in.
register A storage device with a specific capacity, such as a bit or byte.
reset A means of bringing a system back to a know state. See hardware reset and software reset.
ROM An acronym for read only memory. A data-storage device from which data can be read out, but
new data cannot be written in.
Glossary (continued)