Process of introducing impurity atoms into a semiconductor to
affect its conductivity.

DRAM

Dynamic Random Access Memory -- memory in which each stored bit
must be refreshed periodically.

Drift

Gradual departure of the instrument output from the calibrated
value. An undesired slow change of the output signal.

DSP

Digital Signal Processing; a process by which a sampled and
digitized data stream (real-time data such as sound or images) is
modified in order to extract relevant information. Also, a digital
signal processor.

Ductility

A measure of a material's ability to undergo plastic deformation
before fracture; expressed as percent elongation (%EL) or percent
area reduction (%AR) from a tensile test.

Dynamic characteristics

A description of an instrument's behavior between the time a
measured quantity changes value and the time the instrument
obtains a steady response.

Dynamic error

The error that occurs when the output does not precisely follow
the transient response of the measured quantity.

Dynamic range

The ratio of the largest to the smallest values of a range, often
expressed in decibels.

EDP

Ethylene diamine pyrocatechol.

Elastic deformation

A nonpermanent deformation that totally recovers upon release of
an applied stress.