(1) (
Professional
Graphics
Adapter) An early IBM PC display standard for 3D processing with 640x480x256 resolution. It was not widely used. See
CGA,
EGA and
VGA.
(2) (
Programmable
Gate
Array) See
gate array and
FPGA.
(3) (
Pin
Grid
Array) A square chip package with a high density of pins (200 pins can fit in 1.5" square), enabling it to support a large amount of I/O. PGAs are typically ceramic (CPGA), but plastic cases are also used (PPGA). The underside of a PGA package looks like a "bed of nails." In a staggered PGA (SPGA), the pins do not line up in perfect rows and columns. See
ZIF socket.
Pin Grid Array
The bottoms of PGA packages look like beds of nails.