Knowledge Base Search Tips

Our powerful Knowledge Base Search researches National's technical documentation to find relevant information to answer your query.  Documents that are searched include our collection of Frequently Asked Questions, product datasheets and online product folders, application notes, and many other web pages associated with our Design Communities.  The natural-language, phrase-oriented search engine yields more relevant results than are usually seen with keyword-based search engines.  Following are a few tips to help you get the best results from Knowledge Base Search.

  1. Single keywords  or short phrases can be used to find information relating to a specific concept.  For example, "LM8261", "RRIO", "flyback regulator", or "op amp". 
  2. Whole part numbers of National Semiconductor devices are recognized, for example "LMV981", "ADC12D040", or "LM2623" .  Partial part numbers or part numbers that are not in National's portfolio of devices will be searched for by their alpha and numeric portions separately.   Entering a whole part number will result in a search through National's technical documentation.  If you wish to be directed only to the device product folder, use the "Quick Search" box at the bottom of the page.  
  3. Knowledge Base Search disregards punctuation, treating it as a space.  For the most predictable results, do not include punctuation in your query. 
  4. Knowledge Base Search recognizes various forms of a word as the same.  For example, "amplifier" and "amplifiers" are considered to relate to similar things.  In addition, these terms are considered synonomous with "op amp" and "operational amplifier". 
  5. Knowledge Base  Search generally recognizes only English queries.  However, if non-English queries are entered, they may be incorporated into the Knowledge Base for future use.  
  6. Knowledge Base  Search does not use logical operators (AND, OR, NOT), wildcards (*), or quote marks to indicate specific phrases ("boost converter").  The whole query is searched for, with recognized phrases and terms being searched for individually.