Computer Hardware Terms, Glossary and Dictionary

Column Address Strobe (CAS) is a signal (or strobe) sent by the processor to a DRAM circuit to accept the given column address. CAS is used with RAS (Raw Address Strobe) and a row-address to select a bit within the DRAM. DRAM stores data in a series of rows and columns and each cell where a data bit is stored exists in both a row and a column. A processor uses CAS and RAS (row address strobe) signals to retrieve data from DRAM. When data is needed, the processor activates the RAS line to specify the row where the data is needed, and then activates the CAS line to specify the column. Combined, the two signals locate the data stored in DRAM.

Related Terms

column address strobe