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ECE 2050 – Electronics I

At a glance

  • 4 lecture hours per week
  • 4 credits
  • Semester II

Course Objectives

  • Introduce students to the world of electronic devices and circuits by helping them apply the concepts learnt in previous courses
  • Discuss different semiconductor materials and types (p and n-type) used to build electronic devices, and their electrical characteristics.
  • Analyse various basic electronic devices and types of diodes and BJTs, and build circuits using them.
  • Analyse different practical circuits like voltage regulators, clippers, clampers, power supplies, etc. which are built using electronic devices

Prior Preparation

Basic Electric Circuits

Course Description

  • Semiconductor materials (Ge, Si, GaAs), covalent bond, energy levels
  • p-type & n-type materials, electrons vs. holes, minority/majority carriers
  • Diodes, forward/reverse bias, breakdown region, different materials
  • Ideal vs. practical diodes, static/dynamic resistance
  • Diode equivalent circuits – piecewise-linear equivalent circuits
  • Diode notations and testing
  • Zener diodes and LED
  • Load-line analysis
  • Series diode configurations
  • Diode parallel and series-parallel configurations
  • AND-OR gates
  • Half-wave rectifier
  • Full-wave rectifier and center-tapped transformer
  • Clippers (series and parallel)
  • Clampers
  • Network with DC and AC source
  • Circuits with Zener diodes
  • Voltage multiplier circuits
  • Practical circuits (protective diodes, polarity detector, displays)
  • BJT – introduction & construction
  • Transistor operation
  • Common-emitter configuration
  • Common-base configuration
  • Common-collector configuration
  • Limits of operation
  • Transistor specification sheet and testing
  • DC biasing BJTs – operating point
  • Fixed-bias configuration
  • Emitter-bias Configuration
  • Voltage-divider bias configuration
  • Collector feedback configuration
  • Emitter Follower Configuration

Learning Resources

  • Boylestad, R. L., & Nashelsky, L. (2008). Electronic devices and circuit theory (10th edition). Pearson.
  • Boysen, E., & Kybett, H. (2011). All new electronics self-teaching guide (3rd edition). Wiley.
  • Malvino, A. P., & Bates, D. J. (2006). Electronic principles (7th edition). McGraw-Hill Education.
  • Sedra, A. S., & Smith, K. C. (1997). Microelectronic circuits (4th edition). Oxford University Press.