Basic Electronics (Lecture 1)

• Introduction
• Kirchhoff ’s laws
• Measurements of voltages, currents and
resistances
• Resistors, Capacitors and inductors
• History of Electronics and impact of electronics
in everyday life.
• Signals and systems
1
 What is Electricity?

• Everything is made of atoms

• There are 118 elements, an atom is a single part of an
element
• Atom consists of electrons, protons, and neutrons

2
• Electrons (- charge) are attracted to protons (+ charge), this
holds the atom together
• Some materials have strong attraction and refuse to loss
electrons, these are called insulators (air, glass, rubber, most
plastics)
• Some materials have weak attractions and allow electrons to be
lost, these are called conductors (copper, silver, gold,
aluminum)
• Electrons can be made to move from one atom to another, this
is called a current of electricity.

3
• Surplus of electrons is called a
negative charge (-). A shortage
of electrons is called a positive
charge (+).
• A battery provides a surplus of
electrons by chemical reaction.

• By connecting a conductor
from the positive terminal to
negative terminal electrons will
flow.

4
 Voltage
• A battery positive terminal (+) and a negative terminal (-). The
difference in charge between each terminal is the potential
energy the battery can provide. This is labeled in units of volts.

Water Analogy

5
Voltage Sources:

6
• Voltage is like differential pressure,
always measure between two points.

• Measure voltage between two points

or across a component in a circuit.

• When measuring DC voltage make

sure polarity of meter is correct,
positive (+) red, negative (-) black.

7
Ground

8
 Current

• Uniform flow of electrons thru a circuit is called current.

WILL USE CONVENTIONAL FLOW NOTATION ON

ALL SCHEMATICS
9
• To measure current, must break circuit and install meter in line.

• Measurement is imperfect because of voltage drop created by meter.

10
 Resistance

• All materials have a resistance that is dependent on cross-

sectional area, material type and temperature.
• A resistor dissipates power in the form of heat
11
Various resistors types

12
When measuring resistance, remove
component from the circuit.

13
Resistor Color Code

14
Ohm’s Law

15
Prototyping Board

Example of how components are

Inserted in the protoboard

16
 Capacitance
A capacitor is used to store charge for a short amount of time

Capacitor

Battery

Unit = Farad

Pico Farad - pF = 10-12F

Micro Farad - uF = 10-6F
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18
Capacitor Charging

19
Capacitor Discharge

20
Inductance

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22
 History of Electronics
The history of electronics is a story of the twentieth
century and three key components—the vacuum tube, the
transistor, and the integrated circuit.
• In 1883, Thomas Alva Edison discovered that electrons
will flow from one metal conductor to another through a
vacuum. This discovery of conduction became known as
the Edison effect.
• In 1904, John Fleming applied the Edison effect in
inventing a two-element electron tube called a diode.
• Lee De Forest followed in 1906 with the three-element
tube, the triode. These vacuum tubes were the devices that
made manipulation of electrical energy possible so it could
be amplified and transmitted.
23
 History of Electronics
• The early history of electronics is closely tied to
experimentation of vacuum tube developed by Sir
William Crookes.
• Wilhelm Konrad Roentgen, discovered X rays in
1895.
• In 1897, Ferdinand Braun, a German physicist
modified the Crookes tube to make the first
oscilloscope, an instrument that produces a visual
image of an electric signal.
24
• Interest in improving the reception of radio
waves led to the invention of the vacuum-tube
diode in 1904 by Sir John Fleming, an English
electrical engineer, and to the invention of the
vacuum-tube triode in 1907 by Lee De Forest, a
United States inventor.
• The invention of the triode was a key event in
the history of electronics, since it was the first
electronic amplifier.

25
 Vacuum-tube Technology
• During World War I there was an increased interest in
developing radio and electronics, and by 1920 the
development of vacuum tubes and circuits employing them
had advanced to the point where their superiority over all
other devices used in radio transmitters and receivers was
apparent.
• Regular commercial radio broadcasting in the United States
began in 1920, and the demand for household receivers soon
made electronics an important industry.
• Certain technical limitations in the operation of electron
tubes were overcome with the development of the pentode
in 1929.
• The advances being made at this time helped lead to the
development of television; the first regular television
broadcasting began in 1936, in London. 26
• During World War II, emphasis was placed on the
development of electronics for military use. Radar was
greatly improved and in 1944 the first large electronic
digital computer, ENIAC, was built.
• The main purpose of the computer was to speed up the
calculation of tables of data for aiming artillery.
• The electronics industry emerged from the war as a
major industry. Its growth following the war continued
as television manufacturing entered a boom period and
military programs demanded more advanced electronic
technology.

27
 Transistor Technology
• In 1948 William Shockley, John Bardeen, and Walter H.
Brattain of Bell Telephone Laboratories developed the
first transistor, a forerunner of the bipolar junction
transistor.
• During the early 1950's the technology was developed
to mass-produce transistors. The advantage of
semiconductor devices over electron tubes created a
demand for techniques to further reduce the amount of
space required for electronic components.
• An important step toward miniaturizing electronic
components was the introduction of the integrated
circuit in the early 1960's.
• The techniques necessary to fabricate such circuits were
pioneered by Jack Kirby of Texas Instruments in 1959.
28
 Microelectronics
• During the 1970's and 1980's the size of the components of
integrated circuits continued to be reduced and the number of
components that could be produced on each chip grew rapidly.
• With increasing miniaturization, the capabilities of the
electronic circuits and the speed at which they could perform
their functions greatly increased thus reducing the cost of
production.
• Through the 1980's and into the 1990's, the variety of products
being built with electronic components increased, and the use
of electronic control devices led to greater automation.
• Microelectronics led to the development of new technologies,
such as digital audio recording; to the introduction of new
products, such as personal computers; and to the reduction in
the size of portable telephones and many other electronic
products. 29
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History of Electronics

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 Electronic Devices and Systems
Electronics may be defined as the science and technology of
electronic devices and systems.
Electronic devices are primarily non-linear devices such as
diodes and transistors and in general integrated circuits (ICs) in
which small signals (voltages and currents) are applied to them.

Resistors, capacitors and inductors existed long ago before the

advent of semiconductor diodes and transistors, these devices
are thought of as electrical devices and the systems that consist
of these devices are generally said to be electrical rather than
electronic systems.

With today’s technology, ICs are getting smaller and smaller and
thus the modern IC technology is referred to as microelectronics.
44
 Signals and Signal Classifications
• A signal is any waveform that serves as a means
of communication. It represents a fluctuating
electric quantity, such as voltage, current, electric
or magnetic field strength, sound, image, or any
message transmitted or received in telegraphy,
telephony, radio, television, or radar.

45
 Amplifiers
• An amplifier is an electronic circuit which
increases the magnitude of the input signal. The
symbol of a typical amplifier is a triangle as
shown below:

46
 Amplification
• An amplifier can be classified as a voltage,
current or power amplifier. The gain of an
amplifier is the ratio of the output to the input.
Thus, for a voltage amplifier

47
Voltage Amplifier Equivalent Circuit
Amplifiers are often represented by equivalent circuits* also known as
circuit models. The equivalent circuit of a voltage amplifier is shown.
The ideal characteristics for the circuit of

48
Current Amplifier Equivalent Circuit

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 Ohm’s law
Current = voltage / resistance
• I=V/R
• V=IxR

Definitions
• Voltage = potential energy / unit charge, units =
Volts
• Current = charge flow rate, units = Amps
• Resistance = friction, units = Ohms

Example V1
• Voltage drop when current flows through resistor
• V1 - V 2 = I R R I

V2 50
 Schematics
• Symbols represent circuit elements
• Lines are wires

+
Battery Sample circuit

V I
+ R
Resistor

Ground Ground voltage

defined = 0
51
 Parallel and series resistors
Series Series circuit
• same current flows through all V = R1 I + R2 I = Reff I
Parallel Reff = R1 + R2
• save voltage across all

R1
Parallel circuit V
+
I = V/R1 + V/R2 = V/Reff
I
1/Reff = 1/R1 + 1/R2

I R2
V Note: these points are
+ connected together
R1 R2
I1 I2

52
 Resistive voltage divider
• Series resistor circuit
• Reduce input voltage to desired level
• Advantages:
– simple and accurate
– complex circuit can use single voltage
source
• Disadvantage:
– dissipates power Resistive divider
– easy to overload I = Vin/Reff = Vout/R2
– need Rload << R2 Vout = Vin (R2 / (R1 + R2) )
I
Vin Vout

R1
+ New schematic symbol:
R2
I external connection

53
 Variable voltage divider
• Use potentiometer (= variable resistor)
• Most common: constant output resistance

Variable voltage divider

Vout = Vin (Rout / (Rvar + Rout) )
New schematic symbol: I
potentiometer Vout
Vin
Rvar
+
Rout I

54
 Capacitors
• Charge = voltage x capacitance
• Q=CV
Definitions
• Charge = integrated current flow , units = Coloumbs = Amp -
seconds
• I = dQ/dt Capacitor charging curve
• Capacitance = storage capacity, units = Farads time constant = RC
Example Vin
• Capacitor charging circuit
• Time constant = RC = t
Vout
t = RC
I
Vout
t
V R Capacitor charging circuit
+ Q
C V = VR + VC = R dQ/dt + Q/C
New schematic dQ/dt + Q/RC = V/R
symbol: Q = C V (1 - exp(-t/RC))
capacitor Vout = Vin (1 - exp(-t/RC)) 55
 AC circuits
• Replace battery with sine (cosine) wave source
• V = V0 cos(2 p f t)
Definitions
• Frequency f = cosine wave frequency, units = Hertz
Examples
• Resistor response: I = (V0/R) cos(2 p f t)
• Capacitor response: Q = CV0 cos(2 p f t)
– I = - 2 p f CV0 sin(2 p f t)
– Current depends on frequency
– negative sine wave replaces cosine wave
– - 90 degree phase shift = lag
Capacitive ac circuit
Resistive ac circuit • 90 degree phase lag

V0 cos(2 p f t) V0 cos(2 p f t)

R C
I= I=
New schematic (V0/R) cos(2 p f t) - 2 p f CV0 sin(2 p f t)
symbol:
AC voltage source 56
 Simplified notation: ac-circuits
• V = V0 cos(2 p f t) = V0 [exp(2 p j f t) + c.c.]/2
• Drop c.c. part and factor of 1/2
• V = V0 exp(2 p j f t)
Revisit resistive and capacitive circuits
• Resistor response: I = (V0/R) exp(2 p j f t) = V / R = V/ ZR
• Capacitor response: I = 2 p j f CV0 exp(2 p j f t) = (2 p j f C) V = V/
ZC
Definition: Impedance, Z = effective resistance, units Ohms
• Capacitor impedance ZC = 1 / (2 p j f C)
• Resistor impedance ZR = R
Impedance makes it look like Ohms law applies to capacitive
circuits also
• Capacitor response I = V / ZC

57
 Explore capacitor circuits
Impedance ZC = 1/ (2 p j f C)
• Limit of low frequency f ~ 0
– ZC --> infinity
– Capacitor is open circuit at low frequency
• Limit of low frequency f ~ infinity
– ZC --> 0
– Capacitor is short circuit at low frequency

Capacitive ac circuit

V0 cos(2 p f t)

I = V/ZC C

58
 Revisit capacitor charging circuit
Replace C with impedance ZC
• Charging circuit looks like voltage divider
• Vout = Vin (ZC / (ZR + ZC) ) = Vin / (1 + 2 p j f R C )
Low-pass filter
Crossover when f = 1 / 2 p R C = 1 / 2 p t , t is time
constant
• lower frequencies Vout ~ Vin = pass band
• higher frequencies Vout ~ Vin / (2 p j f R C ) = attenuated
Capacitor charging circuit
Low-pass filter response
= Low-pass filter
• time constant = RC = t
I
Vin = V0 cos(2 p f t) Vout logVin
Single-pole rolloff
R knee 6 dB/octave
log(Vout)
I = 10 dB/decade
C
f=1/2pt
59
log( f )
 Inductors
• Voltage = rate of voltage change x inductance
• V = L dI/dt
Definitions
• Inductance L = resistance to current change, units = Henrys
Impedance of inductor: ZL = (2 p j f L)
• Low frequency = short circuit
• High frequency = open circuit
Inductors rarely used

Capacitor charging circuit

= Low-pass filter High-pass filter response
I logVin
Vin = V0 cos(2 p f t) Vout

R log(Vout)
L I
New schematic f=R/2pjL
symbol:
Inductor 60
log( f )
 Capacitor filters circuits
• Can make both low and high pass filters
Low-pass filter High-pass filter
Vin = V0 cos(2 p f t) I Vin = V0 cos(2 p f t) I
Vout Vout
R C
C I R I

Gain response Gain response

logVin
logVin

knee
log(Vout) log(Vout)

f=1/2pt f=1/2pt

log( f ) log( f )
Phase response Phase response
log( f ) log( f )
0 degrees 0 degrees
phase phase
-90 degrees -90 degrees
61
f=1/2pt f=1/2pt
Summary of schematic symbols
+ Potentiometer
Battery Resistor

Capacitor Potentiometer
AC voltage 2-inputs plus
source center tap

Inductor
Diode
Ground

Non-connecting
External wires -
connection
+
62
Op amp
 Color code
• Resistor values determined by color Color Number
• Three main bands
– 1st = 1st digit
– 2nd = 2nd digit black 0
– 3rd = # of trailing zeros brown 1
• Examples red 2
– red, brown, black
– 2 1 no zeros = 21 Ohms orange 3
– yellow, brown, green yellow 4
– 4 1 5 = 4.1 Mohm green 5
– purple, gray, orange
– 7 8 3 = 78 kOhms blue 6
• Capacitors can have 3 numbers violet 7
– use like three colors gray 8
white 9 63
 Exercise
• Measure DC voltage from power supply using multimeter
• Measure DC voltage from power supply using oscilloscope
• Measure DC voltage from battery using multimeter
• Measure AC voltage from wall outlet using a multimeter
• Measure AC voltage from wall outlet using an oscilloscope
Effective or Root Mean Square Voltage
(Measured with multimeter)

ERMS=0.707xEA
E

64
 Exercise
• Determine the resistance of various resistors of
unknown value using the resistor color code

• Using the multimeter, compare the specified resistance

and measured resistance

• Using the multimeter to examine the characteristics of

various potentiometers

65
 Exercise
• Calculate the total current and voltage drop across each
resistor shown in Figure 1

• Build the circuit in Figure 1 on the prototype board

• Measure the total circuit current and voltage drops

across each resistor and compare
the calculated and measured values

66
 SERIES ELEMENTS
KCL tells us that all of the elements in a single branch carry
the same current.
We say these elements are in series.

Current entering node = Current leaving node

i1 = i2 67
 RESISTORS IN SERIES
Circuit with several resistors in series:
Find “equivalent resistance”
I • KCL tells us same current
R1 flows through every resistor
+ R2
VSS  • KVL tells us
R3
R4 I  R1  I  R2  I  R3  I  R4  VSS  0

• Clearly,
VSS  I (R1  R2  R3  R4 )

Thus, equivalent resistance of resistors in series is the sum

68
 VOLTAGE DIVIDER

Circuit with several resistors in series

• We know
I
+V I  VSS/(R1  R2  R3  R4 )
R1  1
R2 • Thus,
VSS + +V V1 
R1
 VSS
 R3  3 R1  R2  R3  R 4
R4 and
R3
V3   VSS
R1  R2  R3  R4

etc…
69
 WHEN IS VOLTAGE DIVIDER FORMULA CORRECT?

I
R1 I
+ R1
+ R2 V2 +V
V   R2 2
SS R3 V +
SS R3 I
3 R5
R4
R4

R R
V  2 V V ≠ 2 V
2 SS 2 SS
R R R R R R R R
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
Correct if nothing else because R5 removes condition of
connected to nodes resistors in series I3  I
70
 MEASURING CURRENT
To measure current in a circuit, insert DMM (in current mode) into
circuit, in series with measured element.
But ammeters change the circuit. Ammeters are characterized by
their “ammeter input resistance,” Rin. Ideally this should be very
low. Typical value 1W.

Ideal
Real Ammeter
Ammeter

? Rin

71
 MEASURING CURRENT
Potential measurement error due to non-zero input resistance:
I Imeas
ammeter
R1 R1
R in
+ _+
V _ V
R2
R2

undisturbed circuit with ammeter

V1 V1
I Imeas 
R1  R2 R1  R2  Rin

Example: V = 1 V: R1= R2 = 500 W, Rin = 1W

1V 1V
I  1mA, Imeas   0.999 mA
72
500 W  500 W 500 W  500 W  1W
 PARALLEL ELEMENTS
KVL tells us that any set of elements which are connected at
both ends carry the same voltage.
We say these elements are in parallel.
KVL clockwise,
start at top:

Vb – Va = 0

Va = Vb

73
 RESISTORS IN PARALLEL
Resistors in parallel can be made into one equivalent resistor
x
• KCL tells us
I1 I2
Iss = I1 + I2
ISS R1 R2
• The two resistors are
in parallel; they have
ground the same voltage
VX = I1 R1 = I2 R2

Iss = VX / R1 + VX / R2 VX = Iss R1 R2 / (R1+R2)

Generally, Req = (R1-1 + R2-1 + R3-1 + …)-1 74

 IMPORTANT FACTS
• For resistors in series:
– Current through Req is equal to the current through
each of the original resistors (all have same current)
– Voltage over Req is the sum of the voltages over the
original resistors

• For resistors in parallel:

– Current through Req is equal to the sum of the
currents through each of the original resistors
– Voltage over Req is equal to the voltage over the
original resistors (all have same voltage)

75
 CURRENT DIVIDER
There is a simple equation for the way current splits between
two parallel resistors: x
• Remember
VX = I1 R1 = ISS Req
I1 I2
ISS R1 R2

ground

 R1R2 
 
V ISS Req  R1 R2  R2
I1  X   ISS  ISS
R1 R1 R1 R1  R2
76
 REAL VOLTMETERS
How is voltage measured? Digital multimeter (DMM) in parallel
with measured element.
Connecting a real voltmeter across two nodes changes the
circuit. The voltmeter may be modeled by an ideal voltmeter
(open circuit) in parallel with a resistance: “voltmeter input
resistance,” Rin. Typical value: 10 MW

Real Ideal
Voltmeter Voltmeter

Rin

77
 REAL VOLTMETERS

Computation of voltage Measurement of voltage

(uses ideal voltmeter) (with loading by real voltmeter)
R1 R1
+ +- +
VSS +- VSS V2
R2 V2 R2 Rin
- -

 R2   R2 || Rin 
V2  VSS   V2  VSS  
 1
R  R 2  2
R || Rin  R1
Example: VSS  10V, R2  100K, R1  900K  V2  1V

But if Rin  10M, V2  0.991V, a 1% error 78

 CAPACITORS IN PARALLEL

+
+

|(
C2 Ceq

|(
|(
i(t) C1 V i(t) V(t)



Equivalent capacitance defined by

dV
i(t)  Ceq
dt
dV dV
i( t )  C1  C2
dt dt

Ceq  C1  C2
79
 CAPACITORS IN SERIES
+ V1  + V2  + Veq 
|( |( |(
C1 C2 Equivalent to Ceq
i(t) i(t)

1 C1C2
Ceq  
1

1 C1  C2
C1 C2 80
 DIGITAL CIRCUIT: DRAM
t0
R initially
+ uncharged

VC CC CB
-

81