Electronics

Lecture 1
Lecturer: Dr. Balzs Rakos
Office: QB111, Office phone: 463-3032
E-mail: rakos@get.bme.hu
Main Subjects (Analog Part)
Amplification

Basic electronic components

(diodes, transistors)

Feedback

Operational amplifiers

Data converters

Filters, waveform generators

Literature: Sedra/Smith: Microelectronic Circuits.

 Signals
Signals contain information about a variety of things.

The electric signal is represented as:

Voltage source: Current source:

 Representation of Signals
Time domain representation of arbitrary voltage signal:

Its frequency spectrum can be obtained by the application of

Fourier series and Fourier transform: the signal is represented
by the sum of sine waves of different frequencies and
amplitudes.
 Its frequency spectrum (discrete):

Time-domain representation: va(t),

Frequency-domain representation: Va().
 Analog vs. Digital Signals

Analog signal: analogous to the physical signal that it

represents, its amplitude can take on any value.

Digital signal: the signal is represented by a sequence of

numbers. Each number represents the signal magnitude at an
instant of time.
 Signal Amplification

Purpose: Electric signals provided by transducers are too

weak, amplification is needed for further processing.

Signal amplifiers accomplish this task.

Linearity: The amplifier should not distort the signal. The

signal at the output should be the amplified replica of the
incoming signal.
 Amplification Types
Linear amplifiers can be characterized by:

vo (t ) Avi (t )

vi, vo: input and output signals, A: amplifier gain.

Voltage amplifier: operate on very small input signals, makes

the magnitude larger (example: preamplifier in home stereo
systems).
Power amplifier: modest voltage gain, substantial current gain,
it delivers large amount of power to its load.
 Amplifier circuit symbols:

Fig. (a): Circuit symbol of amplifier.

Fig. (b): Amplifier with a common terminal (ground).

Voltage gain:

V
Av O
VI
 Fig. (a): Voltage amplifier fed with vI(t), connected to RL.
Fig. (b): Transfer characteristic of a linear voltage amplifier.

Power gain (amplifiers always have it):

load power ( PL ) vOiO
Ap
input power ( PI ) vI iI
 Current gain:

i
Ai O
iI

Ap Av Ai
 Amplifier Power Supplies
Amplifiers need dc power supplies for their operation.

Amplifier with two dc sources:

dc power delivered to the amplifier:

Pdc V1I1 V2 I 2
 If power is dissipated in the amplifier:

Pdc PI PL Pdissipated

Amplifier efficiency (PI is small):

PL
100
Pdc
 Amplifier Saturation

The amplifier transfer characteristic remains linear over a

limited range of input and output voltages.
 Amplifier transfer characteristic with saturation:
 Biasing

In practical amplifiers the transfer characteristics can be

nonlinear.

To correct this, biasing is needed.

 Fig. (a): Transfer characteristic
of an amplifier with single
power supply.
Fig. (b): Biasing.
 Q is the operating point, the input:

vI (t ) VI vi (t )

The output:

vO (t ) VO vo (t )

vo (t ) Av vi (t )
 Amplifier Bandwidth
Magnitude response of an amplifier:

Transfer function:

T
Vo
Vi

Amplifier bandwidth: the band of frequencies over which the

amplifier gain is almost constant (usually within 3 dB).