Introduction to Electronics

Note

This is a work in progress.

Introduction

This workshop is designed for freshmen and second-year students who are passionate about electronics and electrical engineering. It aims to provide them with a comprehensive overview of the field.

The content and structure are tailored to their current level of knowledge, introducing them to the fascinating world of electronics and microchips.

Theoretical content

  • Why choosing Electronics

  • What is an IC and what role does it have

  • What is a transistor and what role does it have

  • ADALM2000 board overview

Why Electronics?

Every Electronics or Electrical Engineering student has received at least once the question: why did you choose electronics? How can one answer this question better than: Why not?

  1. It offers diverse career opportunities:

  • Wireless Communications Engineer

  • Network Engineer

  • Electronics Design Engineer

  • Embedded Systems Engineer

  • Satellite Communications Engineer

  1. It brings to table inovation and technological advancement

  2. It offers impactful contribution

  3. It offers continuous learning

What is an IC?

An integrated circuit (IC) is an assembly of electronic components in which hundreds to millions of transistors, resistors, and capacitors are interconnected and built up on a thin substrate of semiconductor material (usually silicon) to form a small chip or wafer. Integrated circuits are the building blocks for most electronic devices and equipment.

Applications

  • Consumer Electronics: Smartphones, computers, and home appliances.

  • Industrial: Automation systems, robotics.

  • Medical: Diagnostic equipment, wearable health devices.

  • Automotive: Engine control units, infotainment systems.

Importance

  • Miniaturization of circuits.

  • Increased reliability and performance.

  • Cost efficiency.

../../_images/ic.png

Figure 1 ICs are everywhere

../../_images/circuit.png

Figure 2 LSI – Large Scale Integration circuits compared to the corresponding prototype circuit 1970-1972

Transistors - what kind of species is that?

A transistor is a miniature semiconductor that regulates or controls current or voltage flow in addition amplifying and generating these electrical signals and acting as a switch/gate for them

  • why do we need them?

  • how do they work?

  • what are the commonly used types?

Applications

  • Analog Circuits: Amplifiers, oscillators.

  • Digital Circuits: Logic gates, microprocessors.

  • Power Electronics: Power supplies, motor controllers.

../../_images/transistor.png

Figure 3 Transistor - the base of Electronics

Functionality

  • Cut Off (“off”):  Emitter > Base < Collector

  • Saturation (“on”): Emitter < Base > Collector

  • Forward Active (“proportional”):  Emitter < Base < Collector

  • Reverse Active (“negative proportional”):  Emitter > Base > Collector

../../_images/vce_ib.png

Figure 4 Output Characteristics - common emitter configuration

How many transistors are needed to create a logic gate?

Logic gates built with transistors

AND NOT

ADALM2000

The ADALM2000 (M2K) Advanced Active Learning Module is an affordable USB-powered data acquisition module, that can be used to introduce fundamentals of electrical engineering in a self or instructor lead setting.

With 12-bit ADCs and DACs running at 100 MSPS, brings the power of high-performance lab equipment to the palm of your hand, enabling electrical engineering students and hobbyists to explore signals and systems into the tens of MHz without the cost and bulk associated with traditional lab gear.

When coupled with Analog Devices’ Scopy™ graphical application software running on a computer, provides the user with high performance instrumentation.

../../_images/m2k1.png
../../_images/scopy1.png

Figure 5 M2k and Scopy software

Hands-on activity

By the end of this workshop, you will learn:

  • How to use a breadboard

  • How to power on an IC

  • How to read an IC pinout from datasheet

  • How to use a desktop Oscilloscope and Signal generator channels by operating a Network Analyzer

  • How to visualize a low pass filter characteristic / transfer function

  • How to drive a transistor

  • How to create a logic function for performing a specific task

Activities

  • Low pass filter transfer function

  • Digital demo – traffic lights using logic gates

  • Back to the analog world - Transistors

  • Home made battery

Pre-requisites

Hands-on activity 1 - Scope and Signal generator channels – Cascaded LP filters

Materials

  • ADALM2000 Active Learning Module

  • Solder-less breadboard, and jumper wire kit

  • 2 x 1 KΩ resistors

  • 2 x 0.1 uF capacitors (marked 104)

First Stage Filter

Hardware setup

../../_images/demo1hw.png

Figure 6 Schematic for first stage filter

../../_images/demo1bb.png

Figure 7 Breadboard connections for first stage filter

Steps

  1. Open Network Analyzer

  2. Set the sweep to logarithmic

  3. Set the start frequency to 100Hz and stop to 20kHz

  4. Set the magnitude axis between -50dB and 10dB

  5. Set the phase axis between -180 and 90 degrees

../../_images/demo1waves.png

Figure 8 Results for Bode Diagram

Second stage filter

../../_images/demo1hw1.png
../../_images/demo1bb1.png

Figure 9 Schematic and Breadboard connections

Steps:

  1. Connect the Scope Channel 2 after the first RC group and do a single sweep

  2. Take a signal snapshot to preserve the result as a reference

  3. Connect the Scope Channel 2 after the second RC stage and perform another sweep

../../_images/demo1waves11.png

Figure 10 Results for Bode Diagram

Hands-on activity 2 - Traffic lights control

This demo will showcase the usage of logic gates to implement a logic function which describes the functionality of a well-known device: a traffic light.

Materials

  • ADALM2000 Active Learning Module

  • Jumper wires

  • 1 SN74HC08N part

  • 1 SN74HC32N part

  • 1 SN74HC04N part

  • 1 Yellow LED

  • 1 Red LED

  • 1 Green LED

Theory of operation

Logic sequence of a traffic light is the one bellow:

../../_images/rgy.png

You will use two logic inputs to control the traffic lights, those inputs are marked A and B, the sequence is the one bellow:

../../_images/rgy1.png

Figure 11 Flow diagram

Truth table for the logic function that describes the traffic lights sequence

../../_images/demo2.png

Hardware Setup

The circuit functionality is represented in the schematic:

../../_images/demo2hw.png

Figure 12 Schematic

Components Pinout

SN74HC04N

Figure 13 SN74HC04N

SN74HC08N

Figure 14 SN74HC04N

LED

Figure 15 LED Terminals

Steps:

  1. Place the ICs on the breadboard with each pin row on one side of the breadboard delimitator.

  2. Open Scopy application

  3. Open the Oscilloscope instrument

  4. Open the Power instrument

  5. Connect the V+ wire to pins 14 of the both ICs - VCC

  6. Connect GND pin of the M2K to pin 7 of both ICs

  7. Connect DIO 0 pin to SN74HC04N pin 1

  8. Connect DIO 0 pin to SN74HC08N pin 1

  9. Connect DIO 1 pin to SN74HC04N pin 3

  10. Connect DIO 1 pin to Y LED

  11. Connect SN74HC04N pin 2 to R LED

  12. Connect SN74HC04N pin 4 to SN74HC08N pin 2

  13. Connect SN74HC08N pin 3 to G LED

  14. Set the V+ to 3.3V and press the Enable button

Results

  • Open the Scopy Digital IO and Power instruments:

  • Toggle the DIO0 and DIO1 digital pins according to the logical function truth table and verify the outputs match the table results

../../_images/demo2scopy.png

Figure 16 Scopy setup

Challenge

  • Implement a logical OR function using SN74HC32N part from the kit

  • Pinout:

../../_images/SN74HC32N.png

Figure 17 Logical OR

Hands-on activity 3 - NPN transistor characteristics

The demo will describe the output characteristics of a BJT NPN transistor using modern instrumentation tools.

Materials

  • ADALM2000 Active Learning Module

  • Jumper wires

  • 1 - 100KΩResistor

  • 1 - 100ΩResistor

  • 1 - small signal NPN transistor - 2N3904

  • 1 - small signal PNP transistor - 2N3906

Theory of operation

2N2904 Pinout

pnp SN74HC08N

Hardware setup

  • Place the transistor and resistors on the breadboard.

  • Make the connections between ADALM2000 and circuit as shown below.

../../_images/npn2.png

Figure 18 ADALM2000 connections

Steps

  1. Open Scopy application

  2. Create a CSV file with a column having integer values from 0 to 5(0, 1, 2, 3, 4), save it

  3. Open the Waveform generator instrument and select Channel 2, load the previously created csv file and make the setup:

../../_images/demo2scopy1.png

  1. Select Channel 1, make the setup below:

../../_images/demo2scopy2.png

  1. Open the scope and select the XY view

  2. Add a math channel with the following function: M1 = t0/100 - it represents the Ic current, given the 100 ohms collector resistor

Results

  1. Observe the output characteristics of the NPN transistor Ic = f(Vce)

../../_images/demo2scopyres.png

Challenge

  • Obtain the characteristics for a PNP transistor provided.

  • The curve trace should look like the one in the image:

../../_images/demo2scopych.png

Tips: you need to create another csv file for the base control signal of the transistor.

Hands-on activity 4 - Home made battery - instructor-led

This demo is instructor-led and intends to implement a proof of concept for a battery powered LED using unconventional materials.

Materials:

  • ADALM2000 Active Learning Module

  • Jumper wires (wires with alligator clips will work best)

  • 3 lemons: large, fresh, “juicy” lemons work best.

  • Zinc plated screws or nails

  • Copper plated coins or copper nails or heavy gauge (14 or 12) copper wire.

  • Red LED

Hardware Setup

  1. Insert a copper penny into a small cut or push a copper nail or heavy gauge wire into one side of the lemon.

  2. Push a galvanized (zinc coated) screw or nail into the other side of the lemon. The zinc and copper electrodes must not touch.

../../_images/demo4.png

Results

You should be able to observe how the Red LED is lit by the 4 or more lemon-cells battery

Slide Deck, booklet and additional materials

Since this tutorial is also designed to be presented as a live, hands-on workshop, a slide deck is provided here:

Download

Introduction to Electronics Slide Deck

A complete booklet of the hands-on activity is also provided, as a companion to following the tutorial yourself:

Download

Introduction to Electronics Booklet

Comma Separated Values file used for generating the base step voltage needed for the Transistor Characteristic demo:

Download

Base Voltage Values

Takeaways

Electronics can be both fun and challenging, but it brings many satisfactions

ADALM2000 is a very versatile tool suited to use in various applications:

  • Lab setups

  • Advanced measurements

  • Learning platforms

  • Research

Resources

Specific hardware resources

Inspiration