Syllabus

The teaching syllabus will cover the following areas: Transistors: The characteristics and small-signal parameters of bipolar junction and field-effect transistors; the common-emitter amplifier - biasing, load lines, impedances, gains and frequency response; the common-emitter amplifier with a tuned-circuit load - frequency response, resonant gain and bandwidth; feedback - negative and positive, classification and characteristics of various types of negative feedback; the common-collector amplifier - impedances and gains. Oscillators: The Barkhaussen criterion, R-C and L-C oscillators; frequencies of oscillation and maintenance conditions; the characteristics of piezoelectric crystals; crystal-controlled oscillators. Operational Amplifiers: Characteristics and parameters - voltage gain/frequency response, bias currents, offsets, common-mode rejection ratio, impedances and dynamic characteristics; operational amplifier circuits - inverter, non-inverter, inverting summer, inverting integrator and comparator/Schmitt trigger; the transfer of functions of various passive and active circuits. Active Filters: Advantages over passive filters, ideal low-pass, high-pass and band-pass responses; design of second order Butterworth and Chebyshev filter circuits. Applications of the 555 Timer: Mono-stable circuit, a-stable oscillator and voltage-controlled oscillator. Optoelectronics: Introduction to the wave properties of light; light emitting diodes, lasers, photodiodes, phototransistors, opto-couplers; optical fibers.