Basic principles of electric circuits – levels of functional abstraction. Resistive network analysis techniques: Kirchhoff's Laws, series and parallel simplification. Network theorems: the Node method, Superposition. Equivalent circuits: the Thévenin equivalent network, the Norton equivalent network. Circuit transformations. Digital logic – noise margins. The MOSFET switch – design of digital gates. Input - Output behavior of digital gates. Capacitors and inductors: basic principles, series and parallel connections. First-order circuits: Resistor-Capacitor (RC) circuits, Resistor-Inductor (RL) circuits, analysis of first-order circuits. Physical structure of the MOSFET. Propagation delay of digital gates. Energy and power in digital circuits: energy calculation, Static power dissipation, Dynamic power dissipation. CMOS logic.

The purpose of this course is to introduce the first year students to the concepts of circuit theory, with emphasis on digital electronic circuits. A student who successfully fulfills the course requirements will have demonstrated:

• An ability to identify linear systems and represent those systems in schematic form.
• An ability to apply Kirchhoff's current and voltage laws and Ohm's law to circuit problems.
• An ability to understand the notion of node voltage and apply the Node method for analyzing electrical circuits.
• An ability to simplify circuits using series and parallel equivalents, as well as Thévenin and Norton equivalents.
• An ability to understand the advantages of digital processing and how these advantages are materialized through digital circuits.
• An ability to define the structure and understand the simplified behavior (S, SR and SRC models) of MOS Field Effect Transistors (MOSFETs).
• An ability to design digital gates (either NMOS or CMOS) using MOSFETs.
• An ability to calculate the output voltages and the noise margins of digital gates and understand their significance.
• An ability to identify first-order electric systems involving capacitors and inductors.
• An ability to analyze first-order circuits and predict their behavior.
• An ability to calculate the delay of digital gates driving other gates.
• An ability to understand the notions of energy and power in digital circuits, discriminate between static and dynamic power dissipation, and to be able to calculate them (again for the case of a gate driving other gates).

Not required.

1. Foundations of Analog and Digital Electronic Circuits, Anant Agarwal and Jeffrey H. Lang.
2. Principles and Applications of Electrical Engineering, Giorgio Rizzoni, 4th Ed.
3. Microelectronic Circuits, A. S. Sedra and K. C. Smith, 7th Ed.

Written examination

Face-to-face.