PHYS 404 :: Physics Illinois :: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Course Description

Objectives

The objective of PHYS 404 is to give you the confidence to analyze and build simple electronic circuits. The first half of the course will focus on analog electronics.  We'll discuss steady state circuit analysis using complex numbers, simple time-domain analysis and circuit simulation software.  There will be two lectures on semiconductor physics, pn junctions and transistors.   After that we'll look at amplifiers, feedback, control circuits, filters, oscillators, optoelectronic devices, electronic noise and signal to noise improvement.   The focus will then move to digital electronics: field effect transistors, logic gates, using microcomputers,  signal processing and hybrid analog/digital circuits, AM/FM and high frequency circuits. Lecture notes will be posted for each class.   There is no required text but if you wish to buy one, I'd recommend P. Horowitz and W. Hill, The Art of Electronics.  Either the second or third edition would be more than enough for P404. 

70% of your grade comes from the lab:  6 hours per week of on-time, mandatory attendance with the TAs present.    It is absolutely necessary that you attend the lab sessions and keep up with the schedule.  You cannot cram for this course at the end of the semester!  The course is now based around the Analog-Discovery 2, which is a compact, sophisticated electronic test station that fits in your pocket, communicates throught a USB port to your computer, and contains an oscilloscope, signal generator, power supplies, logic and spectrum analyzers and digital input/output.  You can borrow one from the P404 lab, along with necessary components, if you need to work on a circuit remotely or after hours.  

Course Structure

Laboratory

Two 3-hour sessions per week in 6106 Engineering Science Building.  There are two sections that share the laboratory equipment:

Lecture notes and Lab descriptions will be posted ahead of time. Please keep a notebook for a complete, real-time record of all lab activities. It should contain circuit schematics, data and graphs, notes to yourself, etc. You will often be asked to demonstrate circuits to the lab TA. Your lab reports should be typed and submitted no later than one week after the last lab period.  Again, lab attendance is mandatory.   

Lectures

Two 2-hour lectures per week, Mondays & Wednesdays from 1:00 p.m. to 2:50 p.m. in 222 Loomis.

Problem sets

The will be problem sets roughly every two weeks. Solutions will be available online after the due date.

Exams

There will be no midterm exam, just a final.