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 and simple time-domain analysis.  There will be two lectures on semiconductor physics, pn junctions and transistors.   After that we'll look at amplifiers, feedback, control circuits, filters and oscillators.  The focus will then move to digital electronics: field effect transistors, logic gates and microcontrollers.    We'll then return to more sophisticated circuits and deal with signals and noise, modulation techniques and some aspects of high frequency electronics.   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 your performance in the lab:  6 hours per week of on-time, mandatory attendance with the TAs present, followed by a lab report.     It is absolutely necessary that you attend the lab sessions and keep up with the schedule.  The course is now based around the Analog-Discovery 2,  a 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.  For work outside the normal lab sessions you can borrow an AD2 along with necessary components.

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. You will often be asked to demonstrate circuits to the lab TA. Your lab reports should be typed.   Due dates for the lab reports will be posted but are typically a week to 10 days after the last lab session.

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.