Physics 334, Winter Quarter 2012 Electric Circuits Laboratory I Reading Assignments
Week 1 Assignment 3-6 January Textbook pp. 1-13 (through power transfer), Lab manual pp. 3-23. This introduces the basics of voltage, current and power, plus resistors and resistors in parallel and in series. This reading includes the voltage-divider, probably the most important resistor circuit youll need to know, plus voltage and current sources, and the concept of the Thvenin and Norton equivalent circuit. This culminates in the concept of input and output impedances. The lab-manual reading goes over this again, and includes how to measure voltages and currents given the imperfections in voltage- and current-sources, and volt- and current-meters. Week 2 Assignment 9-13 January Textbook pp. 13-35 (through power in reactive circuits), Lab manual pp. 32-50. The lecture this week is to go over the Thvenin and Norton equivalent-circuit concepts again, and start an overview of resistor and diode circuits. Well also start the discussion of frequency-dependent circuits with capacitors and simple capacitor circuits. Reading this week anticipates next weeks topics of reactance, including phase shifts and complex-number notation. Week 3 Assignment 16-20 January Textbook pp. 35-53 (through diodes). Lab manual pp 64-74. This week will focus on tools that allow understanding how circuits process time-dependent input signals. On Thursday, reactance is defined, as is the generalized Ohms Law using impedance. Well apply this to simple circuits containing capacitors and inductors. The Tuesday lecture goes over the RC differentiator, you might want to look at the similar integrator in the text. The lab this week will look at simple filters made up of single-capacitor networks.
Week 4 Assignment 23-27 January We cancelled the last-week Thursday lecture and 3 of 4 labs due to snow and ice. Our schedule is therefore somewhat disrupted. This week well review complex-number notation; if this is new to you, see the textbook page 31 voltages and currents as complex numbers. Well then go over textbook pp 32-39 and 41-42: the concepts of impedance and reactance, generalized Ohms law, and simple filters. Also, look at the lab #2 and those sections in the lab manual for the low-pass and high-pass filters. Week 5 Assignment 30 January 3 February Were finishing up filters and heading into more diode power circuits. The reading includes textbook pp. 41-42 (resonant circuits notch and bandpass type), 42-47 (power circuits through section 1.28); we wont be covering diode power circuits in lecture since theyre well covered in the lab 3. For those with lab this Thursday, look this lab 3 material over before exam 1. Notice the lab manual has a useful worked example of designing a -wave rectifier power supply pp 7174. Week 6 Assignment 610 February You should begin to look at pp. 61-77 (bipolar transistors through section 2.07). The transistor material will run into next Tuesday. Key topics include emitter-follower and common-emitter single-transistor circuits.
Week 7 Assignment 13-17 February Well be leaving emitter-followers behind and moving to the commonemitter amplifier, the classic voltage amplifier. Along the way youll see this amplifier contains a current source. Take a look at the transistor current source textbook pp 72-74, then the common-emitter amplifier pp 76-77. If youd like to know how a PN junctions (diodes and transistors) operate at a deeper level, you might want to look at the Ebers-Moll model pp 79-81. Well then move on to Field-EffectTransistors. FETs are more complicated in some ways: look at the FET basics PP 113-122: this discussion will go into week 8 and start to be covered in lab.
Week 8 Assignment 20-24 February Well study op-amps in lecture and lab. Look at the introductory idealized op-amp discussion in sections 4.01 through 4.03. The golden rules are particularly important. Notice that the two op-amp inputs are at equal voltage if the feedback is properly negative. You should understand the two basic circuits: the inverting amplifier sec 4.04 and the non-inverting amplifier sec 4.05. The many and various op-amp circuits in later sections are mainly variations of the basic inverting and non-inverting amplifiers; two such useful circuits are the differential and summing amplifier pp 184-185. Well also likely cover other variants in lecture. Week 9 Assignment 27 February 2 March This week starts with more op-amps, then Thursday well start to look at comparators and oscillators. In lab, youll be looking at op-amp rectifiers (see textbook section 4.10 on active rectifier). You should look at non-ideal op-amp parameters (section 41. input current, input offset voltage and slew rate). In lab youll assemble the active clamp 4.17, integrator 4.19 and differentiator 4.20. Week 10 Assignment 5 - 9 March This week is closing out comparators, oscillators and timers. Read the textbook oscillator introduction 5.12. In lab youll use the 311 comparator: for that, see the comparator overview 4.23, especially the 311 circuit in fig 4.60 and the 311 with hysteresis fig 4.62. The 311 is an unusual comparator in that the output has two pins consisting of the collector and emitter of a transistor switch driven within the 311 chip at the base by the comparator. This configuration allows, as youll see in lab, great flexibility in configuring the outputvoltage swing. Well look at the op-amp oscillator in fig 5.29, then well start on looking at the classic 555 timer chip 5.14. Figure 5.33 is particularly important as it shows the 555 in its basic oscillator configuration. In lab, youll configure the 555 as an equal duty factor oscillator, and as a saw-tooth and triangle generator.
[ver 27feb12 09:35]
