Main goal of the course is to enable students to analyse and to design electronic circuits and systems.

   The course presents the main concepts (noise and frequency-domain analysis), the devices and the integrated circuits required to develop electronic boards and products.

   The course covers both analog (transistors and amplifiers) and mixed signal (samplers, analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters, and sigma-delta modulators) electronic components, in both general-purpose and advanced implementations.

   The course provides the theoretical methodology and the practical skills to understand how a circuit works (moving from the electronic schematics to the computed frequency-domain and time-domain electrical waveforms) and vice versa to design a circuit (from high-levels specifications and requirements toward component selection and sizing, to drawing the final schematics).

   Each topic is discussed both theoretically (LESSON classes) and numerically (EXERCISE classes), through real electronic circuits, examples, and case-studies. The course consists of 60 hours of lesson classes, plus 40 hours of exercise classes.

Dublin Descriptor #1: Knowledge and understanding

At the end of the course and after successfully passing the exam, the student:

• knows how to analyse an electronic circuit, employing the electronic components and the analog and mixed-circuit integrated circuits discussed in the course;
• knows how to analyse negative feedback circuits employing operational amplifiers, i.e. how to compute gain, bandwidth, input/output impedances, stability;
• knows how to assess the frequency response (Bode diagram) and of an analog circuit;
• knows how to conceive and size frequency compensation networks to operational amplifiers;
• knows how to study noise and how to deal with noise equivalent generators in electronic circuits;
• understands the principles of sampling and aliasing issues in time- and frequency-domains;
• understands how to compare different ADCs and DACs, in terms of architectures and performance;
• understands the impact of specifications on the sizing of an electronic circuit and system;

Dublin Descriptor #2: Applying knowledge and understanding

At the end of the course and after successfully passing the exam, the student:

• is able to apply his skills to analyse electronic circuits and systems, from the schematics;
• is able to apply his skills to design electronic circuits and systems, from the list of requirements;
• is able to understand how trade-offs apply to the electronic systems under evaluation;
• is able to discuss pros and cons of different circuital implementations of an electronic circuit;
• is able to draw time-domain and frequency-domain waveforms;
• is able to extract the performance (bandwidth, gain, impedances, SNR, etc.) from a schematics;
• is able to apply his know-how in conceiving and designing an electronic circuit.

Noise

• Basics of noise: amplitude, distribution, spectrum, power, and effective value.
• Types of noise: shot (Poisson), thermal (Johnson), flicker (1/f), and burst (pop-corn) noise.
• Noise Equivalent Generators, equivalent Bandwidth, Noise Figure and Temperature.
• Case studies on noise analysis in devices and circuits.

 Amplification

• Operational Amplifiers (OpAmp): voltage-mode, negative feedback, parameters, signal analysis.
• Main circuital configurations: gain, bandwidth, input/output impedances.
• Frequency response of OpAmps: graphical analysis, off-chip frequency compensation techniques.
• Advanced OpAmps: instrumentation (INA), isolation (ISO), current-feedback (CFA), current (CMA, Norton), and transconductance (OTA) amplifiers.
• Case studies on circuits employing different OpAmps.

 Sampling

• Basics of sampling: time-domain and frequency-domain analysis, aliasing, Shannon theorem.
• Sample-and-Hold (S&H) circuits: static and dynamic errors and performances.
• Advanced S&Hs: with feedback, with BJT transistors, stability and precision issues.
• Analog multiplexers and digital potentiometers: real parameters and limitations.

 Conversion

• Digital-to-Analog converters (DAC) and Analog-to-Digital converters (ADC): basic architectures, conversion time, speed/accuracy trade-off, timings.
• Dynamic performance: FFT spectra, SNR, SiNAD, ENOB, THD and IMD distortions.
• Advanced ADCs: interpolation, folding, half-flash, multistep, time-interleaving architectures.
• Under- and Over-sampling. Sigma-Delta modulators: architectures, noise-shaping, SNR and bit improvements, performances.
• Case studies on circuits employing S&Hs, DACs and ADCs.

   Students are required to know the basics working principles of electronic devices (diodes and transistors), operational amplifiers, and the basics of circuit analysis (signals, RC networks, time-domain and frequency-domain approaches). All these concepts are usually acquired in a Bachelor of Science in Electronics, e.g. in courses such as “Fundamental of Electronics”, “Electronic devices and circuits”, “Analog electronics”.

   Some basics of Laplace transform and Fourier analysis may speed up the understanding of frequency analysis and frequency compensation techniques.

   Students have to pass a WRITTEN test, followed by a final VIVA (oral) test. The written test is required to assess the student’s skills in studying electronic circuits with the acquired methodologies; the viva is to test the student’s ability to master the course topics with smartness and self-confidence.

   The date of the written test will be published on-line on the POLIMI webpage; the date of the viva test will be emailed to students by the professor, after the correction of the written test and it is usually within 1-2 weeks after the written test and for sure before the next one.

   The WRITTEN test lasts for 3 hours: students will stay in a classroom and work autonomously, with no possibility to chat, to use smart-phones, to bring text books nor lesson slides. Students should bring pens, calculator, sheets of paper, ruler. The written test consists of 5 different circuits either to study, or to size, or to design; each circuit has two questions, a) and b), to answers with computations, graphs and text. Depending on the difficulty of each question and of the overall written test, each answer is weighted accordingly during the correction; the weights will be shown only after the test correction.

   After the written test, the professor will email the detailed solutions, for students to check. The student is asked to withdraw the test (by sending an email to the professor) if he/she realises that it does not reached the expected level.

   The professor evaluates all written tests, fills in an excel file with weights and points and the final mark for the written test, and emails it to all students. The email also specifies the following days when students can come to the specified classroom for the viva exam. Only students with a ranking higher than 17/30 can attend the viva test.

   At the VIVA test, each student will be interviewed with questions covering all course topics, mainly focused on assessing the theoretical know-how acquired. The viva usually lasts 15-25 minutes. The viva ends with a final mark (from 18 to 30 cum laude out of 30). Usually, the viva test results in an increment or decrement of the written test mark up to +/- 4 (out of 30). Therefore, students may consider to withdraw from the written or viva tests if the expected final mark is far away from their expectations (e.g. about 22/30 while the desired mark should be higher than 27/30).