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

   The course applies the concepts of frequency-domain analysis, noise, and performance assessment to electronic components and integrated circuits, for designing and developing electronic boards and products. The course presents and exploits both analog (transistors and operational amplifiers) and mixed-signal (samplers and converters) electronic components, in either general-purpose configurations (e.g., voltage-mode operational amplifiers and basic ADCs) or advanced implementations (e.g. current-feedback amplifiers, multi-step ADCs, sigma-delta modulators, etc.).

   The course provides the theoretical methodology and the practical skills to understand how a circuit works (moving from the electronic schematics to hand computations of frequency-domain and time-domain performance) and vice versa from high-levels specifications and requirements, to component selection, schematics design, and component sizing. Each step is explained both theoretically (“lesson” classes) and practically (“exercise” classes), through the study of real circuits and case-studies, and finally also through design and simulations ("laboratory" classes).

Knowledge and understanding (Dublin Descriptor 1)

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

• knows how to analyse analog and mixed-circuit electronic circuits, and to understand the impact of component sizing on performance;
• knows how to design feedback circuits and to compute frequency response, impedances, stability, and noise performance;
• understands how to sample, hold, and convert analog signals to digital samples, for proper static and dynamic performance, and how to select the suitable ADC and DAC components.

Applying knowledge and understanding (Dublin Descriptor 2)

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

• is able to apply the acquired understanding to assess operation and performance of given electronic circuit schematics;
• is able to apply the acquired knowledge and skills to design electronic circuits from specifications and block diagrams;
• is able to discuss pros and cons and performance trade-offs among different circuital implementations.

Noise

• Basics of noise: distribution, spectrum, power, and effective value.
• Electronic noise: shot, thermal, flicker, and burst noise.
• Noise Equivalent Generators, equivalent Bandwidth, Noise Figure and Temperature.
• Case-studies of noise analysis in electronic circuits.

Amplification

• Operational Amplifiers: parameters, feedback and virtual ground, main configurations.
• Frequency-domain response and stability of circuits: analysis, diagrams, compensation methods.
• Advanced components: instrumentation (INA), isolation (ISO), current-feedback (CFA), current-mode (CMA, Norton), and transconductance (OTA) amplifiers.
• Component data-sheets and case-studies of circuits employing amplifiers.

Sampling

• Basics of sampling: time-domain and frequency-domain analysis, aliasing, Shannon theorem.
• Sample-and-Hold circuits: static and dynamic errors, compensation techniques, performance.
• Advanced components: role of feedback, stability and precision issues, speed-accuracy trade-offs.
• Analog multiplexers and digital potentiometers: parameters, timing, acquisition techniques.

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.
• Over-sampling Sigma-Delta modulators: noise-shaping, SNR and bit improvements, components.
• Components data-sheets and case-studies of circuits employing S&Hs, muxes, ADCs, and DACs.

   Students are required to know the working principles of electronic devices (diodes and transistors) and operational amplifiers, and the fundamentals of circuit analysis (voltage and current signals, time-domain and frequency-domain responses, small-signal analysis). Some basics on Laplace transform and Fourier analysis may speed up the understanding of frequency analysis and frequency compensation techniques.

   All these concepts are usually acquired in a Bachelor of Science in Electronics, e.g. in courses such as “Fundamental of Electronics”, “Analog Electronics”, “Electron Devices”.

   Students are required to pass a WRITTEN test, followed by a final VIVA (oral) test. The written test aims at assessing student’s understanding of circuit analysis methodologies and design criteria provided through the course (Dublin Descriptors 1 and 2). The viva test aims at evaluating the student’s knowledge and understanding about the overall course topics (Dublin Descriptors 1 and 2). The date of the written test will be published on-line on the POLIMI webpage. The viva test will be held usually within 1-2 weeks after the written test, once the teacher will have evaluated the written tests and informed the students.

   The WRITTEN test lasts 3 hours, during which students work autonomously (no chat, no smart-phones, no text books, no lesson slides) on 5 different circuits, to be either studied, sized, or designed; each circuit has two questions to answers with computations, graphs and text. Soon after the written test, the teacher will send the detailed solutions to students by email, for self-assessment. Those students wishing to withdraw their test may send an email to the teacher, asking not to evaluate it (e.g., if she/he realises that the test does not reach her/his target quality). Then, the teacher evaluates all written tests, fills in an excel file with a grade (from 0.0 to 1.0) per each question, and the final mark (from 0 to 30 out of 30) for the written test, and emails it to all students. Only students with a ranking higher than 17/30 can attend the viva test. The email also provides dates and locations among which the student can choose from to give the final viva test.

   At the VIVA test, each student will asked with questions covering all course topics, mainly focused on assessing the theoretical know-how acquired (Dublin Descriptor 1) and how to apply it to actual electronic circuits (Dublin Descriptor 2) for the analysis, design and simulation. The viva usually lasts 20-30 minutes per student. The viva ends with a final mark (from 18 to 30 cum laude out of 30) if passed, or a fail (the student has to redo the complete exam). Usually, the viva test results in an increment or decrement of the written test’s mark up to +/- 4 (out of 30). Therefore, students may consider to withdraw after the evaluation of the written test or during the viva test, if the grade is far away from their expectations (e.g., with a written test grade of 22/30, when the desired mark is higher than 28/30).