Principles of Analog Electronics

Book Preface

Anyone who knows electronics can create new ideas, and this book explores that possibility by focusing on analog electronics. This is because in the real world, signals are mostly analog, spanning continuously varying values, so that circuits interfaced with the physical world have an analog nature, to process analog signals.

The fascinating area of analog “grows” to overlap fundamental areas (fields, circuits, signals and systems, and semiconductors), here morphed into a self- consistent comprehensive book. This approach leads to a text that captures the big picture, while still providing the necessary details, to reduce knowledge fragmentation and to improve learning outcomes.

The presentation is accurate and clear, including appropriate examples and detailed explanations of the behavior of real electronic circuits.

The text is “humanized” not only because the important theorems and laws are treated, but also because we look at the people who fundamentally contributed to those. Curiosities (How did Google get its name? Why is it difficult to locate crickets in a field? Why does the violin bridge have that strange shape?, etc.), observations, and real life application-oriented examples (electrocardiogram instrumentation, active noise-canceling headphones, USB-powered charger, etc.) are provided to contribute to a practical approach.

The first part of the book includes a clear and thorough presentation of the mathematical (Chapter 1), physical (Chapter 2), and chemical concepts (Chapter 3) that are essential to understanding the principles of operation of electronic devices. This may be particularly useful for students with a limited background in basic matters who want to take a serious approach to electronics.

The circuit approach is detailed with models (Chapters 4, 5, 10) and main theorems
(Chapter 6).

Passive and active electronic devices are described and analyzed, with specific reference to the fundamental filters (Chapter 7), and to the most common Si-based components such as diodes, BJTs, and MOSFETs (Chapters 4, 8). Semiconductor devices are then used to design electronic circuits, such as rectifiers, power suppliers, clamper and clipper circuits (Chapter 9). The main topologies of amplifiers based on BJTs (Chapter 11), and on MOSFETs (Chapter 12), along with their variants and improvements (Chapters 13, 14), are also discussed. Relevant or curious circuit applications are analyzed as well (Chapter 15).

At the end of each chapter, helpful summaries are provided, with key points, jargon, terms, and exercises with solutions also included.

Practical tables, often missing in many books on electronics, are included here to illustrate the coding schemes necessary to recognize commercial passive and active components.