Physics 220 Electronics Grinnell College Fall 1999

Paul Tjossem Science 1036 Office Hours: T 9:00-10:00 W 10:00-12:00 and by appointment (tjossem@grinnell.edu)

This course is an introduction to circuit design using integrated circuits as building blocks for analog and digital systems. For example, in designing an audio amplifier we will use an operational amplifier containing tens of transistors, rather than assembling the device from discrete components. We will begin by studying analog circuits, then digital electronics, and finally we will use a simplified interface to make IBM-PC clones control external circuitry. After each major section you will have an opportunity to construct circuits of your own design. The course will emphasize problem solving in measurement, order-of-magnitude estimation, signal flow and circuit trouble-shooting.

There will be two lectures and two laboratories each week. The morning lecture will be closely tied to the afternoon lab which follows.

Class Schedule - Fall 1999

Text:	P. Horowitz and W. Hill, The Art of Electronics, 2nd Edition (H&H)
Materials:	Bound, quadrille-ruled lab book (either size, though the paper in the big brown ones is better) and calculator
Approximate grading:		3 hour exams @ 10% each		30%
		Homework sets		10%
		Lab		45%
		Final exam		15%

Problem sets:

I encourage you to work together on the solving of problems, but not on their solutions; to maintain academic honesty, write up the results by yourself, including your own explanation of what is going on. (Refer to Academic Honesty in the 1999-2000 Student Handbook. If you are in doubt about how these pages apply to physics assignments, please consult me.)

Labs:

Lab books are due each Friday by 5:00 p.m. and will be returned to you in time for lab the following Tuesday. The lab is open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Feel free to work at any time the lab is open.