Unit information: Linear Circuits and Electronics in 2022/23

Unit name	Linear Circuits and Electronics
Unit code	EENG10005
Credit points	20
Level of study	C/4
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24)
Unit director	Dr. Fornetti
Open unit status	Not open
Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units)	None
Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units)	None
Units you may not take alongside this one
School/department	Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering
Faculty	Faculty of Engineering

Unit Information

This first part of the unit (mostly taught in TB1) provides an introduction basic circuit analysis techniques. It provides the fundamentals of

• Passive electrical components and laws that govern the behaviour of an electrical circuit.
• Dependent and independent sources.
• Methods of analysis of DC and AC circuits.
• RC and RL circuits
• Experimental characterisation and simulation of passive circuits.

The second part of the unit (mostly delivered in TB2) provides an introduction to basic design techniques of active circuits. More specifically

• A variety of electronic circuits based on integrated circuit amplifiers. Emphasis will be placed on circuits taken mainly from the areas of instrumentation and audio engineering.
• Circuits for interfacing between analogue and digital systems.
• The use of appropriate models for active devices
• The simulation of circuits containing operational amplifier and the use of the respective simulation models.
• Design and experimental characterisation of active circuits.

The lectures are supported by a programme of laboratory work and by simulation exercises (AWR Design Environments)

Your learning on this unit

On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:

1. analyse the operation of linear circuits in response to DC, AC and transient waveforms.
2. use an appropriate model of an operational amplifier to analyse the behaviour of a number of circuit configurations, including the inverting and non-inverting amplifier, differential amplifier, instrumentation amplifier, frequency selective circuits, integrator and differentiator
3. explain the practical limitations of such amplifiers, such as limited gain and bandwidth, input voltage and current offsets and common mode behaviour
4. describe methods of achieving A/D and D/A conversion and be able to interpret data sheet specifications of commercially available components
5. use the AWR Design Environment simulation suite to investigate the behaviour of electronic circuits and systems.

How you will learn

Teaching will be delivered through a combination of synchronous and asynchronous sessions, including lectures, practical activities supported by drop-in sessions, problem sheets and self-directed exercises.

How you will be assessed

TB1:

• Several web-based formative tests
• Formative laboratory report on passive filters
• Summative web-based test (20%)

TB2:

• Two web-based formative tests
• Summative laboratory report on active filters (10%)
• Exam (70%)

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. EENG10005).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.