Analogue and Digital Electronics Design - 2019 entry

Analogue and digital signals are found in all modern day technology, from mobile phones to washing machines. This practical, hands on module teaches you how to design, simulate, build and test real electronic systems.

You will get the chance to design basic analogue and digital circuit building blocks, including transistor amplifiers, integrated circuit amplifiers, filters, oscillators, counters, decoders, adders, latches and multiplexers. Furthermore, you will devise complex digital systems using programmable logic, such as Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). Finally, you will design a range of circuits, simulating their performance in modern electronics simulators (Multisim and HDL) and then building them in hardware in the laboratory and testing them.

Throughout the module, lecturers will use a variety of case studies to aid your learning, including the design of phase-detectors, and synchronous counters.

Prerequisite module: ECM1102, ECM1106 or equivalent

The aim of this module is to help you build on your basic knowledge of electronic devices and components from preceding modules, and enable you to specify and construct practical digital and analogue electronic designs. Through lectures, problem sessions and case studies, you will learn about design concepts and techniques, including the use of simulation tools (multisim) and prototyping (pcb design).

The module gives you the opportunity to successfully complete various practical electronic designs prior to the individual project in Year 3 and, for MEng students, the group project in Year 4.

This is a constituent module of one or more degree programmes which are accredited by a professional engineering institution under licence from the Engineering Council. The learning outcomes for this module have been mapped to the output standards required for an accredited programme, as listed in the current version of the Engineering Council’s ‘Accreditation of Higher Education Programmes’ document (AHEP-V3).

This module contributes to learning outcomes: SM1p, SM1m, SM5m, EA2p, EA2m, EA3p, EA3m, D4p, D4m, D5p, D5m, EP3p, EP3m, EP4p, EP4m, EP9p, EP11m, G1p, G1m, G4p, G4m

A full list of the referenced outcomes is provided online:
https://intranet.exeter.ac.uk/emps/studentinfo/subjects/engineering/accreditation/

The AHEP document can be viewed in full on the Engineering Council’s website, at http://www.engc.org.uk/

On successful completion of this module, you should be able to:

Module Specific Skills and Knowledge: SM1p, SM1m, SM5m, EA2p, EA2m, EA3p, EA3m, EP3p, EP3m

1 understand a range of general purpose analogue and digital electronic components and be able to select appropriate components for a given design requirement;

2 recognise general purpose device and component parameters as specified in typical data sheets, and utilise such parameters effectively in circuit design examples;

3 comprehend useful analogue and digital design techniques and circuits used for common applications (e.g. amplification, buffering, counting, synchronisation, filtering);

4 appreciate the differences between 'ideal' and 'real' components and the implications of these differences for design;

5 convert specified system specifications into practical electronic designs taking into account the sometimes conflicting requirements of system complexity, cost, efficiency and compliance to specification;

6 use computational tools for the design and analysis of electronic circuits, including SPICE circuit simulators and Hardware Description Languages (HDL).

Discipline Specific Skills and Knowledge: D4p, D4m, D5p, D5m, EP3p, EP3m, EP4p, EP4m

7 grasp the engineering design process: requirement specification, conceptualisation, synthesis, analysis;

8 apply your theoretical knowledge to the solution of a real problem.

Personal and Key Transferable/ Employment Skills and  Knowledge: EP9p, EP11m, G1p, G1m, G4p, G4m

9 illustrate basic project management skills: setting realistic targets, allocating tasks and reviewing progress;

10 show enhanced group working skills;

11 demonstrate improved written, graphical and oral communication skills.

Basic analogue building blocks:

- CE, CC and CB transistor amplifiers;

- differential transistor amplifiers;

- field effect transistor basic circuits, e.g. amplifiers, switches, current sources, followers;

- operational amplifiers: amplifiers, integrators, comparators, oscillators, filters;

- analogue adders, multipliers and dividers;

- analogue switches;

- logic families and main characteristics - TTL, CMOS;

- SSI - small scale integration – basic gates and combinational logic;

- MSI - medium scale integration – combinational and sequential logic: e.g. decoders, multiplexers, counters, adders, latches;

- LSI - large scale integration - programmable logic: e.g. PLAs, PALs , PLDs and FPGAs;

- design case studies: phase detectors;

- timer and synchronous counter;

- FPGA design using Verilog.

If a module is normally assessed entirely by coursework, all referred/deferred assessments will normally be by assignment.

If a module is normally assessed by examination or examination plus coursework, referred and deferred assessment will normally be by examination. For referrals, only the examination will count, a mark of 40% being awarded if the examination is passed. For deferrals, candidates will be awarded the higher of the deferred examination mark or the deferred examination mark combined with the original coursework mark.

ELE – http://vle.exeter.ac.uk

Reading list for this module: