ECE 331 Home

Lecture Notes

Homework Assignments and Solutions

Laboratory Assignments and Schedule

Exam Schedule

Text References

 
Welcome to the home page of ECE 331 for Fall 2011. This page provides basic course information and links to related course pages and other web sites. This web site can be reached at http://www.engr.colostate.edu/ECE331/course_info.html.

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Objectives:	This course extends circuit knowledge to nonlinear elements. Students will gain an understanding of the electrical properties of semiconductor devices, their models and their use in circuits. They will learn fundamental concepts necessary to analyze and design amplifiers and contemporary electronic circuits using diodes and MOSFETs.
Instructor:	Professor Steven C. Reising Office: B113 Engineering Bldg.; Phone: 970-491-2228 Office Hours: MW, 10-11 am, or e-mail for appointment E-mail: Steven.Reising@ColoState.edu
TA:	Hai Chi, ECE Graduate Student Office: C1 Engineering Bldg. E-mail: chihai@rams.colostate.edu
Grader:	Mihir Desai E-mail: Mihir.Desai@ColoState.edu
Catalog Description:	Discrete component semiconductor devices, characteristics and applications. Rectifier circuits, single-stage and multi-stage amplifiers.
Credits:	4 credits. Lecture and Laboratory must be taken concurrently.
Syllabus:	Download syllabus (PDF) by clicking here (updated on August 22, 2011).
Prerequisites:	ECE 202 with a grade of C- or better and either MATH 340 or MATH 345
Textbook:	A. S. Sedra and K. C. Smith, Microelectronic Circuits, 6th ed., Oxford University Press, 2010, ISBN-10: 0-19-532303-3, ISBN-13: 978-0-19-532303-0. The 6th edition is required.
Lectures:	Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9:00-9:50 am, Wagar 232
Exam Dates:	Two required evening exams have been scheduled during this semester. Please see Exam Schedule web page
Additional Material:	Occasional handouts prepared by the instructor and distributed to the students on the course web site in PDF format.
Grading:	Students will be evaluated based on prelab and laboratory reports, homework problems, and four exams. A final grade will be calculated based on: Laboratory 25%, Homework 10%, 2 Midterm Exams at 20% each and Final Exam 25%.
Homeworks:	Homeworks will be assigned on the course web site and listed with the corresponding due dates. Homeworks will be due on the due date at the beginning of class and will be collected at that time. Late homeworks will not be counted for a grade.
Academic Integrity:	I believe that upholding academic integrity and abiding by ethical principles are fundamental to the practice and profession of electrical and computer engineering. In fact, the IEEE, the world’s largest professional society with 375,000 members, abides by the IEEE Code of Ethics, in part: “We, the members of the IEEE, in recognition of the importance of our technologies in affecting the quality of life throughout the world, and in accepting a personal obligation to our profession, its members and the communities we serve, do hereby commit ourselves to the highest ethical and professional conduct and agree ..” See the complete IEEE Code of Ethics online here. It is my belief that following ethical principles in this class is fundamental to your future contributions to society as electrical and computer engineers. Therefore, ECE 331 will adhere to the Academic Integrity Policy of the Colorado State University General Catalog and the Student Conduct Code, which states, “Any student or student organization found to have committed or to have attempted to commit the following misconduct is subject to disciplinary sanction.” A full list of what is considered to be misconduct is available here. Specifically in ECE 331, academic integrity will be taken very seriously, and violations will be dealt with harshly. On homeworks and laboratory assignments, you are free to discuss the work from others and learn in a group setting. However, you are representing the work you turn in as your own. Therefore, you are required to write all homework answers and prelab/lab reports yourself. Academic penalties are decided on a case-by-case basis, and the typical penalty for cheating on a midterm or final exam is a failing grade for the course. To promote academic integrity, you will be asked to write out the CSU Student Honor Pledge on the last page of your ECE 331 midterm and final exams: “I have not given, received or used any unauthorized assistance on this exam,” and sign your name to give your promise of and commitment to academic integrity. The CSU Student Honor Pledge is described at the TILT Academic Integrity web page here .

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COURSE TOPICS

I. Introduction Brief introduction to electronics Semiconductor materials and electrical properties of pn junctions II. Diodes I-V characteristics, regions of operation, and built-in potential Biasing, equivalent circuit models, large- and small-signal behavior Rectification – AC to DC conversion, rectifier circuits, ripple and filtering Reverse bias – Zeners and avalanche behavior Clamping circuits, limiting circuits and voltage doublers III. Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistors (MOSFETs) Four-terminal devices and I-V characteristics Device structure and relationship to regions of operation, large-signal model and dynamic capacitances Small-signal model, channel-length modulation, body effect or back-gate bias and sub-threshold behavior IV. Basic MOSFET Circuits for Analog ICs Semiconductor fabrication processes, passive components and introduction to layout Current sinks, sources and references; current mirrors Input and output resistance; voltage gain Common-Source, Common-Drain and Common-Gate single-stage amplifiers Cascode amplifiers Dynamic capacitances, frequency response and figures of merit Miller’s theorem and method of open-circuit time constants V. Introduction to MOSFET Circuits for Digital ICs NMOS inverters, static characterization and noise margin Dynamic characterization, power dissipation and response time VI. Introduction to Bipolar Junction Transistors (BJTs) Device structure and relationship to regions of operation I-V characteristics in forward-active region