Electronics Lecture

basics
Water Analogy (helped me)
Does some
kind of work
Water
source
Pressure pushes
water through pipe
Flow
(Water drain
= return)
Laptag MILL and
SWEATSHOP
Current
return
Current flow
Does useful
work
Battery
Water Analogy, contd
Water Pressure
(the higher the pressure
the more water flows)
Voltage
(The higher the voltage
the more current flows)
Water Flow Rate
(e.g. gallons per
minute)
Current
(which is actually charge
flow rate: 1 coulomb/sec
= 1 ampere)
Work
In both pictures, potential energy is
converted to work, where
Work =
Kinetic energy
Heat
Some other kind of potential energy
Physics note: Total Energy is conserved
Whats Happening
Electric charges can flow in conductors
Like charges repel
Unlike charges attract

Battery
+ + + +
- - - - -
Because of the chemistry
inside the battery, there is
a voltage set up across
the terminals
Whats Happening
Electric charges can flow in conductors
Like charges repel
Unlike charges attract
Battery
- -
- -
- - -
- - - -
+ + +
+ + +
+ +
+ +
If we connect wires, they
also become charged up
Whats Happening
Electric charges can flow in conductors
Like charges repel
Unlike charges attract

Battery
+ charges
+ charges
Whats really happening
Electrons are flowing out of bottom of
battery, around to the top
Since they are negative, the direction of
the current flow (by convention) is
opposite their physical movement
It is MUCH EASIER to think of positive
charges flowing, even though they are
slightly fictitious
Typical Elements of a circuit
Wires
Voltage Sources
Electronic Components
Resistors
Capacitors
Inductors
Modular circuits (e.g. amplifiers)
Occasionally diodes and transistors
Wires
These are good conductors, with
practically unimpeded flow of current
Electrons in metal form a kind of plasma
Any flowing current creates a magnetic
field (which btw can be used to measure
the current)
Size is measured by AWG, American
Wire Gauge, since the 1850s
Interesting note on AWG
The gauge number is similar to decibel
measurement for sound
20 steps in AWG is (almost) a factor of 10
in wire diameter
For instance, #1 AWG wire is ~ 10x the
diameter of #20 AWG
We typically use #20 to #24 for circuits
Voltage
(the Electrical version of pressure)
Measured with a meter, if time variation is
slow enough
Measured with a scope and typically a
scope probe if fast time variation
Hazards:
HIGH VOLTAGE CAN KILL YOU
(actually its the current through your heart)
Pressure is not exactly Voltage
One difference: voltage is always
measured between two points (e.g. a
meter has a common probe and a
measurement probe.
The reason for this goes back to the
attraction of charges,


Still a very good analogy, though
meter
Volts
Field Electric = =
distance
in voltage change
Water flow is not exactly Electrical
current
Water can flow even when there is not an
(obvious) return path

2 hazards we will encounter
1: DO NOT USE A SCOPE OR METER
TO MEASURE THE AC LINE VOLTAGE!!!
(what is AC voltage? We will cover this)
WHY?

THE METER CAN LITERALLY EXPLODE
You might kill a $10,000 scope
Use a Wiggy instead

2d hazard: Death
High voltages in our lab can kill you.


Best case scenario: you accidentally touch a high voltage terminal, and current
starts to flow through your arm. If this current is much larger than your nerve
impulses, you can no longer pull your arm away, because your muscles dont
receive the command. It hurts. You begin to think about how dumb you were to
have one hand resting on ground while you poked around with the other one.
Next, some guy who also didnt listen grabs onto you to try to pull you away.
Current flows through him, too, so he is useless. Finally someone who paid
attention to this lecture finds a non-conducting hook and saves both victims.

Worst case: sufficient current finds its way through your heart to stop it, too.
High Current
This can also be dangerous:
wires can heat up, and cause fires.
Circuit elements (wires) can literally explode if
a lot of energy is dumped into them quickly
More subtly, interrupting a high current can
give a high-voltage transient!!! Of all the
hazards, this is the only one I personally had
experience with that actually did kill a guy.

(We will get to the reason for this.)
Resistors
Resistors impede the flow of electrical
current
Like a pin-hole for water flow

Water
source
Constriction in pipe
resists the water flow
- need more pressure to get the same flow
- pressure after the constriction is lower
High pressure


Lower pressure
Similarly, there is a voltage drop across a resistor when
current flows through it.
Resistors
Symbol




Measured in ohms:

A resistance of 1 ohm will let 1 Amp of current
flow for a voltage drop of 1 Volt (across the
resistor).
Ampere
Volt
1 1 = O
Ohms Law
IR V =
R
V
I =
I
V
R =
Computing resistance
Resistance


Where (rho) is the resistivity of the material
L is the length
A is the area
A
L
R

=
length L
Area A
=
Some Resistivities
Material Resistivity
Copper
m O ~
8
10 7 . 1
Carbon
m O ~
5
10 2
Silicon
m O ~ 600
Water
m O ~
5
10 8 . 1
Glass m O ~
10
10
Teflon m O ~
22
10

Resistor Marking

Color Code
First 2 bands = digits
3d band = power of 10
4
th
band = tolerance: gold 5%, silver 10%, none 20%

E.g. brown black red is
= 1 0 00
= (a one followed by a zero followed by 2 zeros)

Other Notes:
3
d
band = gold: divide by 10
3
d
band = silver: divide by 100

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Remember
Black = 0 (no color)
White = 9 (all colors)
Grey is close to white, so make it 8
Brown = ? Might as well be 1
The rest correspond to the spectrum
ROYGBV (You may have heard of this guy: Roy G. Biv)
Red = 2etc.
From http://www.token.com.tw/resistor/image/color-code.jpg
Simple Circuit Diagrams 1
1 Voltage Source (e.g. battery)
1 resistor






Given a 9 V battery, and a 1000 ohm resistor, what
current will flow?

Simple Circuit Diagrams 2
Resistors in series:
Simple Circuit Diagrams 3
Resistors in parallel:

Convenient formulas:
Series resistors:



Parallel resistors:
2 1
R R R
total
+ =
2 1
2 1
R R
R R
R
total
+
=
Note: it may help to think about the construction of a resistor
Another circuit
think about what happens in this
arrangement:
Water
source
High pressure


Lower pressure
What about this one?
Hint: symmetry helps
Other useful components
Inductors
Capacitors
Diodes
Integrated Circuits (e.g. RF amplifier)
MOSFETs
Occasionally transistors
Rarely vacuum tubes
Electrical Power
Power is rate of dissipation of energy
Also rate of getting work done


Current Voltage = P
Energy is conserved, so if we are not
storing any energy:
Power in = Power out + heat dissipated
as losses


AC Voltage, Current
AC stands for alternating
current
Nevertheless people still talk
about AC current coming out
of the wall.
The voltage alternates: if you
had a really fast meter, you
would see the polarity
reversing 60 times a second*
* Or just use an oscilloscope, BUT DONT HOOK IT UP DIRECTLY
Water analogy:
2 buckets on a see-saw
Water
source/sink
Water
source/sink
Water analogy:
2 buckets on a see-saw
Water
source/sink
Water
source/sink
Why AC?
See War of Currents on wikipedia
Edison wanted DC
Tesla wanted AC
No good way to transform DC to a different
voltage (at least in 1900)
Transmission requires high current
Must generate near point of load
AC can be transformed up to high voltage, low
current, for transmission, then back to safer
levels (110 V) near point of load
AC Outlet: 110 V (rms)
Ground
Low side,
or neutral
High side,
or line
In an AC line cord, standard colors are: Green for ground, White for neutral, and Black for line
NOTE: in most AC wiring, BLACK is the hot, or high voltage, side
AC Voltage Measurement
Level is quoted as
Peak-to-peak (least ambiguous)
Peak
RMS = root mean square, which is the average value
of the square of the voltage. This is what a typical
handheld voltmeter reads on the AC setting.

110 V is the RMS value, peak is around 160 V,
or


2 110 =
Transformer
2 sets of windings, with their magnetic fields coupled.
Use iron to channel the field from one set to another
Step up or down the voltage according to the turns
ratio

p
s
in
out
N
N
V
V
=
primary
winding
secondary
winding
Transformers, conts
p s
NV V =
primary
secondary
#
#
turns
turns
N
p s
I
N
I
1
=
where
( )
s s p p p p in
I V I
N
NV I V P =
|
.
|

\
|
= =
1
Also
Note: Power is conserved:
Capacitors
Symbols:



Let AC through, but not DC; another way of saying this
is that they tend to keep the voltage across them
constant
Have an impedance (not a resistance because they
dont dissipate any power)
C f
Z
t 2
1
| | =
2 conductors separated by a physical space





Capacitor construction
d
A
C
0
c
=
d

A
C, in Farads, is a measure of
how much charge can be
stored for a given voltage
meter
Farad
12
0
10 8 . 8

= c
Water Model
Water balloons in a sealed oil-filled
enclosure:
Water Model
Water balloons in a sealed oil-filled
enclosure:
Water Model
Water balloons in a sealed oil-filled
enclosure:
Water Model
Water balloons in a sealed oil-filled
enclosure:
Capacitors, contd
Often the gap is filled with a dielectric material
to increase the capacitance; using an insulator
also allows the gap to shrink, d 0, but voltage
stays the same without breakdown.
All dielectrics have a safe operating voltage,
which is given as the voltage rating
Sometimes the dielectric can only be charged in
one direction: the capacitor is polarized, or
electrolytic advantage is higher capacitance
Ugly fact that we will not worry about: most
dielectrics change their value as they are biased
to higher voltages!
Inductors
Symbol


Let DC through, but not AC; another way of saying this
is that it tends to keep the current flowing through it at
a constant level
Have an impedance (not a resistance because they
dont dissipate any power)
L f Z t 2 | | =
Inductor Construction
Any coil of wire




Sometimes iron is added to
increase the magnetic
stored energy, which
increases the inductance
Inductance
N
A
=
=
=
turns #
Area
Length

A N
L
2
0

=
Why N
2
?

Current flowing through the windings produces a magnetic
field; more turns produces more field, proportional to the
number of turns in a given length.
Each turn then picks up voltage from the changing magnetic
field; with the turns in series the voltage adds, so the total is
proportional to the total number of turns.
Example circuit
Initially the switch is open, so no current is flowing
Close the switch: the inductor tends to keep the
same current flowing, which is zero.
Eventually the inductor looks like a wire, so the
current is given by Ohms law: I = V R
Water analog: heavy paddle-wheel
Flow
2. Paddle-wheel has heavy flywheel
attached so it is hard to spin up,
but once it is spinning it tends to
keep going
Valve
1. Once valve is
opened, paddle-wheel
begins to spin
3. Eventually the paddle-wheel gets up to speed, and the flow
is limited by the resistance in the line
Another circuit: the dangers of high
current
Initially the switch is open, so some current flows,
such that I = V R
Close the switch: current starts to increase
Suppose the current builds up to 100x its initial
value, then the switch is opened: what happens?
Inductor tries to keep the same current flowing, so
initially V = 100x the battery voltage
Generating high pressure due to current flow
Flow
Suppose valve is initially closed
Valve
Paddle-wheel is spinning slowly
Then we open the valve for some amount of time, letting the
flow build up (paddle-wheel spins faster)
Generating high pressure due to current flow
Flow
Then valve is closed again
Valve
Paddle-wheel spins up
Flow through
this leg stops
Flow transfers to
this leg
The pressure ahead of the resistance goes up, since the
paddle-wheel keeps spinning; eventually slows down to
steady state
Diodes
Symbol:



Function: only let current flow one direction
Convert AC to DC useful for power supplies,
detecting radio signals,
Pos Neg
Water Analog of a diode
A flap inside a pipe
flow: no flow:
SOLDERING
Solder works by forming a solution of the metals
being joined in the liquid solder.
So the solder needs to be hot enough to flow,
BUT
Too much heat traveling up the leads will
destroy semiconductors!
The work pieces rather than the soldering iron
must melt the solder
When done, the two conductors being soldered
should look wetted
Solder wire
Has flux inside. Flux is a wax-like goo
that has a few percent acid, for cleaning
the oxide layer from wires being soldered.
For plumbing, the same thing happens except the flux is usually applied separately.
And you cant use lead solder anymore. And usually a torch is used instead of an iron.
Soldering Hints
Liquid solder conducts heat better than a dry tip,
so it helps to put a dab of solder onto the tip
before soldering. The associated flux can also
help clean up the tip.
It helps to tin the leads being soldered
individually before actually trying to solder them
together.
The smoke comes from burning flux, not lead,
but still probably not healthy to breathe it in.
Dont hold solder in mouth.
Soldering Irons - experience
Temperature regulated ones are crucial
Tips are special if you decide that you
want a sharper tip, you can sand the tip
down to a point, but it will dissolve a little
bit each time you use it and disappear
before too long.
Solder joint cross section
From http://www.emeraldinsight.com/fig/2170250306001.png
Making a Circuit Board
1. Generate a layout, using some kind of PCB software. There are
programs that are free but that I know very little about (we use a bad
but expensive tool, which is not even sold anymore):
Eagle, from http://www.cadsoftusa.com/
Kicad, from http://www.lis.inpg.fr/realise_au_lis/kicad/
Top Bottom
For our process, we generate a positive image: colored parts
(which print as black) will be copper, white parts no copper.
Circuit Board, contd
2. Use laser printer to print layout (also called
artwork) on a transparency
3. Align top and bottom, and tape them together.
4. Slip a pre-sensitized board between them.
Top transparency
Bottom transparency
Circuit board, has copper on both sides,
covered with photo-resist.
Circuit Board, etching
5. Expose in UV box for 5 minutes. The UV goes
through the clear parts of the transparency, and does
something to the photoresist.
6. Soak board in developer this washes off the
exposed photoresist. (Dilute the developer solution 1
part developer to 10 parts water.)
7. Rinse developer off using water
8. Etch in Ferric Chloride solution. The
photoresist that is still on the copper prevents the
copper from being etched, at least for a while. Etching
usually completes in 15-45 minutes, depending on how
old the solution is. You never know, so you need to
keep an eye on the progress.
Circuit board fab cautions and notes:
The ferric chloride solution will irritate your skin
after a few minutes, so a little is OK but
generally you should rinse it off.
It will also eat holes in your clothes, if it gets on
them and dries there. ( mysterious little holes
next time you wear them)
There is an aquarium heater and a bubbler in
the ferric chloride tank, to help speed things up
remember to turn it off.
Dont pour ferric chloride down the copper drain
pipes.