Magnetism
Electric currents and magnetic fields are closely related. Whenever an electric current flows a magnetic field accompanies the current. When a wire is coiled up, the resulting magnetic flux becomes more concentrated. More ...
Alternating Current
With DC (Direct Current), electric current flows in only one direction. With AC (Alternating Current), current direction reverses periodically. More ...
Semiconductor Manufacturing Process Sequence
Semiconductor manufacturing consists of a series of sequential process steps in which layers of materials are deposited on substrates, doped with impurities, and patterned using photolithography to produce ICs. More ...
Phase shift in AC Circuits
In an AC circuit with a capacitor or an inductor there is a phase shift between voltage and current. In this article you learn how to calculate the amount of that phase shift. More ...
Inductors in Series and Parallel
With inductors connected in series, the total inductance is the sum of the inductances of the individual inductors With inductors in parallel, the reciprocal of the equivalent inductance is the sum of the reciprocals of the inductors connected in parallel. More ...
Planar Integrated Circuit Fabrication
The key unit process steps in IC fabrication, include oxidation, photolithography, etching, ion implantation, and metallization. Here, we describe the oxidation steps. More ...
Integrated Circuit Manufacturing CMOS Fabrication Sequence
Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) is used to fabricate digital circuits and IC chips. It is a combination of NMOS (N-type Metal Oxide Semiconductor) and PMOS (P-type Metal Oxide Semiconductor) transistor pairs. CMOS fabrication can be carried out in many ways. P-well is one of the processes in which CMOS fabrication is realized. More ...
Silicon Controlled Rectifier (SCR)
A Silicon Controlled Rectifier (SCR) is a 4-layer diode that is controlled by a gate signal. It ca be turned on by a pulse on the gate. More ...
How to Read a Capacitor's Values
Due to the limited space available for printing, physically small capacitors are especially difficult to read. Therefore capacitors use a wide variety of codes to describe their characteristics. More ...
Integrated Circuit Manufacturing Packaging
Before ICs can be put to their intended use they must be packaged. The package is responsible for interconnecting, powering, cooling, and protecting the IC. More ...
Integrated Circuit Manufacturing Bipolar Technology
Bipolar junction transistors (BJTs) are still used in integrated circuits (ICs) for switching, signal amplification, and radio-frequency circuits because they are faster than CMOS transistors. More ...
The Diode
A diode is a semiconductor component designed to allow current to pass in one direction. To form a diode, a P type semiconductor is joined with an N type of the same semiconductor element, forming a P-N junction. Diodes are used for turning AC to DC, isolating signals, and mixing signals. More ...
Superposition Theorem
The resistive networks that satisfy Ohm's law allow a number of simplifying approaches to be taken in their analysis. Circuit analysis by superposition replaces all voltage sources but one with short circuits, then using the summation rules of series-parallel combinations of resistors determine the voltage across and current in each branch due to the remaining voltage source, and then repeating this process for all voltage sources and superposing the results. More ...
Inductive Reactance
The opposition that the coil offers to ac is called inductive reactance. Like resistance, reactance is measured in ohms. Unlike resistance, reactance changes with frequency. And in an Inductor, the Voltage leads the Current by 90 degrees. More ...
