Direct Current
The nucleus of an atom is relatively heavy, so electricity primarily involves the flow of electrons. The nucleus of an atom generally doesn't move much. More ...
Inductors in Series and Parallel
Inductances in series add like resistances in series. The total value is the sum of the individual values. Inductances in parallel values add up like the values of resistors in parallel. The reciprocal of total inductance is the sum of reciprocals of all the individual inductances. More ...
Integrated Circuit Manufacturing Deposition
Many different types of thin films are used to manufacture integrated circuits, including thermal oxides, dielectric layers, epitaxial layers, polycrystalline silicon, and metal films. This article addresses two techniques for depositing such films. 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 ...
Inductors in DC Circuits
When voltage first applied current through an inductive circuit is low because a magnetic field starts building in the coil, and this magnetic field creates a back electromotive force (EMF) that oppose the current in the inductor. More ...
Integrated Circuit Manufacturing Impurity Doping
Impurity doping is the introduction of controlled amounts of impurities into semiconductors to change their electrical properties. Diffusion and ion implantation are the two key methods of impurity doping. More ...
Operational Amplifier
An operational amplifier (op amp) is an amplifier circuit with a differential input, in other words it amplifies the voltage difference between its two inputs. The open-loop gain of an op amp is typically very large so normally, it's configured with negative feedback to reduce the gain. More ...
Transforming Sources for Circuit Analysis
Kirchhoff's laws and Ohm's laws can get pretty laborious when you're analyzing complex circuits. Through a transformation technique, you modify a complex circuit so that in the transformed circuit, the devices are all connected in series or in parallel. After the transformation, you no longer need to systematically apply Kirchhoff's laws. More ...
EMI, RFI, EMC, EMS, What's the Difference?
EMI, RFI, EMC, and EMS all refer to different aspects of radio frequency interference which may cause elecronic devices to malfunction. Correcting these problems can be an art and a science. 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 ...
Light Emitting Diode (LED)
An LED is a diode that converts electrical current directly into light and therefore it is more efficient than other sources of light which convert some energy into heat. When electrons recombine with holes in the depletion region they release energy in the form of light photons. 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 ...
Inductor Mutual Inductance and Coefficient of Coupling
Mutual Inductance the property of a coil in which it opposes the change of current in another coil. The coefficient of coupling between two coils is the fraction of magnetic flux produced by the current in one coil that links with the other coil. More ...
Integrated Circuit Fabrication Photolithography
Photolithography is the process of transferring patterns on a mask to a thin layer ofphotoresist covering the surface of a semiconductor wafer. These patterns define the various regions in an integrated circuit, such as the implantation regions, the contact windows, and the bonding pad areas. More ...

