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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Electrical Charge
The forces between electrically charged particles are used in technologies such as printers, pollution filters, and spray guns used for painting cars and trucks. Static electricity is the study of phenomena that involve an imbalance of electrical charge. Although creating this imbalance typically requires moving charge around, once the imbalance is created, it often remains static for a long time. 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 ...
Electric Fields and Static Electricity
Static electricity is a phenomenon caused by a buildup of unbalanced electric charge that is not moving. We are all familiar with the static electric charge caused by dragging our feet across a carpet and then the sudden static discharge caused by grabbing a door knob. More ...
Use a Resistor to Measure Inductance
Inductance is usually measured by using an LCM multimeter. It can also be mesured using a resistor. With the resistor method, you adjust the frequency of a sine wave until the AC voltage accross the resistor and inductor are equal. Then using a formula to calculate the inductance. More ...
Magnetism Permeability and Retentivity
Permeability is a property of a material that describes the ease with which magnetic flux is established in the material. Retentivity is a materials ability to retain a certain amount of residual magnetism after the magnetizing force is removed. 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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Integrated Circuit Manufacturing E-Beam Lithography
Optical lithography high resolution, at low cost, but it has limitations. Electron-beam lithography uses an electron gun to generate a beam of electrons to produce submicrometer resist geometries without a mask. More ...
Basic Laws and Analytical Methods for Circuit Analysis
Circuit analysis is like the psychoanalysis of the electrical engineering world because itâ?Ts all about studying the behavior of circuits. With any circuit, you have an input signal, such as a battery source or an audio signal. What you want to figure out is the circuitâ?Ts output â?" how the circuit responds to a given input. More ...
