Alternating Current
With DC (Direct Current), electric current flows in only one direction. With AC (Alternating Current), current direction reverses periodically. 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 ...
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 ...
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 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 ...
Transformers
Transformers work according to the principle of electromagnetic induction. If the first coil carries sine-wave ac of a certain frequency, then the induced current will be sine-wave ac of the same frequency in the second coil. 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 ...
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 ...
Integrated Circuit Manufacturing CMOS Technology
The MOSFET (metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor) is the dominant device used in modern integrated circuits because it can be scaled to smaller dimensions than other types of devices. More ...
Zener Diode
A zener diode is similar to a standard diode allowing current flow in the forward direction except the semiconductor is more heavily doped and this allows it to operate in the reverse-bias break down mode. More ...
Modern Semiconductor Manufacturing
The modern semiconductor manufacturing process sequence is the most sophisticated and unforgiving volume production technology that has ever been practiced successfully. It consists of a complex series of hundreds of unit process steps that must be performed very nearly flawlessly. 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 ...
Integrated Circuit Manufacturing Etching
photolithography is the process of transferring patterns to photoresist covering the surface of a semiconductor wafer. To produce circuit features, these resist patterns must be transferred into the underlying layers of the device. Pattern transfer is accomplished by an etching process that selectively removes unmasked portions of a layer. 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 ...
