Electronics

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Surface-mount electronic components

Electronics comprises the physics, engineering, technology and applications that deal

with the emission, flow and control of electrons in vacuum and matter.[1] It uses active
devices to control electron flow by amplification and rectification, which distinguishes it
from classical electrical engineering which uses passive effects such
as resistance, capacitance and inductance to control current flow.
Electronics has had a major effect on the development of modern society. The
identification of the electron in 1897, along with the subsequent invention of the vacuum
tube which could amplify and rectify small electrical signals, inaugurated the field of
electronics and the electron age.[2] This distinction started around 1906 with the
invention by Lee De Forest of the triode, which made electrical amplification of
weak radio signals and audio signals possible with a non-mechanical device. Until 1950,
this field was called "radio technology" because its principal application was the design
and theory of radio transmitters, receivers, and vacuum tubes.
The term "solid-state electronics" emerged after the first working transistor was invented
by William Shockley, Walter Houser Brattain and John Bardeen at Bell Labs in 1947.
The MOSFET (MOS transistor) was later invented by Mohamed Atalla and Dawon
Kahng at Bell Labs in 1959. The MOSFET was the first truly compact transistor that
could be miniaturised and mass-produced for a wide range of uses, revolutionizing
the electronics industry, and playing a central role in the microelectronics revolution
and Digital Revolution. The MOSFET has since become the basic element in most
modern electronic equipment, and is the most widely used electronic device in the
world.
Electronics is widely used in information processing, telecommunication, and signal
processing. The ability of electronic devices to act as switches makes digital
information-processing possible. Interconnection technologies such as circuit boards,
electronics packaging technology, and other varied forms of communication
infrastructure complete circuit functionality and transform the mixed electronic
components into a regular working system, called an electronic system; examples
are computers or control systems. An electronic system may be a component of
another engineered system or a standalone device. As of 2019 most electronic
devices[3] use semiconductor components to perform electron control. Commonly,
electronic devices contain circuitry consisting of active semiconductors supplemented
with passive elements; such a circuit is described as an electronic circuit. Electronics
deals with electrical circuits that involve active electrical components such as vacuum
tubes, transistors, diodes, integrated circuits, optoelectronics, and sensors,
associated passive electrical components, and interconnection technologies.
The nonlinear behaviour of active components and their ability to control electron flows
makes amplification of weak signals possible.
The study of semiconductor devices and related technology is considered a branch
of solid-state electronics.

Contents

 1Branches of electronics
 2Electronic devices and components
 3History of electronic components
 4Types of circuits
o 4.1Analog circuits
o 4.2Digital circuits
 5Heat dissipation and thermal management
 6Noise
 7Electronics theory
 8Electronics lab
 9Computer-aided Design (CAD)
 10Packaging methods
 11Electronic systems design
 12Mounting options
 13Electronics industry
 14See also
 15References
 16Further reading
 17External links

Branches of electronics[edit]
Electronics has branches as follows:

1. Digital electronics
2. Analogue electronics
3. Microelectronics
4. Circuit design
5. Integrated circuits
6. Power electronics
7. Optoelectronics
8. Semiconductor devices
9. Embedded systems
10. Audio electronics
11. Telecommunications
12. Nanoelectronics
13. Bioelectronics

Electronic devices and components[edit]

Main article: Electronic component

One of the earliest Audion radio receivers, constructed by De Forest in 1914.

Electronics Technician performing a voltage check on a power circuit card in the air navigation equipment room
aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72).

An electronic component is any physical entity in an electronic system used to affect

the electrons or their associated fields in a manner consistent with the intended function
of the electronic system. Components are generally intended to be connected together,
usually by being soldered to a printed circuit board (PCB), to create an electronic circuit
with a particular function (for example an amplifier, radio receiver, or oscillator).
Components may be packaged singly, or in more complex groups as integrated circuits.
Some common electronic components
are capacitors, inductors, resistors, diodes, transistors, etc. Components are often
categorized as active (e.g. transistors and thyristors) or passive (e.g. resistors, diodes,
inductors and capacitors).[4]
History of electronic components[edit]
See also: History of electronic engineering and Timeline of electrical and electronic
engineering
Vacuum tubes (Thermionic valves) were among the earliest electronic components.
[5]
 They were almost solely responsible for the electronics revolution of the first half of the
twentieth century.[6][7] They allowed for vastly more complicated systems and gave us
radio, television, phonographs, radar, long-distance telephony and much more. They
played a leading role in the field of microwave and high power transmission as well as
television receivers until the middle of the 1980s. [8] Since that time, solid-state devices
have all but completely taken over. Vacuum tubes are still used in some specialist
applications such as high power RF amplifiers, cathode ray tubes, specialist audio
equipment, guitar amplifiers and some microwave devices.
The first working point-contact transistor was invented by John Bardeen and Walter
Houser Brattain at Bell Labs in 1947.[9] In April 1955, the IBM 608 was the
first IBM product to use transistor circuits without any vacuum tubes and is believed to
be the first all-transistorized calculator to be manufactured for the commercial market.[10]
[11]
 The 608 contained more than 3,000 germanium transistors. Thomas J. Watson
Jr. ordered all future IBM products to use transistors in their design. From that time on
transistors were almost exclusively used for computer logic and peripherals. However,
early junction transistors were relatively bulky devices that were difficult to manufacture
on a mass-production basis, which limited them to a number of specialised applications.
[12]

The MOSFET (MOS transistor) was invented by Mohamed Atalla and Dawon Kahng at

Bell Labs in 1959.[13][14][15][16] The MOSFET was the first truly compact transistor that could
be miniaturised and mass-produced for a wide range of uses. [12] Its advantages
include high scalability,[17] affordability,[18] low power consumption, and high density.[19] It
revolutionized the electronics industry,[20][21] becoming the most widely used electronic
device in the world.[15][22] The MOSFET is the basic element in most modern electronic
equipment,[23][24] and has been central to the electronics revolution,
[25]
 the microelectronics revolution,[26] and the Digital Revolution.[16][27][28] The MOSFET has
thus been credited as the birth of modern electronics, [29][30] and possibly the most
important invention in electronics.[31]

Types of circuits[edit]
Circuits and components can be divided into two groups: analog and digital. A particular
device may consist of circuitry that has one or the other or a mix of the two types. An
important electronic technique in both analog and digital electronics involves the use
of feedback. Among many other things this allows very linear amplifiers to be made with
high gain, and digital circuits such as registers, computers and oscillators.
Analog circuits[edit]
Main article: Analog electronics
Hitachi J100 adjustable frequency drive chassis

Most analog electronic appliances, such as radio receivers, are constructed from

combinations of a few types of basic circuits. Analog circuits use a continuous range of
voltage or current as opposed to discrete levels as in digital circuits.
The number of different analog circuits so far devised is huge, especially because a
'circuit' can be defined as anything from a single component, to systems containing
thousands of components.
Analog circuits are sometimes called linear circuits although many non-linear effects are
used in analog circuits such as mixers, modulators, etc. Good examples of analog
circuits include vacuum tube and transistor amplifiers, operational amplifiers and
oscillators.
One rarely finds modern circuits that are entirely analog. These days analog circuitry
may use digital or even microprocessor techniques to improve performance. This type
of circuit is usually called "mixed signal" rather than analog or digital.
Sometimes it may be difficult to differentiate between analog and digital circuits as they
have elements of both linear and non-linear operation. An example is the comparator
which takes in a continuous range of voltage but only outputs one of two levels as in a
digital circuit. Similarly, an overdriven transistor amplifier can take on the characteristics
of a controlled switch having essentially two levels of output. In fact, many digital circuits
are actually implemented as variations of analog circuits similar to this example – after
all, all aspects of the real physical world are essentially analog, so digital effects are
only realized by constraining analog behavior.
Digital circuits[edit]
Main article: Digital electronics
Digital circuits are electric circuits based on a number of discrete voltage levels. Digital
circuits are the most common physical representation of Boolean algebra, and are the
basis of all digital computers. To most engineers, the terms "digital circuit", "digital
system" and "logic" are interchangeable in the context of digital circuits. Most digital
circuits use a binary system with two voltage levels labeled "0" and "1". Often logic "0"
will be a lower voltage and referred to as "Low" while logic "1" is referred to as "High".
However, some systems use the reverse definition ("0" is "High") or are current based.
Quite often the logic designer may reverse these definitions from one circuit to the next
as he sees fit to facilitate his design. The definition of the levels as "0" or "1" is arbitrary.
Ternary (with three states) logic has been studied, and some prototype computers
made.
Computers, electronic clocks, and programmable logic controllers (used to control
industrial processes) are constructed of digital circuits. Digital signal processors are
another example.
Building blocks:

 Metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect
transistor (MOSFET)
 Logic gates
 Adders
 Flip-flops
 Counters
 Registers
 Multiplexers
 Schmitt triggers
Highly integrated devices:

 Memory chip
 Microprocessors
 Microcontrollers
 Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC)
 Digital Signal Processor (DSP)
 Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA)
 Field-programmable Analog Arrays (FPAA)
 System On Chip (SOC)

Heat dissipation and thermal management[edit]

Main article: Thermal management of electronic devices and systems
Heat generated by electronic circuitry must be dissipated to prevent immediate failure
and improve long term reliability. Heat dissipation is mostly achieved by passive
conduction/convection. Means to achieve greater dissipation include heat
sinks and fans for air cooling, and other forms of computer cooling such as water
cooling. These techniques use convection, conduction, and radiation of heat energy.

Noise[edit]
Main article: Electronic noise
Electronic noise is defined[32] as unwanted disturbances superposed on a useful signal
that tend to obscure its information content. Noise is not the same as signal distortion
caused by a circuit. Noise is associated with all electronic circuits. Noise may be
electromagnetically or thermally generated, which can be decreased by lowering
the operating temperature of the circuit. Other types of noise, such as shot noise cannot
be removed as they are due to limitations in physical properties.

Electronics theory[edit]
Main article: Mathematical methods in electronics
Mathematical methods are integral to the study of electronics. To become proficient in
electronics it is also necessary to become proficient in the mathematics of circuit
analysis.
Circuit analysis is the study of methods of solving generally linear systems for unknown
variables such as the voltage at a certain node or the current through a
certain branch of a network. A common analytical tool for this is the SPICE circuit
simulator.
Also important to electronics is the study and understanding of electromagnetic
field theory.

Electronics lab[edit]
Main article: Electronic circuit simulation
Due to the complex nature of electronics theory, laboratory experimentation is an
important part of the development of electronic devices. These experiments are used to
test or verify the engineer's design and detect errors. Historically, electronics labs have
consisted of electronics devices and equipment located in a physical space, although in
more recent years the trend has been towards electronics lab simulation software, such
as CircuitLogix, Multisim, and PSpice.

Computer-aided Design (CAD)[edit]
Main article: Electronic design automation
Today's electronics engineers have the ability to design circuits using premanufactured
building blocks such as power supplies, semiconductors (i.e. semiconductor devices,
such as transistors), and integrated circuits. Electronic design automation software
programs include schematic capture programs and printed circuit board design
programs. Popular names in the EDA software world are NI Multisim, Cadence
(ORCAD), EAGLE PCB and Schematic, Mentor (PADS PCB and LOGIC Schematic),
Altium (Protel), LabCentre Electronics (Proteus), gEDA, KiCad and many others.

Packaging methods[edit]
Main article: Electronic packaging
Many different methods of connecting components have been used over the years. For
instance, early electronics often used point to point wiring with components attached to
wooden breadboards to construct circuits. Cordwood construction and wire wrap were
other methods used. Most modern day electronics now use printed circuit boards made
of materials such as FR4, or the cheaper (and less hard-wearing) Synthetic Resin
Bonded Paper (SRBP, also known as Paxoline/Paxolin (trade marks) and FR2) –
characterised by its brown colour. Health and environmental concerns associated with
electronics assembly have gained increased attention in recent years, especially for
products destined to the European .

Electronic systems design[edit]

Main article: Systems engineering
Electronic systems design deals with the multi-disciplinary design issues of complex
electronic devices and systems, such as mobile phones and computers. The subject
covers a broad spectrum, from the design and development of an electronic system
(new product development) to assuring its proper function, service life and disposal.
[33]
 Electronic systems design is therefore the process of defining and developing
complex electronic devices to satisfy specified requirements of the user.

Mounting options[edit]
Electrical components are generally mounted in the following ways:

 Through-hole (sometimes referred to as 'Pin-Through-

Hole')
 Surface mount
 Chassis mount
 Rack mount
 LGA/BGA/PGA socket

Electronics industry[edit]
Main article: Electronics industry
Further information: Consumer electronics, List of best-selling electronic devices,
and Semiconductor industry
The electronics industry consists of various sectors. The central driving force behind the
entire electronics industry is the semiconductor industry sector,[34] which has annual
sales of over $481 billion as of 2018.[35] The largest industry sector is e-commerce, which
generated over $29 trillion in 2017.[36] The most widely manufactured electronic device is
the metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET), with an estimated
13 sextillion MOSFETs having been manufactured between 1960 and 2018. [37] In the
1960s, U.S. manufacturers were unable to compete with Japanese companies such as
Sony and Hitachi who could produce high-quality goods at lower prices. By the 1980s,
however, U.S. manufacturers became the world leaders in semiconductor development
and assembly.[38]

See also[edit]

 Electronics portal

 Outline of electronics
 Atomtronics
 Audio engineering
 Biodegradable electronics
 Broadcast engineering
 Computer engineering
 Consumer electronics
 Electronic engineering
 Electronics engineering technology
 Fuzzy electronics
 Index of electronics articles
 Marine electronics
 Robotics
 Semiconductor industry
 Silicon
 Capacitor

References[edit]
1. ^ "electronics | Devices, Facts, & History". Encyclopedia Britannica.
Retrieved 19 September  2018.
2. ^ "October 1897: The Discovery of the Electron". Retrieved  19
September  2018.
3. ^ Floyd, Thomas L. (2017). Electronics fundamentals : circuits,
devices, and applications.  ISBN  978-1-292-23880-
7. OCLC  1016966297.
4. ^ Bose, Bimal K, ed. (1996).  Power Electronics and Variable
Frequency Drives: Technology and Applications. Wiley Online
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5. ^ Guarnieri, M. (2012). "The age of vacuum tubes: Early devices and
the rise of radio communications".  IEEE Ind. Electron. M.  6 (1): 41–
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6. ^ Guarnieri, M. (2012). "The age of vacuum tubes: the conquest of
analog communications". IEEE Ind. Electron. M. 6  (2): 52–
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7. ^ Guarnieri, M. (2012). "The age of Vacuum Tubes: Merging with
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December 2013. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
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Museum. Retrieved  10 August 2019.
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p. 386.  ISBN  9780262022255.
11. ^ Pugh, Emerson W.; Johnson, Lyle R.; Palmer, John H.
(1991).  IBM's 360 and early 370 systems. MIT Press.
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Oxide Semiconductor MOS devices that were going to have enormous
impact in the future
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Further reading[edit]
 The Art of Electronics ISBN 978-0-521-37095-0
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