Analog electronic systems

Teacher(s)

Bol David; Flandre Denis;

Language

English
> French-friendly

Prerequisites

Students are expected to master the following skills: continuous-time signal representation both in time and frequency domains, mathematical system representations (transfer function, impulse response, stability, filtering), principles and properties of Fourier and Laplace transforms, analysis of electrical circuits based on passive components (R, L, C), in DC, transient and AC regimes, understanding of general behavior of operational amplifiers, diodes and transistors with the associated basic electronic circuits, as they are covered within the courses LFSAB1106, LELEC1370 and LELEC1530.

Main themes

The world we live in is getting more and digital with electronic embedded systems surrounding us and communicating with the cloud. However, the physical world is analog in essence. The digital embedded systems thus need analog functions to interact with the physical world, its users, the cloud, the energy sources, as well as between themselves. This is done through sensors, actuators, user interfaces, power management units, wireline and wireless communications. Digital systems also rely on key analog functions performed internally for efficient operation: memories, clocking and voltage regulation. In this course, we study the architecture of the key analog electronic systems performing these functions.
Within the ELEC/ELME formation, this course presents analog system architectures as a complementary to ELEC2531 course on digital system architectures. It serves as a basis for the courses on integrated-circuit synthesis (ELEC2650, ELEC2570 and ELEC2620).

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :

a. Contribution of the activity to the learning outcomes of the program AA1 Knowledge base : electronic concepts (AA1.1), simulation and CAD tools (AA1.2-3); AA2 Engineering skills: problem analysis (AA2.1) and solution comparison (AA2.3), 2.4 and 2.5; AA3 R&D skills : find appropriate references on the existing solutions in the field of the flipped class topic (AA3.1), 3.2 and 3.3; AA5 Communication skills: oral communication (AA5.3, AA5.6), 5.4; b. Learning outcomes After this course, the electrical engineers in circuit and systems should be able to: identify the key performance metrics of an analog function in a given application context; explain the operation of typical analog system architectures; qualitatively model the performance with respect to the architecture; evaluate the performance of typical analog system architectures with SPICE simulations.

Content

• Noise in analog circuits.
• Opamp-based circuits.
• Analog filters.
• Voltage and current references.
• Voltage regulators.
• Memories.
• Oscillators.
• Phase-locked loops.
• High-speed serial I/Os (if time allows).
• CMOS imagers (if time allows).

Teaching methods

The course is organized along the following methodology :
- Lecturesand exercise sessions to structure the learning of generic analog concepts and of the circuit blocks to implement them. These activities target the direct understanding and command of analog circuit functionalities and performances in a professional way.
- These activities are followed by inverted classes dealing with typical industrial analog problems and their associated specific system architectures. These classes are based on the concepts et blocks studied and practiced in the previous courses et exercise sessions, the at-home reading of additional technical documents, a restructuring and Q/R session on the subject, and finally a challenge session, in small groups, in presence, with hands-on use of a SPICE simulation software.
The active participation to each and all the learning activities is requied towards the quick and efficient methodological progression of the course.

Evaluation methods

In this course, the students are evaluated through:

• an individual written exam during the exam session on the theoretical lectures and practical exercises;
• a continuous certificative group evaluation of the flipped classes, which includes short summaries of the work sessions in group to be delivered during the semester;
• an individual open-book practical written exam during the semester on the flipped-class content and based on SPICE simulations.

The individual written exam during the exam session accounts for 50% of the final grade.
The group grades accounts for:

• 20% of the final grade if the grade of the individual practical exam in the semester is above 9/20,
• 0% of the final grade if the grade of the individual practical exam in the semester is below 5/20,
• linearly progressive between these bounds.

The grade of the individual open-book practical written exam during the semester accounts for the rest of the final grade (thus between 30% and 50%).
The grade of the continuous evaluation is individualized as a function of the implication of the student in the group during the semester of the course (presence at the compulsory activities, active participation to the work, ...).
The mark obtained for the continuous evaluation cannot be modified for the second session. The individual exams that are failed need to be retaken in second session. An individual exam that was passed successfully at the first session cannot be retak in the second session and the mark obtained at the first session is conserved for the second session.

Online resources

https://moodle.uclouvain.be/course/view.php?id=620

Bibliography

Chapitres de certains livres de référence.

Teaching materials

• Transparents des cours, chapitres de certains livres de référence, disponibles sur Moodle

Faculty or entity

> ELEC