Electronics#
The invention of the Audion by De Forest, patent [1], can be regarded as the birth of electronics. Since then, around the world, thousands of amateurs, scientists, and engineers have contributed to its development. Nowadays, concepts developed in the first decennia of its existence are continuously being adapted for application to new technologies, while new ones are still being developed.
Analog Electronics#
Although signal processing is mainly implemented digitally nowadays, analog electronics still play a significant role in all kinds of electronic equipment. On the one hand, fast digital processing and strict EMC requirements require knowledge about the continuous nature of electrical signals. On the other hand, interfacing with sensors, actuators, transmission lines, or communication channels often requires information embedded in analog or multilevel digital signals.
Electronics deals with the manipulation of electrical currents with nonlinear electrical devices. According to this definition, electronics does not deal with the meaning of electrical signals. However, when designing electronic circuits, one cannot ignore their information processing tasks. This is a consequence of the fundamental physical and technological limitations of information processing:
Definition
The amount of information that can be processed by any physical system is limited. This is due to the addition of noise, the limited availability of power and the limitation of the rate of change of signals.
In addition, the physical principles for the implementation of information processing functions are usually imperfect and contribute to information processing errors. For example, the nonlinear behavior of semiconductor devices and vacuum tubes introduces technology-dependent errors into intended linear systems.
Hence, we first need definitions for the intentional behavior of information processing systems.
Secondly, we need knowledge about the manifestation of information processing errors due to physical and technological limitations. These manifestations depend on how the information is present in the signal. For example, binary digital signals will be less sensitive to nonlinearity than multi-valued digital signals or analog signals.
Usually, information processing happens in an environment where different noise sources adversely affect the signal quality.
Another aspect of information processing is its costs. Electronic information processing requires matter, space, and electrical energy. It also contaminates its environment with temperature rise and EMI.
Apparently, during the design of electronic information processing systems, the designer has to deal with many aspects.
At first glance, there does not seem to be a straightforward way to design such systems. However, the complexity of its design is not unique for analog electronics. Designing cars, airplanes, production equipment, test equipment, and many other modern products is highly complex. Proper structuring of complex design processes is a proven key to their success!
Structured design#
There exists considerable literature about structured design methods. It is suggested that interested readers study systems engineering, for example\emph{ }[2] and [3]. Particularly those who fear a conflict between creativity and structured design methods are encouraged to read [4] and [5] about TRIZ, a Russian acronym for {Theory of Inventive Problem Solving}. TRIZ is a generalized design theory that offers discipline and technology-independent design methods and techniques.
In this book, we will present a structured approach to the design of negative feedback amplifiers, based on clear concepts from systems engineering, information processing, network theory and control theory. The design approach is also inspired by TRIZ.
This book elaborates the work presented in [6] and the work presented in [7]. It uses SLICAP for deriving and solving design equations.
By doing so, it provides a solid basis for (partial) automation of amplifier design.
This chapter#
In this chapter, we will introduce and define the basic concepts of Structured Electronics Design. In section Selected topics from systems engineering, we will summarize basic concepts and techniques from Systems Engineering, and in section Electronic information processing, we will review some concepts from electronic information processing. In section Structured Electronics Design, we will combine these concepts and techniques and outline the principles of Structured Electronics Design. In section This book, we will summarize what you will know after studying this book, briefly discuss its contents, and suggest how it can be organized in courses.