Electronic Circuits & Devices

In an (EC) electronic circuit it is composed of individual electronic components, such as resistors, transistors, capacitors, inductors and diodes, connected by conductive wires or traces through which electric current can flow. The different types of combination in components and wires allows various simple and complex operations to be performed: signals can be amplified, computations can be performed, and data can be moved from one place to another.^[1] Circuits are to be constructed in discrete components connected by individual pieces of wire, but today it is much more common to create interconnections by photolithographic techniques on a laminated substrate (a printed circuit board or PCB) and solder the components to these interconnections to create a finished circuit. In an (IC) know as the Integrated Circuit, the components and interconnections are formed on the same substrate, typically a semiconductor such as silicon or (less commonly) gallium arsenide.^[2]

Breadboards, perfboards or strip boards are common for testing new designs. They leave some designer to make quick changes in the circuit during development.

Mixed-signal circuits

Mixed-signal and the hybrid circuits contain elements of both analog and digital circuits. Examples include comparators, timers, PLLs, ADCs (analog-to-digital converters), and DACs (digital-to-analog converters). In Most of the modern radio and communications circuitry uses mixed signal circuits. For example, a radio’s receiver, analog circuitry is used to amplify and frequency-convert signals so that they reach a suitable state to be converted into digital values, after which further signal processing can be performed in the digital domain.

Digital Circuits

Digital circuitries are used to create general purpose computing chips, such as microprocessors, and custom-designed logic circuits, known as Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs). (FPGAs) also known as the Field Programmable Gate Arrays, chips with logic circuitry whose configuration can be modified after fabrication, are also widely used in prototyping and development.