Preparing for a Career in Analog Electronics … Suat Ay Sophomore Seminar, 14 th, April 2009

Outline  ECE faculty on Analog Electronics  Analog vs. Digital Electronics  Courses offered  Companies you can work for  Types of things you can do  Questions

ECE Analog Electronics Faculty Suat Ay Suat Ay Fred Barlow Fred Barlow K. Joe Hass K. Joe Hass Herb Hess Herb Hess Ken Noren Ken Noren Rick Wells Rick Wells

What is this?

Compact, High gain, High Speed, Single- stage amplifier for an ANALOG Engineer

Analog vs. Digital Signals  Analog Signal : A signal defined over a continuous range of time and amplitude.  Digital Signal: A signal defined only at discrete values of time and amplitude. Analog = Digital + Every point in between!

Analog vs. Digital Electronics  Physical signals are continuous in time and amplitude. (Life is Analog) Audio, Video, Biological, Seismic, Energy, etc.Audio, Video, Biological, Seismic, Energy, etc.  However, digital signals are Easy to processEasy to process Highly immune to noiseHighly immune to noise RobustRobust  Do processing as much as possible in digital domain

Analog vs. Digital Electronics ASIC (Trend) 80% Digital 20% Analog Design Time 20% Digital 80% Analog

What courses do I need to take?  Required courses  ECE Electric Circuits I  ECE Electric Circuits Lab I  ECE Electric Circuits II  ECE Electric Circuits Lab II  ECE Fundamentals of Electronics  ECE Fundamentals of Electronics Lab

Technical Electives (Strongly Recommended)  Electives emphasize: IC And Discrete Design  ECE Advanced Electronics Multistage amplifiersMultistage amplifiers Feedback circuitsFeedback circuits Frequency response of electronic circuitsFrequency response of electronic circuits The “fundamentals” of designing an op-ampThe “fundamentals” of designing an op-amp  ECE Advanced Electronics Lab Integrated Circuit (IC) Design and LayoutIntegrated Circuit (IC) Design and Layout

Technical Electives  ECE 412 – Analog Filter Design  The design of filters circuits containing passive (R’s, L’s, and C’s) active elements (transistors, op-amps, etc.) Lowpass, highpass, bandpass, and notch filters.Lowpass, highpass, bandpass, and notch filters. Examples: audio filters, bass, treble, crossover.Examples: audio filters, bass, treble, crossover. IC and discrete circuit designIC and discrete circuit design

Technical Electives  ECE Communication Circuits The study of the building blocks which compose communication systems and the circuits.The study of the building blocks which compose communication systems and the circuits. AM and FM radio, Television, Cell phonesAM and FM radio, Television, Cell phones Microelectronic circuit designMicroelectronic circuit design – Design of RF integrated circuits (IC)

Technical Electives  ECE Analog Integrated Circuit Design Basic IC building blocks for CMOS technology.Basic IC building blocks for CMOS technology. Design of CMOS op-amps, references, and comparators.Design of CMOS op-amps, references, and comparators. Microelectronic circuit designMicroelectronic circuit design – Design of integrated circuits (IC)

Technical Electives  ECE Applications of Linear Integrated Circuits Practical circuits using operational amplifiers, voltage regulators, video amplifiers, etc.Practical circuits using operational amplifiers, voltage regulators, video amplifiers, etc. “Discrete” Circuit design“Discrete” Circuit design – Circuit design with “Off the shelf components”

Technical Electives  ECE Pulse and Digital Circuits How are NAND gates, inverters, logic functions implemented? What are their limitations? (Speed and noise considerations, etc.)How are NAND gates, inverters, logic functions implemented? What are their limitations? (Speed and noise considerations, etc.) How to make a better logic gateHow to make a better logic gate Phase-locked loops, delay locked loops, multivibrators, charge pumps, oscillators, etc.Phase-locked loops, delay locked loops, multivibrators, charge pumps, oscillators, etc. Microelectronic circuit designMicroelectronic circuit design – Design of mixed-signal integrated circuits (IC)

Technical Electives  ECE Solid State Electronics Physical principles behind the operation of semiconductors such as diodes, BJT's, capacitors, MOSFETs, and FETs. modeling of semiconductor devices.Physical principles behind the operation of semiconductors such as diodes, BJT's, capacitors, MOSFETs, and FETs. modeling of semiconductor devices. – How these devices work Strongly recommended for anyone interested in either microelectronic circuits - analog OR digitalStrongly recommended for anyone interested in either microelectronic circuits - analog OR digital

Before Graduation  Try to do a Co-Op or an Internship

After Graduation...

Where are our analog alumni?  Micron (Boise)  AMIS (Pocatello)  Cypress  Tektronics (Portland, Oregon) MaxtekMaxtek  Triquent Semiconductor (Portland)  Hewlett Packard (Boise and all over)  Agilent (Liberty Lake)

Where are our analog alumni?  Maxim (Portland, Oregon)  Intel  National Semiconductor  Telcom  Keytronics  Texas Instruments  Numerous small companies

What are our analog alumni doing?  Mixed signal circuit design. Analog to digital converters and conversions circuitsAnalog to digital converters and conversions circuits  RF and communication circuit design  Audio/Stereo/Amplifier design  Testing  Product development

Questions?