Electronic System Design Tutorial

Author: Lu Yinghua, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-02-01
Features: The book "Teaching Material of Electronic System Design" is a textbook for experimental courses in electronic circuits, suitable for undergraduate electrical engineering majors. To study this textbook, readers are expected to have completed prerequisite courses such as "Analog Electronic Circuits," "Digital Circuits," and "Fundamentals of Electronic Circuit Experimentation." This textbook was written based on the experience accumulated from years of reform in undergraduate electronic circuit experimental teaching. Both its content and teaching philosophy have undergone significant changes compared to previous electronic circuit experimental textbooks. The main guiding principles for writing this textbook are as follows:
1. Circuit Design as the Dominant Focus, Deepening Electronic Circuit Theory Knowledge, and Cultivating Experimental Skills
The teaching of electronic circuits (including both analog and digital circuits) must be based on analysis but dominated by design. Only through circuit design can one truly master electronic circuits, which is a consensus in electronic circuit teaching. The value of electronic circuit theory lies primarily in its ability to address practical production needs. Various practical requirements must be met through circuit design. In other words, in the field of electronic circuits, technicians primarily face circuit design problems, with circuit analysis merely being a part of the design process. Therefore, the deepening of electronic circuit theory and the cultivation of experimental skills must be guided by circuit design, which is the fundamental guiding principle of this textbook. Under this guidance, all experiments in this textbook are design-oriented experiments.
2. Strengthening the Technical Understanding of Electronic Circuits
Students who have just transitioned from foundational courses to technical foundation courses may develop a tendency to focus solely on mathematical analysis of existing circuits while neglecting fundamental concepts such as circuit functionality, characteristics, component roles, circuit specifications, and applications. These fundamental concepts are essential for circuit design. The lack of these concepts inevitably leads to difficulties in selecting appropriate circuits when facing practical problems and uncertainty about which components to adjust when circuit specifications are not met. To address this, the textbook emphasizes how to derive technical requirements from practical needs, select reasonable circuit structures based on these requirements, and outline design steps according to circuit characteristics. Through numerous examples, it demonstrates how to apply electronic circuit theory to solve technical problems, strengthening students' understanding of the technical nature of electronic circuit theory. The textbook also guides students to review and deepen their grasp of fundamental concepts, and verifies their understanding of circuit theory through design tasks in experiments.
3. Strengthening the Engineering Understanding of Electronic Circuits
The engineering nature of electronic circuits is also a fundamental characteristic of this theory. To make circuit design operational (engineering-oriented), simplifications are often made to analog and calculation formulas, and certain assumptions must be made. The values of some parameters are determined based on experience rather than formulas, all of which reflect the engineering nature of electronic circuit theory. In theoretical teaching, the systematicity and rigor of the theory are emphasized, while the engineering nature of electronic circuits is relatively less addressed. Students often have insufficient awareness of this characteristic, especially in analog circuits. This characteristic can only be understood through circuit design. The textbook provides detailed explanations of engineering issues when introducing circuit design methods.
4. Focusing on Small-System Circuit Design and Emphasizing Circuit Completeness
Theoretical teaching of electronic circuits primarily focuses on the analysis of unit circuits. Although the "Fundamentals of Electronic Circuit Experimentation" is based on design-oriented experiments, these designs are also unit circuits. Of course, the analysis, design, and experimentation of unit circuits are essential for mastering electronic circuit theory. However, in practical electronic devices, it is rare to find systems with only one unit circuit; most consist of multiple unit circuits. Therefore, circuit designers primarily face systems rather than unit circuits. Considering this, to make students' learning content closer to production requirements, and building on the unit circuit design introduced in the "Fundamentals of Electronic Circuit Experimentation," this textbook primarily focuses on system design methods. Experiments are also designed to involve circuits that constitute small systems.
5. Focusing on the Requirements of Production and the Market for Electronic Circuit Design
The purpose of electronic circuit design is to meet the needs of production and the market. Therefore, when designing circuits, it is essential to consider the requirements and influences of production and the market. Currently, electronic circuit components are developing rapidly, and design methods are constantly being updated. Electronic circuit design methods and concepts must adapt to these changes. Therefore, circuit design must consider not only the circuit itself but also a comprehensive range of factors. The textbook also provides guidance on how to consider production and market needs in design.
6. Cultivating Experimental Skills, Requiring Experiments with Appropriate Difficulty and Quantity
Experimental skills (also known as hands-on skills) are a comprehensive ability that must be gradually developed through experiments of appropriate difficulty. Book learning alone cannot develop experimental skills. Therefore, in the process of cultivating experimental skills, students must be provided with opportunities to discover and solve problems. Years of practical experience in electronic circuit experimental teaching have shown that only by setting experiments with a certain level of difficulty and quantity can such opportunities be provided. Experiments with insufficient difficulty will lead to ineffective repetition at the same level, while too few experiments will reduce opportunities for practice. The experiments in this textbook, whether for design or measurement, are of appropriate difficulty. Additionally, the experimental tasks are divided into mandatory and optional parts to accommodate students with different levels of ability.
7. Focusing on the Cultivation of Basic Scientific and Technological Qualities
To develop electronic circuits that meet requirements, designers not only need solid theoretical knowledge and experimental skills but also possess good scientific and technological qualities. Scientific and technological qualities reflect the ability to master theoretical knowledge, observational skills to identify problems, comprehensive analytical skills to apply learned knowledge, imaginative abilities to propose solutions, meticulous and rigorous experimental attitudes, and scientific writing skills. The textbook provides clear requirements and guidance in these aspects.
8. Facilitating Self-Learning
To facilitate self-learning, the textbook includes numerous examples that reflect design ideas, illustrate design features, and explain design methods. It also provides design processes to help students grasp the various stages of design as a whole and organizes design rules and methods in a systematic manner to serve as a reference for students during circuit design.