ECE 326 Syllabus
ECE 326 Electronic Circuits I

SIUE, Electrical and Computer Engineering Syllabus



Course definition

326-4 ELECTRONIC CIRCUITS I. Introduction to semiconductors; diode, transistor and FET; small and large signal analysis; logic gate families and design. Three hours lecture and one laboratory session per week. Prerequisites: declared major in an engineering discipline, grade of C or better in 211 and MATH 305 (from Undergraduate Catalog; counts as 4 credit hours).
Instructor: Dr. Andy Lozowski (http://www.siue.edu/~alozows)
Textbook: A. Sedra, K. Smith, Microelectronic Circuits. Oxford University Press, 7 ed., 2015

Class policy:

Electronic Circuits I is the first course in electronics. It covers fundamentals of knowledge necessary in this field and is taught with the objective to prepare electrical engineering students for their various specialization choices.
The tests and the final exam will be open-book. Understanding of concepts and ability to solve problems will be tested, not memorization skills. Example-copying on the tests will not be helpful. The final course grade will be determined based on partial scores H, L, T1, T2, T3, and E according to the following percentages:
H (Homework): PH =10%
L (Lab): PL =25%
T1 (Test 1): PT1=15%
T2 (Test 2): PT2=15%
T3 (Test 3): PT3=15%
E (Final exam): PE =20%
The partial scores will be evaluated as percentages of the maximum score achieved. For example, if on a test worth 25 points the maximum scored by one of the students is 20 points, then 10 points received by another student is worth 50%.
The above percentages and partial scores H, L, T1, T2, T3, and E will be used to calculate the course score G:
G = PH H + PL L + PT1 T1 + PT2 T2 + PT3 T3 + PE E
PH + PL + PT1 + PT2 + PT3 + PE
The final letter grade will be an A, B, C, D, or F based on your course score G relative to maximum attainable Gmax calculated as the average of 100% and the course score of the best student. The thresholds for the letter grades are: A > (7/8)Gmax, B > (3/4)Gmax, C > (5/8)Gmax, D > (1/2)Gmax, and F < (1/2)Gmax. Note that at any time it is possible to determine your course grade "to date" if the percentages for unassigned grades are set to zero.
According to the Catalog, the following grading symbols are used by SIUE: A-Excellent, B-Good, C-Satisfactory, D-Poor, and F-Failure (see Academic Policies and Requirements). The letter grades will strictly comply with these definitions.
Grades will be based on written evidence in the submitted work. Always show your work. Answers without sufficient supporting work will be awarded zero score. If you provide multiple answers to a problem that has a unique solution, only one of your solutions will be picked for grading: top-most or left-most, not necessarily the correct one. Make sure to read the problems carefully. There will be no credit for solutions to misread problems. If extra pages of work need to be attached to the test, number them and print your name on each sheet. Measurement units are considered an important part of the answer. Answers given with incorrect units or unit prefixes may be considered wrong even if the numeric part is right. Grades assigned are not negotiable. However, if adjustment of grade is needed because of erroneous totaling of points, address the disputes no later than a week after the assignment has been returned.
One of the homework assignments will focus on Design of Experiment concept. In this assignment students will be asked to prepare a laboratory experiment to investigate parameters of an electronic component, such as a diode, BJT transistor or a MOSFET. The experiment should include measurements, data analysis, and conclusions on the discovered parameter values. Students will prepare a description of the procedure, measurement methods and necessary equations used in the data analysis. The description of experiment will contribute one of the homework grades. The designed lab experiment will later be performed by the student as one of the laboratory scheduled experiments.

Textbook sections covered in Circuit Analysis I

List of homework problems (monitor for updates)



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