A new design project is given each quarter which reinforces the concepts, theory, and practice presented in the lectures and laboratory experiments. The main electronics laboratory in room 137 supports this class with benches equiped with oscilloscopes, power supplies, function generators, digital multimeters, and test leads. Laboratory parts kits are available from the EE stockroom window, with sales of individual components as needed for the design projects. The homeworks, exams, and laboratory experiments require direct application of mathematics, scientific, and engineering knowledge to successfully complete the course. This includes component calculations, circuit analysis, device modeling, computer modeling, and an in-depth knowledge of modern semiconductor device operating characteristics.
Students conduct pre-designed experiments in the first part of the laboratory work.
In the second part, the students must develop benchtop troubleshooting skills to successfully complete and test their design project solutions, and hence design their own experiments as part of this. An abiity to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs. Approximately one half of the homework problems are design oriented, requiring the students to specify components or a circuit topology to accomplish a given specification. The laboratory concludes with a comprehensive, open-ended design project in which the students apply the material that they have been exposed to during the quarter to design, prototype, and test a small electronic subsystem. The final design project is given as a set of specifications that the students' design must meet.