Electronics

Electronics->> POWER SUPPLY CIRCUITS

Most electronic equipment requires DC voltages for its operation. These can be provided by batteries (see Battery) or by internal power supplies that convert alternating current as available at the home electric outlet, into regulated DC voltages. The first element in an internal DC power supply is a transformer, which steps up or steps down the input voltage to a level suitable for the operation of the equipment. A secondary function of the transformer is to provide electrical ground insulation of the device from the power line to reduce potential shock hazards. The transformer is then followed by a rectifier, normally a diode. In the past, vacuum diodes and a wide variety of different materials such as germanium crystals or cadmium sulfide were employed in the low-power rectifiers used in electronic equipment. Today silicon rectifiers are used almost exclusively because of their low cost and their high reliability.

Fluctuations and ripples superimposed on the rectified DC voltage (noticeable as a hum in a malfunctioning audio amplifier) can be filtered out by a capacitor; the larger the capacitor, the smaller is the amount of ripple in the voltage. More precise control over voltage levels and ripples can be achieved by a voltage regulator, which also makes the internal voltages independent of fluctuations that may be encountered at an outlet. A simple, often-used voltage regulator is the zener diode. It consists of a solid-state p-n-junction diode, which acts as an insulator up to a predetermined voltage; above that voltage it becomes a conductor that bypasses excess voltages. More sophisticated voltage regulators are usually constructed as integrated circuits.

Electronics

Electronics->> AMPLIFIER CIRCUITS

Electronic amplifiers are used mainly to increase the voltage, current, or power of a signal. A linear amplifier provides signal amplification with little or no distortion, so that the output is proportional to the input. A nonlinear amplifier may produce a considerable change in the waveform of the signal. Linear amplifiers are used for audio and video signals, whereas nonlinear amplifiers find use in oscillators, power electronics, modulators, mixers, logic circuits, and other applications where an amplitude cutoff is desired. Although vacuum tubes played a major role in amplifiers in the past, today either discrete transistor circuits or integrated circuits are mostly used.

Audio Amplifiers

Audio amplifiers, such as are found in radios, television sets, citizens band (CB) radios, and cassette recorders, are generally operated at frequencies below 20 kilohertz (1 kHz = 1000 cycles/sec). They amplify the electrical signal, which then is converted to sound in a loudspeaker. Operational amplifiers (op-amps), built with integrated circuits and consisting of DC-coupled, multistage, linear amplifiers are popular for audio amplifiers.

Video Amplifiers

Video amplifiers are used mainly for signals with a frequency spectrum range up to 6 megahertz (1 MHz = 1 million cycles/sec). The signal handled by the amplifier becomes the visual information presented on the television screen, with the signal amplitude regulating the brightness of the spot forming the image on the screen. To achieve its function, a video amplifier must operate over a wide band and amplify all frequencies equally and with low distortion. See Video Recording.

Radio Frequency Amplifiers

These amplifiers boost the signal level of radio or television communication systems. Their frequencies generally range from 100 kHz to 1 GHz (1 billion cycles/sec = 1 gigahertz) and can extend well into the microwave frequency range.

Electronics

Electronics->> OSCILLATORS

Oscillators generally consist of an amplifier and some type of feedback: The output signal is fed back to the input of the amplifier. The frequency-determining elements may be a tuned inductance-capacitance circuit or a vibrating crystal. Crystal-controlled oscillators offer the highest precision and stability. Oscillators are used to produce audio and radio signals for a wide variety of purposes. For example, simple audio-frequency oscillators are used in modern push-button telephones to transmit data to the central telephone station for dialing. Audio tones generated by oscillators are also found in alarm clocks, radios, electronic organs, computers, and warning systems. High-frequency oscillators are used in communications equipment to provide tuning and signal-detection functions. Radio and television stations use precise high-frequency oscillators to produce transmitting frequencies.

Electronics

Electronics->> SWITCHING AND TIMING CIRCUITS

Switching and timing circuits, or logic circuits, form the heart of any device where signals must be selected or combined in a controlled manner. Applications of these circuits include telephone switching, satellite transmissions, and digital computer operations.

Digital logic is a rational process for making simple “true” or “false” decisions based on the rules of Boolean algebra. “True” can be represented by a 1 and “false” by a 0, and in logic circuits the numerals appear as signals of two different voltages. Logic circuits are used to make specific true-false decisions based on the presence of multiple true-false signals at the inputs. The signals may be generated by mechanical switches or by solid-state transducers. Once the input signal has been accepted and conditioned (to remove unwanted electrical signals, or “noise”), it is processed by the digital logic circuits. The various families of digital logic devices, usually integrated circuits, perform a variety of logic functions through logic gates, including “OR,””AND,” and “NOT,” and combinations of these (such as “NOR,” which includes both OR and NOT). One widely used logic family is the transistor-transistor logic (TTL). Another family is the complementary metal oxide semiconductor logic (CMOS), which performs similar functions at very low power levels but at slightly lower operating speeds. Several other, less popular families of logic circuits exist, including the currently obsolete resistor-transistor logic (RTL) and the emitter coupled logic (ELC), the latter used for very-high-speed systems.

Electronics

Electronics->> RECENT DEVELOPMENT

The development of integrated circuits has revolutionized the fields of communications, information handling, and computing. Integrated circuits reduce the size of devices and lower manufacturing and system costs, while at the same time providing high speed and increased reliability. Digital watches, hand-held computers, and electronic games are systems based on microprocessors. Other developments include the digitalization of audio signals, where the frequency and amplitude of an audio signal are coded digitally by appropriate sampling techniques, that is, techniques for measuring the amplitude of the signal at very short intervals. Digitally recorded music shows a fidelity that is not possible using direct-recording methods. Digital playback devices of this nature have already entered the home market. Digital storage could also form the basis of home video systems and may significantly alter library storage systems, because much more information can be stored on a disk for replay on a television screen than can be contained in a book.

Medical electronics has progressed from computerized axial tomography, or the use of CAT or CT scanners (see X Ray), to systems that can discriminate more and more of the organs of the human body. Devices that can view blood vessels and the respiratory system have been developed as well. Ultrahigh definition television also promises to substitute for many photographic processes, because it eliminates the need for silver.