Physics 3330: Electronics for the Physical Sciences

Instructors: Heather Lewandowski, Kevin Stenson, James Thompson

Almost done. Your final project lab report is due at 5pm in your instructor's mailbox.

Comments about expectations for final report

This report should be written at the level of the previous lab reports, but covering more material. I would advise you to think about your previous lab reports and what kind of information was included. The lab report should be self contained. Introductions and conclusions are expected. Important formulas describing the behavior of a circuit element should be given. A complete circuit diagram (with actual component values) should be given and the functioning of the elements explained. Some examples of the kinds of things that are expected:

  1. If you have a frequency filter in your system, make a bode plot of its response and compare to theory. Extract a 3dB frequency(s). Is the gain in the passband what you predict? Are the 3dB frequencies close to what you predict?
  2. If you have a 555 timer in your circuit, give equations describing how to program its behavior, the expected behavior and the measured behavior.
  3. If you have a differential amplifier in your circuit, how does it work? Can you explain how it accomplishes voltage subtraction?
  4. If you have a summing amplifier, how does it work?
  5. If you have resonant bandpass filters, measure its transfer function and plot it on a linear/linear scale. Can you then summarize its properties in terms of a center frequency and Q?
  6. If you have transistor stages, can you predict the input and output impedance and whether it is high enough or low enough to matter?
  7. If you have an inverting amplifier stage, give a formula for the predicted gain and the measured gain. Can you quickly estimate the 3dB bandwidth from the unity gain frequency of the op-amp and the gain? Is this enough bandwidth for your purposes?
  8. Are there important combinations of R's and C's that determine the frequency response of your system? Identify them and compare to your expected signal frequencies.

Home page from week 1-3, 4-5, 6-8, 9-10, 11-13, 14.


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