Physics 440

Spring Term, 2001

The writeup for experiment 15 was updated on Monday, April 23, 01.

Instructors: Maris Abolins (MA), Pawel Danielewicz (PD) and Valeri Petkov (VP)

Teaching Assistant: Xiangyun Qiu (XQ)

Lectures: Lectures will be on MWF, 3:00 - 3:50 p.m. in 209PA

Lab Sessions: All labs will be in 115PA with times and instructors given in the table below.

Section
Time
In charge
1
Tu 11:30 - 2:20
MA & PD
2
Tu 6:00 - 8:50 p.m.
XQ
3
Th 11:30 - 2:20
VP
4
Th 3:00 - 5:50 p.m.
XQ
Required Text: Diefenderfer and Holton, Principles of Electronic Instrumentation, Third Ed. Saunders, 1994.

Required Reference: Horowitz and Hill: The Art of Electronics, Second Ed. Cambridge University Press, 1995.

Course Description:

The course is an introduction to electronics for scientists and consists of three lectures and one laboratory per week. We start with simple DC and AC circuits and end up designing logic circuitry with Field Programmable Gate arrays using state of the art design and simulation software from the Xilinx corporation. In between we gain familiarity with many of the devices encountered in physics experiments. These include diodes, transistors, fet's, op amps and various types of integrated circuits. We also gain familiarity with the LabView program as a means of acquiring data for analysis and measurement and also for synthesizing waveforms.

Reading assignments, the schedule of experiments, problem assignments and quizzes are given in the syllabus. Individual experiment descriptions are available as .pdf files linked to the syllabus. You should also peruse the file of supplemental reading materials.
Laboratory Procedure and Grading:

Students are required to keep a lab notebook where all information relevant to the experiments performed will be kept. The notebook should have quadrille ruling and numbered pages. Information should be entered in ink and never erased. Erroneous entries should be neatly crossed out. There will be no formal lab reports but, your instructor will ask to look at your lab book from time to ascertain your progress. You should try to organize your work so that it can be followed by someone besides you, but don't go to heroic efforts to keep it particularly neat.

Grades will be assigned on the basis of your laboratory performance and on your performance on the daily problem assignments and weekly quizzes. We will give equal weights to the laboratory and classroom work.