Passive components for Electronics-Part 1 Resistor Capacitor

Basics, impedance, Bode plot, simulation and datasheet

Resistor and capacitor are basic building blocks in electronics and electrical design

What you’ll learn

• Basics of resistors.
• Basics of capacitors.
• Bode plot: impedance vs frequency.
• Transfer function and Bode plot using Python scripting.
• Datasheet and specifications (specs).
• LTspice simulation.
• Real-world hardware test waveforms.

Course Content

• Introduction –> 3 lectures • 10min.
• Software installation –> 4 lectures • 1min.
• Resistor –> 9 lectures • 42min.
• Capacitor –> 15 lectures • 1hr 39min.
• Project RC high-pass filter –> 3 lectures • 1min.
• Congratulations –> 1 lecture • 1min.

Requirements

Resistor and capacitor are basic building blocks in electronics and electrical design

For example, they are widely used in

• Analog circuits: Passive filters, EMC filter, voltage/current sensing circuit, timing circuit, control circuit, compensator, etc.
• Switch-mode power supplies: capacitor is the energy storage elements in power stages

Students will gain working knowledge about resistors

• Basic packages, fixed standard resistance values, Decibel (dB), dB ohm
• Key parameters, datasheet, surface-mount resistors, through-hole resistors, chassis-mount resistors
• How to measure resistance by DMM and LCR meter
• How to measure low resistance (milli-ohms)

Students will gain working knowledge about capacitors

• Basic package, differential equations, impedance, charge balance
• The 1st order RC filter, transfer function, Bode plot
• Realistic capacitor model including parasitics ESR and ESL
• Datasheet of ceramic capacitor
• Datasheet of aluminum electrolytic capacitor
• Temperature coefficient
• Multiple capacitors in parallel
• Parasitic capacitance
• How to measure capacitance by DMM and LCR meter

Practical design guideline about parasitics of resistor and capacitor

• To understand when and where to include parasitics into the design
• A few practical design examples are given

Course project

• The 1st order RC high-pass filter: project requirement and solution

Two free software are used through the course

• Python (Anaconda) and Python Control Systems Library
• LTspice (Analog, previously Linear Technology)

What are course prerequisites?

• Knowledge requirement
• Algebra basics
• Basics of circuit analysis
• Basic understanding of circuit components

Hardware and software requirement

• PC (windows OS is preferred)
• Python (free)
• LTspice (free)