Basic Analog Electronics

Analog Devices is a global leader in the design and manufacturing of analog, mixed signal, and DSP integrated circuits to help solve the toughest engineering challenges.

Analog Electronics

Table of Contents:

1. Operational Amplifiers

2. Using Op Amps

3. Instrumentation Amplifiers

4. Variable Gain Amplifiers (VGAs)

5. Comparators

6. Logarithmic Amplifiers

7. Analog Multipliers

8. Sample / Hold Amplifiers

9. Analog Switches and Multiplexing

10. Voltage References

analog components are the most basic type of components while the digital components are widely used in today’s devices. Both the branches are independently significant in their own way so we are enlisting certain cases when the analog components and circuitry would be ideal.

In electrical engineering, signals are basically time-varying quantities (usually voltage or current). So when we talk about the signal it means we are talking about a voltage that’s changing over time.

Signals are passed among devices in order to obtain or send information in the form of audio, video or encoded data. The transmission takes place through wires or via air through radio frequency waves. For instance, audio signals are transferred from the computer’s audio card to the speakers, while data signals between a tablet and a Wi-Fi router pass through the air.

Analog Signals use attributes of the medium to convey the signal’s information. For example, an aneroid barometer makes use of the angular position of a needle to convey the changes in atmospheric pressure. The signals take any value from a given range and each signal value denotes different information. Each level of the signal signifies a different level of the phenomenon and any change in the signal is meaningful.

It’s quite easy to determine if a signal graph is analog or digital. The former one is smooth and continuous while the latter is edge and appears in the form of stepping squares. Given below is an analog signal graph representing the change in voltage with the change in time.