Course syllabus

SSY011 Electronic systems lp1 HT21 (7.5 hp)

The course is offered by the department of Electrical Engineering.

Contact details

Course aim

This course will provide knowledge about some methods and tools for analysis and design of analog and digital electronics.

Course literature

The mandatory literature consists of lecture slides, lab memo, and other online material, which will be posted or linked here on the course homepage.

Optional literature suggestions will be included in the lecture slides.

Course design

The red thread of the course is a series of labs, where different kinds of digital and analog electronics are designed in a modular approach. At the end, the modules are put together into a digital system for audio transmission. Mandatory homework must be submitted and passed before each lab session.

In the lectures, some contents from previous courses are combined with other theoretical and practical topics to develop a holistic view on electronics design. The students are thus provided with the prerequisites to build a complete communication system. The specific contents of each lecture is to a large extent guided by the needs in the weekly labs. Hints and code snippets for the labwork are given.

A simplified flowchart for the course is as follows: Lectures → Homework → Labs. Importantly, the first three lectures and the first mandatory homework assignment take place in the first course week, in preparation for the lab work in the second week. All students must be active from the beginning of the course—joining the course later is not possible.

Four optional hand-ins are offered, which if correctly solved give bonus points for the exam.

Changes made since the last occasion

  • New computer exercises.
  • Revised requirements for the lab report.
  • Revised lab memo.
  • Revised schedule, to enable more preparation time between some lectures and the corresponding homework deadlines.
  • Corona adaptation: The course will follow a hybrid format, adapted to recommendations by Chalmers and Swedish “Folkhälsomyndigheten”. Labs will be on campus and consultation sessions will be online. The lecture format will be decided around August 20 and announced in the Course memo (Home → Course information → Course memo).

Learning objectives

  • Analyse and modify existing VHDL code.
  • Use computer software for simulation of VHDL code and its synthesis in an FPGA circuit.
  • From a functional description, design a state diagram for a state machine.
  • Dimension, analyse, and implement current/voltage converters, digital/analog converters, analog/digital converters, parallel/serial converters, and serial/parallel converters.
  • Use computer software for analog electronic circuit drawing and simulation.
  • Dimension, analyse, and implement signal amplifiers, power amplifiers, and active filters.
  • Measure and analyse the spectral characteristics of analog amplifiers and filters.
  • Design cascaded filters and amplifiers in order to achieve desired spectral characteristics.
  • Analyse the stability of a feedback system and calculate the conditions for oscillation.
  • Dimension and implement a complete system for digital transmission of audio signals including analog and digital subsystems
  • Describe a typical development process for electronic systems in industry.
  • Systematically test and debug electronic systems.

Links to the syllabus and course details on Studieportalen are here or here.

Examination form

The course is examined in two parts:

  • Written exam, 4.0 credits. Points from lab work and hand-ins are credited as bonus for written exams during this academic year (until August 2022) but not later.
  • Lab course, 3.5 credits. The performance in homework, lab sessions, and report are assessed jointly.

Course details

Important information about lectures, labs, hand-ins, consultations, and examination are announced in the Course memo, which will be posted under Home → Course information → Course memo around August 20.