Syllabus 2007/2008 ETI250

Syllabus academic year 2007/2008

ELECTRONICS: POSSIBILITIES AND LIMITATIONS

ETI250

Higher education credits: 6. Grading scale: UG. Level: G1 (First level). Language of instruction: The course might be given in English. Compulsory for: ID3. Course coordinator: Universitetslektor Viktor Öwall, viktor.owall@es.lth.se, Elektrovetenskap. Assessment: The student is judged in two ways. The first part is that in relation to each lecture there is a web-based individual test in which the student answers questions regarding the content of the lecture. In addition to these tests there is a project assignment in which a category of products containing parts from the field of electrical engineering. The work is performed in groups of maximum three students and the result is a written report and an oral presentation. Both of these parts have to be passed for completion of the course. Home page: http://www.es.lth.se/ugradcourses/IndustrialDesign/.

Aim
The overall goal of the course is to give an understanding to what possibilities and limitations basic knowledge, as well as the rapid development, gives in the areas of electronics and communications. The main part of the course is aimed at giving a qualitative understanding of phenomena related to electronics and data transfer, and how this is related to design considerations. By using the concepts and ideas taught in the course, the students should be able to conduct a constructive discussion with an engineer.

Knowledge and understanding
For a passing grade the student must

have knowledge about basic possibilities and limitations within the field of electrical engineering
have knowledge about basic concepts within the field of electrical engineering
be able to use principles from the filed of electrical engineering when developing new design concepts

Skills and abilities
For a passing grade the student must

have the ability to use the possibilities of electrical engineering in industrial design work
have the ability to judge the reasonableness of concepts containing parts from electrical engineering
have the ability to have constructive communication with an electrical engineer

Judgement and approach
For a passing grade the student must

feel acquainted with the terminology within the area
be able to understand novel results within the area and to a certain extent judge their applicability in relation to a given design concept

Contents
The course will present basic concepts important for designs containing electronics and communicating devices. Such concepts are for instance current, voltage, power and frequency. Depending on the desired functionality of a design, the designer has to take various considerations and make different trade-offs. During the course it will be discussed what is possible given a certain set of criteria and what the future might bring. For example, it will be discussed how a design is affected if it is battery operated or connected to a fixed power network. Further, it will be discussed what possibilities and limitations modern communication systems sets on data rates and range of communication.

Literature
The literature consists of lecture notes in English.