Circuits and Electronics 2: Amplification, Speed, and Delay

Want to learn how to construct an amplifier for mobile phones? Wondering how energy storage elements like capacitors and inductors work, or how to make microchips run faster? This free circuits course taught by edX CEO and MIT Professor Anant Agarwal and colleagues is for you. This is the second of three online Circuits and Electronics courses and is taken by all MIT Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) majors. Topics covered include: MOSFET large signal and small signal analysis; amplifiers; energy storage elements like capacitors and inductors; and dynamics of first-order networks and circuit speed. Design and lab exercises are also significant components of the course. Weekly coursework includes interactive video sequences, readings from the textbook, homework, online laboratories, and optional tutorials. The course will also have a final exam. This is a self-paced course, so there are no weekly deadlines. However, all assignments are due when the course ends.

• How to build amplifiers using MOSFETs
• How to use intuition to describe the approximate time and frequency behavior of first-order circuits containing energy storage elements like capacitors and inductors
• The relationship between the mathematical representation of first-order circuit behavior and corresponding real-life effects
• How to improve the speed of digital circuits
• Measurement of circuit variables using tools such as virtual oscilloscopes, virtual multimeters, and virtual signal generators
• How to compare the measurements with the behavior predicted by mathematical models and explain the discrepancies

• You should have a mathematical background of working with calculus and basic differential equations, and a high school physics background in electricity and magnetism. You should also have taken Circuits and Electronics 1, or have an equivalent background in basic circuit analysis.