Chapter 1

Introduction to Electronics

Dr. Henry Ohize

August 14, 2023
Electronics: Principles, Concepts and Practices
Table of contents

1. Introduction

2. The Atom

3. Circuit Biasing for Switching

1
Intro
Electronics

1. Understanding the atom is a crucial starting point when delving into

the story of modern electronics.
2. The study of atoms and their behavior provides the foundation for
comprehending the behavior of materials and their electrical
properties.
3. The story of the atom begins in the early 20th century with
groundbreaking discoveries in the field of quantum mechanics.
4. Scientists such as Max Planck, Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, and
Erwin Schrödinger made significant contributions to our
understanding of the atom’s structure and behavior.

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The Atom
The Atom

Atom Electron

The atom is the smallest unit of Nucleus

matter that retains the complete
property of an element. Atoms are
made up of three basic particles
namely; protons, electrons and Shell or Orbit
neutrons.
Figure 1: Atomic Structure

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Atoms continued . . .

• Electrons are negatively charged.

Electron
• The outer region of the atom consists
of electron orbits. Nucleus
• These orbits contain electrons.
• The outermost orbit can only have a
maximum of 8 electrons. Shell or Orbit
• The electrons in the outermost orbits
are known as valency electrons. Figure 2: Atomic Structure

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The valence electrons determined the physical, chemical and most
essential for us, the electrical properties of materials. As a rough role:

1. When the number of valence electrons is less than 4, the material is

usually a metaland a conductor. Examples are sodium, magnesium
and aluminium which have 1, 2 and 3 valence electrons respectively
2. When the number of valence electrons is greater than 4, the
material is usually a non-metal and an insulator. Examples are
nitrogen, sulphur and neon, which have 5, 6 and 8 valence electrons
respectively.
3. When the number of valence electrons equal 4, the material has
both metal and non-metal properties and is usually a
semi-conductor. Examples are carbon, silicon and germanium.

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Periodic Table

Periodic Table
The periodic table is an organised array of elements in order of increasing
atomic number, which is the total number of protons in the atomic
nucleus.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1 2
H He
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Li Be B C N O F Ne
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Na Mg Al Si P S Cl Ag
19 20 31 32 33
K Ca Ga Ge As
49 51
In Sb

Figure 3: Periodic Table

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Energy Levels and Bands

Energy Level
A discrete value from a set of quantize values of total energy for a
subatomic particle confined by a force to a limited space.

Energy Band
Energy bands consisting of a large number of closely spaced energy levels.
This arises from the closely packed atoms of typical crystalline materials.

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There are three (3) crucial energy bands in solid materials.

1. The valence band is the range of energies possessed by the valence

electrons.
2. The conduction band refer to the range of energies possessed by
free electrons which have been excited and detached from their loose
bonds to become conducting electrons
3. Forbidden energy gap refers to the spatial separation between
conduction and valency band. As the name implies, no electron
stays in the forbidden energy gap.
For different materials, the forbidden gap varies. The more the
forbidden energy gap, the tighter the valence electrons are bond to
the nucleus.

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Material Classification based on Energy Band

The classification includes, insulators, semi-conductors and conductors as

shown in fig.4.

Conduction Band Conduction Band Conduction Band

Valence Band
1 eV
15 eV

Valence Band

Valence Band

a: Insulators b: Semi-Conductors c: Conductors

Figure 4: Energy Band

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Insulators
Insulators or dielectrics do not readily conduct an electric current when
external sources are applied. From the energy bands perspective, we may
explain that for insulators, the valence band is full while the conduction
band is empty. The energy gap (forbidden energy band) is large.

Semi-Conductors
Materials that have conductivity between that of an insulator and that of
most metals. From the energy bands perspective, the energy gap
between the conduction and valence band is relatively small.

Conductors
Conductors are materials that permit electrons to flow freely from particle
to particle. From the energy gap perspective, conductors have
overlapping conduction and valence band.

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Ref. to fig. slide ??, the magnitude of the E field is

⃗= V
E (1)
L
⃗ on the movable charges which will
The electric field will exert a force F
accelerate a,
⃗ = qE
F ⃗ (2)

⃗ = m⃗ d
F a=m v (t) (3)
dt
Combining equation 2 and 3, and integrating w.r.t, then velocity is
⃗t
qE
v (t) = (4)
m
We can only speak in terms of the average velocity Ψ
v for specified time
interval τ, given as
⃗τ
qE
Ψv (t) = (5)
m

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Current flow I , is
Q qN
I= = (6)
∆t ∆t
2 ⃗
q n τE A
= (7)
m
From a field point of view, we speak in terms of current density J for the
cross-sectional area A
I q 2 nτ ⃗ ⃗
J= =( )E = σE (8)
A m
here σ is the conductivity of the material. Equation 8 may be expressed
in voltage and current as

⃗ = Aσ V
I = AJ = AσE (9)
L

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Equation 9 reminds you of ?

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Equation 9 reminds you of Ohms Law!

13
Let us rewrite equation 9 in a more familiar way
L
µ ¶
V =I = IR (10)
σA

where R is the resistance of the conductor sample.

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 Homework:
Check with the class rep for the weekly
numerical task!

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 Interestingly, we have shown the derivation
of ohm’s law. We bring the discussion on
conductors to an end here. Note that the
model used here is based on an assumption
of two charged particles wherein one is fixed
and the other is mobile. This is entirely not
the case when we discuss semi-conductors in
the next chapter. The focus onward shall be
semi-conductors.

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Thévenin method

In this method, the voltage-divider

circuit is redrawn using the Thévenin IB RTh
technique. Fig. 5 represents the
+
Thévenin equivalent circuit. VBE
Apply KVL to Théveninized circuit −
to obtain VTh
RE
VTh − VBE
I BQ = (11)
RTh + (β + 1)RE IE

Similarly, applying KVL to the

output loop of Figure ??.
Figure 5: The Thévenin
VCEQ = VCC − ICQ (RC + RE ) (12) equivalent circuit

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Approximation method

This method relies on the

Fig. 6 illustrates the approximation method.
assumption that (β + 1)RE >> R2 .
Thus, IB is negligible. The network
equations become:
R1
R2 VCC
VB = (13) I1 IB
R1 + R2 VCC
+
VE = VB − VBE (14)
VE VB R2 Zin Zin ≫ R2
IE = (15)
RE I2
−
IC ≈ IE (16)
Transistor
From the output loop we can obtain
Figure 6: Approximation method
VCE = VCC − IC (RC + RE ) (17)

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Collector-feedback bias circuit

VCC

Fig. 7 is the collector feedback IC + IB

circuit. RC
As with the previous biasing circuit,
apply KVL to the base-emitter loop. VC
IB RB
The network equations become:
IC +
VCC − VBE
IBQ = (18) +
VCE
RB + β(RC + RE ) −
VBE

Applying KVL to the output loop of −

RE
Fig. 7.
IE

VCEQ ≈ VCC − IC (RC + RE ) (19) Input loop Output loop

Figure 7: Collector-feedback bias circuit

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Circuit Biasing for Switching
Circuit Biasing for Switching

In the cutoff region, the collector current IC ≈ 0.

In the saturation region, the collector-emitter voltage VCE ≈ 0.

VCC VCC VCC VCC

IC = 0 IC (sat)

RC RC RC RC

IC (sat)
+ +
IB = 0
0V Vin
VCE = VCE =
+ +
RB − IB RB −
VBE VBE
− −

(a) Cutoff open-circuit (b) Saturation closed-circuit

Figure 8: Illustration of the switching action of a BJT circuit

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References i