Advanced Electronics

The course builds on the introductory electronics lab and is split into three, two-week long projects covering the following topic areas:

Digital electronics for computing: This project covers the basics of binary number systems, Boolean algebra, and logic devices. You will build a digital clock to provide an appreciation of how digital devices can perform different functions. A similar device will be built using the Arduino microcontroller to better understand how an integrated microcontroller can achieve the same functions of many discrete logic components;
Analogue electronics with bioengineering applications: In this project you will build an ECG generator and measurement unit using analogue components with the aim of better understanding analogue electronics and their potential applications in biomedical engineering. Students will gain a more detailed insight into the charging and discharging characteristics of biological and technological capacitors as well as understanding the function of amplifiers, filters and counters;

To appreciate the theory behind digital (Boolean) logic and logic gate applications and to develop an insight into how computers function;
To design, study and build circuits involving adders, flip-flops, counters and sequential logic and understand how these devices can be used in everyday electronics;
To understand how an electrocardiogram (ECG) measures the heart’s electrical pulses and translates these into an analogue waveform;
To build an ECG generator and detector and collect measurements using these;

Co-requisites