Sample Syllabi for Learning the Art of Electronics

For many years, we taught the entire contents of Learning the Art of Electronics as a single semester course at Harvard University. With the many additions to the second edition including the instrumentation amplifier, the lock-in amplifier, and JFET lab in the analog half and an increased concentration on programmable logic in the digital portion, we have tested a two semester version, one concentrating on analog and the other on digital circuits, programable logic, and microcontroller. The two semester version of the course is designed so that a student can take one class, the other, or both with only a little overlap in basic circuit concepts in the first three days of the course. Here are descriptions, the Harvard syllabi, and example course schedules for each of the three versions of the class (single and two semester) using the material from the second edition of Learning the Art of Electronics. The full course is 123/223 (the second course number providing graduate credit), while the analog only course is 123a/223a and the digital is 123b/223b. While the two semester version can be taken in any order, starting with the analog course gives students a strong background in basic circuit theory and debugging for the digital semester.

Single Semester Course (Physics 123/223)

In order to fit the content of the book into a single semester course, we have skipped some material that might be considered extraneous (the advanced bipolar transistor model, op amp internals, voltage regulators, current mirrors, etc.) or advanced (stability, instrumentation amplifiers, lock-in amplifiers) but we have also eliminated content that we consider a lot of fun, such as building an op amp with discrete transistors, the digital project lab, and the second day of the RTOS lab building the lullaby jukebox. Nevertheless, some students are unwilling to spend two semesters learning electronics and the single semester course still gets them most of the way there.

Two Semester Course – Analog Term (Physics 123a/223a)

The analog semester of the two term version of the course covers material through Chapter 12 of Learning the Art of Electronics along with the second half of Chapter 20 (Phase-Locked Loops). It covers all the analog material included in the single semester course as well as advanced subjects including unregulated power supplies, temperature effects and the Ebers-Moll model of bipolar transistors, op amp internals, instrumentation amplifiers, parasitic oscillations and stability, PID control, lock-in Amplifiers, voltage regulators, phase-locked loops, and JFETs. The course culminates in a multiday project of the students’ choosing using the components and techniques discussed in the course.

We replaced the Group Audio Project (Chapter 13) with the student final project when we taught the analog class. You may want to consider putting it back in, as it is a popular lab with students.

Two Semester Course – Digital Term (Physics 123b/223b)

The digital semester of the two term version of the course covers material from Chapter 14 of Learning the Art of Electronics through Chapter 27 including data conversion (but skipping Phase-Locked Loops in Chapter 20). Because it affords so much more time for each chapter, we are able to spend one full day each on discrete hardware combinational logic, flip-flops, counters, and finite state machines and then a second full day on implementing each of the same devices/systems in programmable logic. This allows us time to go into these topics in greater depth and is much easier on the students. We also have time for a two-day digital project built around the FPGA, providing not only a great opportunity to build a relatively complex system of the student’s choosing, but also a nice review before the mid-term exam. Finally, the relaxed schedule allows the students time to complete the second day of the last microcontroller lab and build the lullaby jukebox, one of the high points of the course.