IITM BS Analog Electronic Systems (EE2102): Syllabus and Tips

Analog Electronic Systems (EE2102) is a 4 credit diploma course in the IITM BS in Electronic Systems. It is built around the operational amplifier (op-amp). You learn feedback, op-amp circuits, filters and stability, and then study a real product: a Bluetooth headset, its battery charger, voltage regulators and audio amplifier. You need Signals and Systems (EE2101) first.

The syllabus lists two instructors: Prof. Shanthi Pavan of the Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Madras, and Dr. Sundararajan Krishnan, Founder and CEO of Aptener Mechatronics Private Limited. The syllabus and the handbook agree on the level and the 4 credits, and both handbook tables name the same prerequisite.

What you learn in Analog Electronic Systems

The course description covers op-amp building blocks, feedback, stability with gain and phase margin, filters, regulators and oscillators. The 12 weeks group like this:

• Weeks 1 to 3: op-amp basics. Negative feedback and the non-inverting amplifier. The op-amp used as different kinds of controlled source, as a differential circuit and as a current source. Then single and dual supplies, coupling capacitors, offset voltage and output resistance.
• Weeks 4 to 6: building blocks. An analog to digital converter, a bandgap voltage reference, positive feedback, the Schmitt trigger and the integrator. Then first and second order filters: low-pass, high-pass and band-pass, with pole locations and magnitude response.
• Week 7: bigger amplifiers. Two-stage and third order amplifiers and their Bode plots.
• Weeks 8 to 12: a real product. The block diagram of a Bluetooth headset and its subsystems: connectivity, audio, power, charging, LEDs and sensors. Then the charging circuit for a LiPo battery, linear and switching voltage regulators with how to choose the IC, and types of audio amplifiers with efficiency calculations.

The suggested book is Microelectronic Circuits: Theory and Applications by Sedra, Smith and Chandorkar.

As a diploma course, it needs worked-out assignment sheets with your submissions. The syllabus does not give a grading formula.

The Analog Electronics Lab

The Analog Electronics Laboratory (EE2104) is a separate 3 credit lab. It lists this course as a corequisite, so you take the lab in the same term or later. The handbook's study plans show 2 days on campus for that lab.

Who finds it hard and how to prepare

The first half needs clean circuit analysis. The second half asks you to think about whole products, not single circuits. Week 7 packs several Bode plots of multi-stage amplifiers into one week.

• Learn the two ideal op-amp rules well: almost no current flows into the inputs, and with negative feedback the two inputs sit at nearly the same voltage. Most early circuits follow from these.
• Revise Bode plots, poles and zeros from EEC and Signals and Systems before weeks 5 to 7.
• For each filter, sketch the expected frequency response before you do the algebra. Then check your answer against the sketch.
• Before week 8, pick a gadget you own, such as a power bank, and draw its blocks the way the course does for the headset.
• For regulators, compare linear and switching designs with real numbers for efficiency and heat.

What to take before and after

Before: Signals and Systems (EE2101), which needs EEC. With it: the Analog Electronics Lab. After: Sensors and Applications (EE3103) needs this course as a prerequisite. See ES diploma courses for the whole chain.

Common questions

Why does an analog course study a Bluetooth headset?

The syllabus uses the headset as a case study in weeks 8 and 9. It shows how charging, power and audio blocks fit together inside a real product. The last three weeks then study those power and audio blocks one by one.

Can I take Analog Electronic Systems without the lab?

Yes. The lab needs this course as a corequisite, but the course does not need the lab. You will still need the lab later to finish the diploma, and the Sensors Laboratory needs the Analog Lab first.

Is this the same as Analog Circuits at the degree level?

No. Analog Circuits (EE3107) is a separate degree level department elective. Analog Electronic Systems is a core diploma course.