Chapter 1: Electronic engineering

Electronic engineering is a sub-discipline of electrical engineering that came into existence in the early 20th century. It is differentiated from electrical engineering by the extra use of active components such as semiconductor devices to amplify and regulate the flow of electric current. Until recently, the field of electrical engineering relied only on passive devices like mechanical switches, resistors, inductors, and capacitors.

Analog electronics, digital electronics, consumer electronics, embedded systems, and power electronics are some of the subfields that are covered by this. In addition to this, it is involved in a wide variety of other fields that are closely connected to it, such as solid-state physics, radio engineering, telecommunications, control systems, signal processing, systems engineering, computer engineering, instrumentation engineering, electric power control, and robotics.

The Institution of Engineering and Technology in the United Kingdom is the equivalent body to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in the United States. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is one of the most important professional bodies for electronics engineers in the United States (IET). The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is the organization that is responsible for the publication of electrical standards, including those for electronic engineering.

The discovery of the electron in 1897 and the subsequent invention of the vacuum tube, which could amplify and rectify small electrical signals, were the catalysts for the birth of the field of electronics, which led to the development of electronic engineering as a profession in the following decade. Practical uses began with the creation of the diode by Ambrose Fleming and the triode by Lee De Forest in the early 1900s. These devices made it feasible for a non-mechanical device to detect minute electrical voltages, such as radio signals coming from an antenna for a radio station. The expansion of the electronic industry was lightning fast. At the beginning of the 1920s, commercial radio broadcasting and communications were becoming more commonplace, and electrical amplifiers were being employed in a variety of applications, including long-distance telephone service and the music recording business.

The extensive development of electronic systems, like as radar and sonar, that took place during World War II, and the ensuing consumer revolution that took place during the peacetime after the war, both contributed to the continued advancement of the field.

There are several subfields that make up electronic engineering. Some of the more well-known examples are discussed in this section.

The examination and modification of signals is the focus of the field of electronic signal processing. Signals may either be analog, in which case the signal will change in accordance with the information in a continuous fashion, or digital, in which case the signal will change in accordance with a set of discrete values that will represent the information in a discrete fashion.

Amplification and filtering of audio signals for audio equipment and modulation and demodulation of radio frequency signals for telecommunications are two examples of the types of signal processing that may be performed on analog signals during signal processing. Signal processing may include compression, error checking, error detection and correction, and error detection and correction for digital signals.

The field of telecommunications engineering focuses on the process of sending data via a medium, which might be something as simple as a coaxial cable or as complex as an optical fiber. The process through which information is encoded in a carrier wave and then transmitted is known as modulation, and it is necessary for transmissions to take place over empty space. Popular analog modulation methods include amplitude modulation and frequency modulation.

Telecommunication engineers are responsible for the design of the necessary transmitters and receivers for various types of systems after the system's transmission characteristics have been established. These two components may be combined to make what is known as a transceiver, which is a device for communicating in both directions. Power consumption is an important aspect to take into account when designing transmitters since it has a direct bearing on the strength of the transmitted signal. If the power of a transmitter's signal is inadequate, the information contained in the transmission will be jumbled up by noise.

Both aviation-electronic engineering and aviation-telecommunications engineering focus on the application of electronics and communications technology to the aircraft industry. The term "aviation-telecommunication engineer" refers to a broad category that includes both generalists and experts who work on ground or aerial avionics. Knowledge of computers, networking, information technology, and sensors is the primary skill set required by specialists in this profession. These classes may be found at institutions such as colleges that specialize in aviation technology for civil aviation.

Control engineering may be applied to a diverse set of electronic domains, ranging from the flight and propulsion systems of commercial aircraft to the cruise control that can be found in many contemporary vehicles. Additionally, it is an essential component in the process of industrial automation. When constructing control systems, control engineers often use the usage of feedback.

The discipline of instrumentation engineering focuses on the conception of instruments that can measure physical quantities such as pressure, flow, and temperature. It is necessary to have a solid grasp of electrical engineering as well as physics in order to develop such apparatus. For instance, radar guns estimate the speed of incoming cars by using the Doppler effect. In a similar fashion, thermocouples make advantage of the Peltier-Seebeck phenomenon in order to measure the difference in temperature that exists between two sites.

Quite frequently, instrumentation is not used on its own but rather serves as the sensors of bigger electrical systems. For instance, a thermocouple might be used in order to assist in maintaining a steady temperature inside of a furnace. Because of this, instrumentation engineering is often considered to be the complementary discipline to control engineering.

The field of computer engineering focuses on the creation of computers and the infrastructure that supports them. This may require the creation of new computer hardware, the development of personal digital assistants, or the implementation of computer technology into the control system of an industrial facility. This topic also include the creation of embedded systems, which are systems tailored to perform a particular function (for example, mobile phones). The micro controller and all of its applications fall within the purview of this discipline. Software development is another area that computer engineers could focus on. On the other hand, the development of complicated software systems is often the purview of software engineering, which is traditionally regarded as a distinct subject.

VLSI design engineering Very large scale integration is what is meant by the abbreviation VLSI. It focuses on the manufacture of integrated circuits as well as other types of electronic components. Electronics experts begin the process of designing an integrated circuit by first constructing circuit diagrams. These schematics detail the electrical components that will be used in the circuit as well as the connections that will be made between them. After they are finished, the VLSI engineers turn the schematics into physical layouts, which map the layers of the different conductor and semiconductor materials that are required to make the circuit.

Electronics is an academic topic that falls within the larger umbrella subject of electrical engineering. Electronics engineers often have a university degree with a concentration in electronic engineering from an accredited institution. The amount of time spent studying for such a degree is typically between three and four years, and the final award conferred may be referred to as a Bachelor of Engineering, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Applied Science, or Bachelor of Technology depending on the educational institution where it was earned. At the postgraduate level, a number of institutions in the UK also confer the Master of Engineering (MEng) degree.

Some individuals who work in the field of electronics engineering decide to further their education by earning a postgraduate degree, such as a Master of Science, a Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering, or a Doctorate in Engineering. Some universities in Europe and the United States have begun offering the master's degree as the first degree available to students, and it may be difficult to tell an engineer who has completed graduate studies from one who has completed postgraduate studies. In situations like this, one must take one's level of experience into consideration. Either independent research or coursework, or a combination of the two, is required to get the master's degree. A considerable portion of the Doctor of Philosophy degree is devoted to original research, and it is traditionally considered to be the terminal degree required for academic careers.

In the majority of nations, earning a bachelor's degree in engineering is the first step towards being qualified, and the degree program itself is often accredited by a relevant professional organization. Engineers are able to legally sign off on plans for projects that concern public safety if they have...