Electronics 2: Signals, Systems, and Control

This course is a follow on from Year 1’s Electronics 1 module by providing a system perspective to electronic systems. The focus of this year module will be on signal interpretation, processing and manipulation; system characterisation and modelling; feedback control and tuning of feedback systems. By the end of this module, together with what have been covered in the first year, students will have most of the fundamental concepts of electrical and electronic engineering necessary for a design engineer. Some may even have the prerequisites to study more advanced modules in EEE in their 3rd and 4th years.

 

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this module, students will be better able to:

•   Analyse signals in time domain and frequency domain, understanding the relationship between the two domains
•   Extract electrical signals from noise; modifying signals for purposeful interpretation
•   Analyse and predict system behaviour in terms of transient and steady state conditions
•   Explain how feedback works in an electronic system and how feedback improves performance
•   Design a PID controller
•   Create real-time programs using interrupts
•   Use computer tools, e.g. MATLAB, for signal processing           

Description of Content

Time domain analysis:
  Sampling principles
  Sampling theorem
  Quantisation of signals
  Discrete time signals
Frequency domain analysis:
  Fourier transform
  Aliasing of signals
  Windowing effect on spectrum
System analysis:
  Transfer function of systems
  Laplace transform of systems
System characterisation:
  Step and impulse responses
  Frequency responses
Real-time programming:
  Interrupt idea in systems
  Programming for interrupts
  Polling vs interrupt
Filtering of signals:
  Moving average filter
  Low-pass, high-pass filters
  Signal conditioning using filters
Feedback systems:
  Idea of feedback
  Benefit of feedback
PID Controller:
  Principle of PID control
  Design of PID controller
Lab work:
  Use Matlab for signal analysis
  Real-time spectral analysis of signals
  Off-line processing of signals in Matlab
  Characterisation of a 2nd-order system