Electronic System Design

UESTC3003

Lecture 1: Introduction, Course

Overview, Electronic Systems
Dr Sajjad Hussain
Thanks to Prof. Duncan Bremner

[email protected]
 Teaching Team

Dr Anthony Centeno (Course coordinator)

([email protected])

Dr Sajjad Hussain
([email protected] )

The teaching team are here to help and can be contacted via email.
We aim to reply to your emails within 2 working days.
 Course Outline

ESD consists of 4 main topics:

• What is System Design and how to do it properly
• System Design with Static Errors
• System Design with Dynamic Errors
• Noise and low noise design

Course does not cover some important things:

Statistical design methods; High frequency / dynamics;
Passive component characteristics; Drift of errors; Micropower / Single supply design…
 Course Documentation and Texts

• Course is based on course developed in Glasgow by Prof Jon Weaver and

Prof Duncan Bremner
• Modified & improved to meet the needs of UESTC Joint School
• Most material will be available on Moodle (Lecture Notes, Labs, datasheets
etc.)
• You need to attend class to understand the notes!!
Textbooks:
• Microelectronic Circuits (7th Edition); Sedra, A and Smith, K; Oxford University Press, 2016
• Opamps for Everyone R. Mancini
• Op Amp Applications Handbook (Analog devices pub. Walt Jung Ed.) FREE Download
http://www.analog.com/en/education/education-library/op-amp-applications-handbook.html

• A Baker’s Dozen: Real Analog Circuits for Digital Engineers; (Newnes) B. Baker ISBN: 978-0-
7506-7819-3
 ESD Assessment

• There will be 2 summative assessments:

1. Design Exercise Report. A formal report will need to be submitted at the

end of week 14. It will be worth 25% of the total mark.

2. Final Examination. There will be an end of course final examination worth

75% of the total mark.
 Course Delivery Format

• This course will be delivered via 12 face-to-face lectures over the first semester of
AY2023-24
• Each Lecture is ~90 minutes and will consist of lecturing, video tutorials, in-class
exercises, and worked examples
• Labs will be run using lab sheets and with the help of GTAs. Labs are unseen
problems and should not be attempted beforehand.
 Week Lecture UoG Teaching Staff Lab
Welcome and Introduction to Electronic System Dr Anthony Centeno

Course 3 Design (Introductory Video on Moodle)

Operational Amplifiers (OpAmp) Dr Sajjad Hussain
Schedule OpAmp Imperfections Dr Sajjad Hussain Lab 1
OpAmp Imperfections - Static Errors Dr Sajjad Hussain

7 Figure of Merits Dr Sajjad Hussain Lab 2

Grounding and CMRR Dr Sajjad Hussain
The Instrumentation Amplifier Dr Anthony Centeno
The Instrumentation Amplifier Applications Dr Anthony Centeno

11 Design Challenge 2023 Dr Anthony Centeno Lab 3

Introduction to Noise
Noise Calculations Dr Anthony Centeno
Low Noise Design and Analysis Dr Anthony Centeno MCQ

15 Revision
Revision Lectures Dr Anthony Centeno/Dr
Sajjad Hussain
Let’s get into it!
 First Question: What is a System?

A System: A set of things working together as parts of a mechanism or an interconnecting network;

a complex whole [to implement a defined function]
Physiology: A set of organs in the body with a common structure or function.
‘the digestive system’
Computing /Electronics: A group of related hardware units or programs or both, especially when
dedicated to a single application.

System Design: The process of defining elements of a system like modules,

architecture, components and their interfaces and data to realise a
function based on the specified requirements.
It is the process of defining, developing, and designing systems
which satisfies the specific requirements of a customer or user.
 All Systems consist of:-

Perform
Inputs defined Outputs
(Stimulus) process on (Result)
inputs

Commodity Perform Function System

Passengers Rail/Air Transport
Electricity Power Grid Energy Distribution
Money Banks Business Growth
Temperature Controller Food Freezer
Voltage Gain = X21.73 Amplifier
Internet Traffic Measure ‘hits’ Traffic Control
 Sensors System Stack

Read Full paper at: http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/104909/1/104909.pdf

 What is "System Design"?

ESD is all about Choice and making engineering decisions:-

Which car is “better”?

Fuel Economy Quick

Price
Luggage space
You need to understand what THE
Passengers CUSTOMER or USER wants!!
You need to understand what THE CUSTOMER /USER wants!!
 System Design is Hierarchical: The ‘V’ Model
Feasibility Study / Operation &
Concept Exploration Maintenance

Concept of System Validation Plan System

Operations Validation
System Verification Plan
System (System Acceptance) System Verification
Requirements & Deployment
Subsystem Verification Plan
High-Level (Subsystem Acceptance) Subsystem
Design Verification
Unit / Device
Detailed Test Plan Unit /Device
Design Testing

Documentation / Approval
Software / Hardware
Development
Project Timeline
Source:
US Federal Highways Agency
 Electronic Systems Engineering Overview

Customer System
Needs Launch
Stakeholder Interaction
Requirements System
Capture Functional
Testing
System Development
Conceptual Final
Design Subsystem Assembly

Development
Preliminary Subsystem
Design Component Integration
Design
Detailed Component
Design Testing
 Key steps in ESD

User request / Customer

Definition Validation /Verification Acceptance
Specification &
Functional
Functional Validation /Verification Testing
Requirements
System System Level
Validation /Verification
Simulation Testing

Block Level Validation Block Level

Specification /Verification Testing

Validation
Circuit Design /Verification Circuit Testing

Time

Validation: Are you doing the right thing (meeting customer requirements)?
Verification: Are you meeting the specifications (for a given function)?
 Summary of System Engineering

• System design starts and ends with the customer…

-You must understand the application and the use case of the system
• It is a hierarchical process and every stage relies on the previous
stage
-You must take care throughout the process
• Validation (doing the right thing), and Verification (does it meet spec)
are critical at all stages
-When you are on the left side of the ‘V’ (Decomposition and Definition), you
must be thinking how you will test and deliver the final system on the right
side of the ‘V’ (Integration and Recomposition)
• Hardware design /Software design depend on good specifications
Electronic System Design
Examples of System Design:
System or Component??
 The secret to good system design

1. Understand the application

• WHAT is the customer /user trying to do?
• WHERE is the customer /user trying to do it?
• WHAT accuracy/precision /units is required (10s,1V, 10uA, 10ps…)
2. Take a holistic (wide) view of the problem
• Do not ‘rush’ to a solution; spend time UNDERSTANDING
• Try to consider several different approaches to the problem
3. Approach the problem systematically
• Use the ‘V’ Model
• Document your decisions: If you discover you were ‘wrong’ you can change the decision
and try again.
• Always consider HOW you will VALIDATE and VERIFY the results
How to assemble the parts…

We can all access the same

parts… the difference is how
we use the parts to meet the
customer need.
 In ESD, interfaces are key…

Signal Signal Perform Output Driver / Output Stage

Source Preconditioning operation Conditioner / Actuator

1. Signal Source: Could generate voltage, current, charge, resistance (change of)…
- Question: what Specification describes the input signal?
2. Signal Preconditioning: Amplifying, Filtering (shaping), frequency shifting, limiting…
- Question: what Specification of output is needed?
3. Perform Operation: Could be analog or digital:
- Question: what Specification / accuracy / precision is needed?
4. Output Driver / Conditioner: What is it driving? Specification?
5. Output Stage: What is the interface for output (current drive, voltage drive, fast, slow…)
Specification
A good systems engineer knows their interfaces… as well as internal block functions!!
Typical Electronic System (Analog)
 Simplified System Block Diagram

TP3210 (SLIM)
• Telecoms Subscriber
Line Interface Circuit
(SLIC) High
• Millions sold in China Voltage Low
in 1990s to connect Low
(0, -48-> Voltage
analog telephones to Voltage
-65V) Digital
network (before Analog
mobile) 0 -> +5V
+ / -5V
• Every city had a
Central Office that
connected to up to
3Million telephones
Source: National Semiconductor TP3210 Datasheet
A board containing many ‘systems’
 A telephone switch containing many ‘boards’

• Large telephone
‘switches’ could
accommodate up to 3M
subscriber lines
(telephone lines) on
boards

• A city like Chengdu might

have several large
switches connected to
the digital network
 Next Generation Cn Network: consisting many switches…

• One person’s system

is somebody else’s
component…
 Groups of 4 Class Exercise
10 minutes

Working in groups of 4, discuss whether the following are systems or

components…
Component ? System ?

1. A wireless microphone or Headset

2. A mobile phone
3. A fighter jet
4. An aircraft Carrier in the Chinese navy
5. A Hospital
Write down who you think calls it a component and who thinks it is a system
(e.g. Laptop: User thinks it as a component, Intel think it as a system)
Electronic System Design
A Practical Example
 1. Typical Customer Requirement

‘I want a piece of electronics that will make my voice louder and sound better when I am
singing along with my favourite songs on my phone’
1. It needs to be portable and battery powered
2. It needs a display to tell me how loud I am singing
3. I also want to be able to sell it to lecturers to improve their presentations
4. It must match my iPhone /XiaoMi /Huawei phone colours
5. It must be cheap….

NOTE:- There is no mention of how many volts / amps / watts in this requirement

That is your job…

 2. High Level, Concept Design
Loudness Display

OR
Mic
Amplifier Loudspeaker

Control
Electronics
External Power
Microphone Amplifier

Coloured Battery
Enclosure Power
 3. Examine the signal levels at the
interfaces…
Display
+? +?
+3.3V
MBED

A-D

D-A
? ? 4W

14 bit 10 bit
-? -?

~86dB 0V
Control
Dynamic range of
14 bit ADC
115dB (3.3Vpk / 16,384) ~62dB
Signal to Noise from =~0.2mV Dynamic range of
microphone 10 bit DAC
(179mVrms / 0.3uVrms) (3.3Vpk / 1024) =
~3.2mV
How do we design the system for best performance?
 4. Identify the problem block(s)… usually the
ones with the limited performance
Display
+? +?
+3.3V
MBED

A-D

D-A
? ? 4W

14 bit 10 bit
-? -?

0V
Control

Vmin = 0.2mV Vmin = 3.2mV

Vmax = 0 -> +3.3Vpk Vmax = 0 -> +3.3Vpk

~86dB ~62dB
Dynamic range of 14 bit ADC Dynamic range of 10 bit DAC
(3.3Vpk / 16,384) =~0.2mV (3.3Vpk / 1024) = ~3.2mV
 4. Identify the problem block(s)… usually the
ones with the limited performance

+3.3V
We cannot change the MBED We cannot change the
input parameters of the output parameters of the

A-D

D-A
MBED ADC so it is a MBED DAC so it is a
limitation 14 bit 10 bit
limitation

Answer: design around the Answer: design around the

0V
limitation or replace… limitation or replace…
(difficult) (difficult)
Vmin = 0.2mV Vmin = 3.2mV
Vmax = 0 -+3.3Vpk Vmax = 0 - +3.3Vpk

~86dB ~62dB
Dynamic range of 14 bit ADC Dynamic range of 10 bit DAC
(3.3Vpk / 16,384) =~0.2mV (3.3Vpk / 1024) = ~3.2mV
Our system performance is going to be limited by the MBED ADC / DAC performance
 5. Examine the signal levels around
problem blocks…
+3.3V

MBED digital functions

+3.3V (0 – 3.3V) +3.3V
14 10
bit

Output
bit

Input
0V
14 bit
10 bit
MBED
MBED DAC
ADC

Vmin = 0.2mV (LSB) Vmin = 3.2mV (LSB)

Vmax = 0 ->+3.3Vpk Vmax = 0 -> +3.3Vpk

We have 3 key problems:

1. Input range of ADC is between 0V and +3.3V
2. Audio signals are (usually) centred around 0V (positive and negative peaks). We need to modify our circuit to deal
with this; i.e. to accept an input centred around 0V
3. The output range of DAC is between 0 and +3.3V; we want to output a signal centred around 0V
 6. Solve the problems…
+3.3V

10kW
MBED digital functions
1.6mF Adc_in (0 – 3.3V)
+3.3V 14 10
1.6mF
bit bit

10kW

10kW
+1.65V 14 bit 10 bit +1.65V
MBED MBED
Input from mic amp ADC
Output from DAC
can now swing + and
0V DAC
0V can now swing +
– 1.65Vpk around 0V and – 1.65Vpk
-1.65V Potential divider -1.65V around 0V
provides
‘middle’ level = +3.3V
+1.65V
Check the ADC datasheet…
+1.65V

0V

We have 3 key problems:

1. Input range of ADC is between 0V and +3.3V …Fixed
2. Audio signals are (usually) centred around 0V (positive and negative peaks). We need to modify our circuit to deal
with this; i.e. to accept an input centred around 0V …Fixed
3. The output range of DAC is between 0 and +3.3V; we want to output a signal centred around 0V …Fixed
 7. Introduce the other blocks to the system…
+10V

Power Amp gain =

9.0Vpk / 1.65Vpk
= x 5.45 or 14.7dB

+3.3V

Output
Output

Input
Input

Input Power
0V 0V
Amplifier Amplifier

1.6mF 10kW MBED MBED 1.6mF

Design value for DAC

10kW
ADC
10kW

maximum signal Design value for

= 1.6mVrms MBED digital functions required output
Input Amp gain power =
(94dBA)
= 1.65Vpk / 10Wrms
==2.26mVpk
2.26mVpk = x ~6.4 Vrms
730 or 57.2dB [+/- 9.0Vpk]
Control Display -10V
 Finally… choose your power supplies

• After you have designed for the correct signal levels, look at the power
supplies you will need
• The input amplifier needs V+, V- to produce +/- 1.65Vpk output We have
relatively free choice; let’s assume +/- 3.3V
• The MBED is constrained for a maximum supply of +3.6V (use +3.3V to be
safe)
• If MBED is running on +3.3V then design all logic around this value
• The output Amplifier needs +/- 10V to produce +/- 9V pk output into 4 W (+/-
2.25Amps) [Power amp needs 1V headroom to operate]

• In some designs (e.g. automotive) you might be constrained by the

available supplies
 Typical System design
‘Customer Questions’
Assuming the main components are fixed (microphone, mic amp, MBED,
power amp, loudspeaker etc)
• How large a battery would be required for it to last 1 x 2 hour lecture?
• Typical ‘talking’ voice SPL = 94dBA (1.6mVrms)

• How long would the same battery last if was used in a rock concert?
• Typical ‘screaming singing’ voice SPL = 135dBA (at 25mm) [ 179mVrms]

• If Output Power = 6.4Vrms into a 4 ohm loudspeaker [10Wrms], do we require a heatsink on a

iPhone? How large?
• Am I allowed to take this equipment on a commercial airline flight ?

• These are ‘typical’ system design questions:- they do not ‘sound’

technical, but you need to perform a full engineering analysis to get the
right answer!!
 6 Rules for System Designers

1. Find out what the customer is trying to do (NOT what they say they want to
do!!)
2. Agree a set of requirements with the customer of what you will do to meet
their need
3. Think about the WHOLE problem and identify major tasks / functions / blocks
you need to perform the task
4. Look at the interfaces; what is happening BETWEEN the blocks
5. Look at the physical limitations (power, signal levels, heat etc)
6. Think about VALIDATION and VERIFICATION; how will you prove you have
met the requirements
 Self Study Question:
How many bits do you need?

If you use a typical dynamic microphone (Shure SM57) which has a maximum
output of 179mV, and a noise level of 0.3uVrms

1. What is theoretical dynamic range? [using DR = 20 log (Vmax / Vnoise) ]

2. How many bits ? [using DR =(6.02*N) + 1.76 in dB]

3. Should you invest in 24 bit ADCs for audio recording using this microphone?
Thank you
谢谢

#UofGWorldChangers
@UofGlasgow