2026 (Current Year) Faculty Courses School of Engineering Undergraduate major in Information and Communications Engineering
Linear Electronic Circuits
- Academic unit or major
- Undergraduate major in Information and Communications Engineering
- Instructor(s)
- Mahfuzul Islam A K M / Hiroki Sato
- Class Format
- Lecture (Face-to-face)
- Media-enhanced courses
- -
- Day of week/Period
(Classrooms) - 5-6 Tue (S4-203) / 5-6 Fri (S4-203)
- Class
- -
- Course Code
- ICT.I312
- Number of credits
- 200
- Course offered
- 2026
- Offered quarter
- 3Q
- Syllabus updated
- Sep 28, 2026
- Language
- Japanese
Syllabus
Course overview and goals
Electronic circuits form the foundation of modern information systems and have steadily improved in speed and performance through advances in semiconductor device scaling. They also serve as essential interfaces between the physical and cyber worlds, in which transistors play a fundamental role in signal amplification and information conversion. Therefore, understanding transistor operating principles and characteristics is essential for electronic circuit design.
In addition, practical circuit design requires a solid understanding of circuit analysis techniques.
This course helps students understand the fundamental characteristics of transistors and introduces circuit analysis methods based on small-signal equivalent models. The course also covers the basic characteristics and applications of operational amplifiers, which are widely used as fundamental building blocks in electronic circuits.
Course description and aims
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
1) Explain the basic operation and characteristics of transistors.
2) Analyze electronic circuits systematically using small-signal equivalent models.
3) Determine fundamental circuit characteristics, including voltage gain, input and output resistances, and frequency response.
4) Understand the basic characteristics of operational amplifiers and the concept of negative feedback, and analyze basic operational-amplifier circuits.
5) Evaluate circuit behavior both qualitatively and quantitatively, and explain key trade-offs in electronic circuit design.
Keywords
Transistor， Amplifier， Negative Feedback， Differential Amplifier， Operational Amplifier
Competencies
- Specialist skills
- Intercultural skills
- Communication skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Practical and/or problem-solving skills
Class flow
This course begins with a review of fundamental circuit analysis techniques, followed by an introduction to the operating principles and characteristics of semiconductor devices and MOS transistors.
Students then learn the operating principles, analysis, and design of basic amplifier circuits using small-signal equivalent models of MOS transistors.
The course subsequently extends to more complex circuits, including cascode and multistage amplifiers, and introduces methods for analyzing and evaluating key circuit characteristics such as gain, input and output resistance, frequency response, and noise.
The course then introduces bias circuits and differential amplifiers, along with the effects of device variations and operating conditions on circuit performance.
The course also covers stabilizing and improving circuit characteristics through negative feedback, as well as the stability and frequency compensation of feedback circuits.
Finally, these concepts are integrated through the study of the basic architecture and design of CMOS operational amplifiers and fundamental circuit design using operational amplifiers.
Course schedule/Objectives
| Course schedule | Objectives | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | Fundamentals of Circuit Analysis |
KCL/KVL, equivalent circuits, operating points, and the concept of small-signal analysis |
| Class 2 | Fundamentals of Electronic Circuits and Semiconductor Devices |
Diodes, MOS structures, and the role of transistors in electronic circuits |
| Class 3 | Operating Principles and Modeling of MOS Transistors |
Operating regions, I–V characteristics, transconductance, and small-signal equivalent models |
| Class 4 | Analysis and Design of Basic MOS Amplifiers |
Common-source, common-drain, and common-gate amplifiers; gain and input/output resistance |
| Class 5 | Cascode and Multistage Amplifiers |
Output resistance, gain enhancement, cascode structures, and multistage amplification |
| Class 6 | Frequency Response of Amplifiers |
Poles and zeros, Miller effect, bandwidth, and high-frequency small-signal models |
| Class 7 | Noise in Electronic Circuits and Noise Analysis |
Thermal noise, flicker noise, input-referred noise, and signal-to-noise ratio |
| Class 8 | Midterm Examination |
Midterm Examination |
| Class 9 | Review of the Midterm Examination and Circuit Design Exercises |
Review of the first half of the course and application to circuit design problems |
| Class 10 | Bias Circuits and Differential Amplifiers |
Current sources, current mirrors, differential pairs, and common-mode characteristics |
| Class 11 | Circuit Variations and Negative Feedback |
PVT and device variations and stabilization of circuit characteristics through negative feedback |
| Class 12 | Stability and Compensation of Feedback Circuits |
Loop gain, phase margin, gain margin, Bode plots, and compensation techniques |
| Class 13 | Analysis and Design of CMOS Operational Amplifiers |
Differential input stages, gain stages, output stages, and trade-offs among gain, bandwidth, and power consumption |
| Class 14 | Circuit Design Using Operational Amplifiers |
Inverting and non-inverting amplifiers, integrators, filters, and practical applications |
Study advice (preparation and review)
To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend approximately 100 minutes preparing for class and another 100 minutes reviewing class content afterward (including assignments) for each class.
They should do so by referring to textbooks and other course materials.
Textbook(s)
No specific textbook
Reference books, course materials, etc.
Additional class materials will be used
Evaluation methods and criteria
Course performance will be evaluated based on assignments, a midterm examination, and a final examination.
In principle, the weighting will be 20% for assignments, 30% for the midterm examination, and 50% for the final examination. The final score will be calculated as follows:
Final Score = MAX(20% Assignments + 30% Midterm Examination + 50% Final Examination, 100% Final Examination)
In other words, the final course score will be the higher of the weighted overall score and the score based solely on the final examination.
Related courses
- ICT.I203 ： Electric Circuits
- ICT.I207 ： Linear Circuits
Prerequisites
No prerequites are necessary, but enrollment in the related courses are desirable.