Computer circuits are binary in concept, having only two possible states.

They use on-off switches

(transistors) that are electrically opened and closed in nanoseconds and picoseconds (billionths and
trillionths of a second). A computer's speed of operation depends on the design of its circuitry.
An electric circuit is a closed circular loop in which electrons travel and produce electric current. The basic
components of an electric circuit include a battery, a switch, a light bulb and conducting wires. Types of circuits
include five major classifications: Close Circuit, Open Circuit, Short Circuit, Series Circuit, and Parallel Circuit.

 Electrical circuits manage energy storage, transmission, and conversion.

 Energy enters through sources (thermal, chemical, etc.) and exits through sinks.
 Sources convert energy to electricity; sinks reverse the process.
 Electrical charge transports energy within the circuit.
 Magnetic and electric fields facilitate energy transport in the circuit.
 There are different types of circuits such as series, star-delta, parallel, linear, unilateral, bilateral, non-linear,
closed, open, series-parallel, DC and AC.
 The components of electric circuits work together so current can flow at specific resistance and voltage.
 The electric circuit types include a range of circuit configurations serving distinct purposes.

Types of Circuits

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In an electrical circuit, the elements are properly organized for the storage, conversion, and transmission of
energy. It is a combination of wires, load or resistance, and a switch.
There are various sources of energy in an electrical circuit – photocell or electric generator, battery and
thermocouple. In an electrical circuit, the energy enters via one or more sources and exits via one or more sinks.

There are various types of electric circuits. Some of them are as follows:

 Series Circuit
 Parallel Circuit
 Series-Parallel Circuit
 Unilateral Circuits
 Bi-lateral Circuits
 Star-Delta Circuit
 DC Circuit
 AC Circuit
 Linear Circuit
 Non-linear Circuit
 Closed Circuit
 Open Circuit

Series Circuit

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A series circuit is a type of electric circuit in which resistances are connected one after the other in the form of a
series. This type of connection is also known as an end-to-end connection or a cascade connection. In a series
circuit, the flow of current follows a single path.
 Series Circuit

Properties of Series Circuit

Here are some properties of the series circuit:

 In a series circuit, there is only one pathway for the flow of electric current.
 The same amount of current travels through every resistance.
 The supply voltage (V) is equal to the sum of the individual voltage dips (or sags) across the resistances.

V = V1 + V2 + V3 + …..+ Vn

 The equivalent electrical resistance is equal to the sum of the individual resistances.
 The equivalent resistance is the greatest of all the individual resistances.

R > R1, R > R2,….., R > Rn

 In a series of connected bulbs, if one bulb goes out, all bulbs will be extinguished.
  An example of the series circuit includes water heaters, freezers, table lamps, etc.

Parallel Circuit

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A parallel circuit is a type of circuit in which a number of resistances are linked across each other in such a way
that one terminal of each resistance is connected to form a junction point while the remaining end is also
connected to form another point. A parallel circuit has branched components. So, the current gets divided into
branches. The current gets distributed in the branches and only some amount of current flows through all
resistances of the total current.

Parallel Circuit

Properties of Parallel Circuit

Here are some properties of the parallel circuit:

 In a parallel circuit, each component has the same voltage across its terminals.
 In this type of circuit, the total current gets distributed into the number of paths equal to the number of
parallel resistances.
 The aggregate current is always equal to the sum of all individual currents.

I = I1 + I2 + I3 + ……+ In

 The reciprocal of a parallel circuit’s equivalent resistance is equal to the sum of the reciprocals of the
individual resistances.
 Parallel circuits offer a lower total resistance compared to series circuits.
 As more branches are added, the overall resistance decreases.
 The equivalent resistance is the smallest of all the resistances.

R < R1, R < R2, ….., R < Rn

 The equivalent conductance is calculated by adding the single conductance.

 If one component of a parallel circuit fails or is removed, the others continue to function.
 Identifying and fixing issues in parallel circuits is often simpler than in series circuits, as individual
components can be isolated

Other Types of Circuits

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Here’s a list of some other types of circuits and their descriptions:

Star-Delta Circuit

In a star-delta circuit, the electrical elements are connected in a way that the circuit cannot be defined in terms of
series, parallel and series-parallel configuration. This type of circuit is only solved by using the Star Delta or Delta
Star Transformation.

Star-Delta Circuit

Linear Circuit
A linear circuit is defined as an electric circuit in which circuit parameters such as resistance, capacitance,
inductance, waveform, frequency, etc. are constant. In other words, a linear circuit is one whose parameters
remain unchanged with respect to Current and Voltage.

Linear Circuit

Non-Linear Circuit

An electric circuit whose parameters change with respect to current and voltage is known as a non-linear circuit. In
a non-linear circuit, the circuit parameters (resistance, capacitance, inductance, frequency, waveform, etc.) are not
constant.
 Non-Linear Circuit

Unilateral Circuits

In unilateral circuits, the circuit’s property varies with the change of direction of supply voltage or current. The
current flows in only one direction in a unilateral circuit. Example: Diode rectifier as it does not perform
rectification in both directions of supply.
 Unilateral Circuits

Bi-lateral Circuits

The circuit in which the circuit’s property does not vary with the change of direction of supply voltage or current is
known as a bi-lateral circuit. The current flows in both directions in the bilateral circuit. Example: Transmission line.
 Bi-lateral Circuits

The other types of electrical circuits are as follows –

 Digital Circuit uses discrete digital signals, representing data in binary form (0s and 1s).
 Analogue Circuit processes continuous signals, representing information with varying voltage levels.
 A Combinational Logic Circuit performs logical operations using inputs to produce specific outputs, crucial in
digital circuit design.
 An Electronic Oscillator circuit generates continuous waveforms, fundamental in producing frequencies for
various applications.
 Short Circuit circuit has undesired connection creating low resistance, often causing excessive current flow.
 Closed Circuit has a complete path for current flow, enabling electrical devices to function.
 Direct Current has a unidirectional flow of electric charge, typical in batteries and most electronic systems.
 An Electrical Network has interconnected components facilitating the transmission of electrical signals or
power.
 Active Circuit employs a power source for signal amplification or processing.
 Passive Circuit lacks a power source, relying on resistors, capacitors, and inductors for signal manipulation.
  Equivalent Circuit is a simplified representation of a complex circuit, maintaining similar electrical
characteristics.

Parts of Circuits

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The key parts of an electric circuit are –

 A node is a point or junction where two or more elements (resistor, capacitor, inductor etc.) of a circuit meet.
 The part or section of a circuit that connects two junctions is referred to as a branch. One or more elements
can be connected in a branch.
 A loop is defined as a closed path in a circuit where more than two meshes are found.
 Mesh refers to a closed loop that does not contain other loops within it or a path that contains no other
paths.
 The power Source provides energy for the circuit.
 Conductors allow the flow of electric current (usually wires).
 Switches control the circuit's on/off state.
 Resistors limit and control the flow of current.
 Capacitors store and release electrical energy.
 Inductors store energy in a magnetic field.
 Diodes allow current flow in one direction.
 Transistors act as amplifiers or switches.

Uses of Electrical Circuits

The uses of electric circuits in daily life are as follows –

  Electric circuits power lighting systems in homes, offices, and public spaces.
 Everyday devices like smartphones, TVs, and computers use electric circuits.
 Electric circuits enable communication devices, such as phones and the Internet.
 Household appliances like refrigerators, washing machines, and microwaves function through electric
circuits.
 Electric circuits are useful in security systems, including alarms and surveillance cameras.

Difference Between Series and Parallel Connection

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Series Parallel
In a series circuit, the current pathway is single. In a parallel circuit, the current pathway is parallel.
The similar current runs across all the components. All the components have the same potential difference.
The sum of the potential dips across each component
The sum of the currents that flow into any point in the circuit
is equal to the electromotive force (EMF) of the
is equal to the sum of the currents that flow out of that point.
source.

What is the integrated circuit?

An integrated circuit (IC) — commonly called a chip — is made out of a semiconductor material called silicon, in which small
electronic components called transistors are formed within the silicon and then wired together with interconnects layered on top of
the silicon surface .What is a diode array in computer?

What is a diode array in computer?

Diode arrays are composed of multiple discrete (usually unconnected) diodes on a single silicon chip. Diode. arrays are important
semiconductor products because they save assembly time and improve reliability over individually packaged diodes. In general,
diode arrays use four or more diodes in a single package.

What is a Medium Scale Integration?

What is medium-scale integration (MSI)? MSI refers to a category of integrated circuits (ICs) that falls between small-scale
integration (SSI) and large-scale integration (LSI). In MSI, a moderate number of electronic components, such as transistors and
resistors, are combined on a single chip.

Large-scale integration is a situation in which a chip has tens of thousands of transistors on it. A
microprocessor is a clock-driven semiconductor device consisting of electronic logic circuits
manufactured by using a large-scale integration technique.

Very-large-scale integration is the process of creating an integrated circuit by combining millions or billions of MOS transistors onto a single chip. VLSI
began in the 1970s when MOS integrated circuit chips were developed and then widely adopted, enabling complex semiconductor and
telecommunication technologies
INTEGRATED CIRCUITS: SSI, MSI, LSI, VLSI, ULSI

An integrated circuit is a set of electronic circuits on one small flat piece where the piece is
made up of semiconductor material (silicon). Where large number of MOSFETs integrate
into a small chip . Then the circuits becomes smaller, faster, and less expensive than those
discrete electronic component.

The first integrated circuits was “Small-Scale Integration Circuits” contained only a few
transistors numbering in the tens. They have played very important role in the field of
development of early computers. SSI was followed by MSI (Medium-Scale integration
circuits) where the number of transistors present on the chip was in the range of hundreds.
Next development was of LSI (Large Scale Integration circuits) where thousands of
transistors were present on the chip and it was around 1970s when the production of the
MSI was at its peak level .Next generation is VLSI circuits(Very Large Scale Integration
Circuits) where hundreds of thousands of transistors were used, it was the first time when
CPU(central processing unit) was built on the single integrated circuit and
‘microprocessor’ term was introduced. In 1994 microprocessor chip was produced
containing more than 3 million transistors on it. The next generation of VLSI is known as
USLI (ultra scale large integrated circuits)

Why integrated circuits are preferred over the circuits made up of discrete
electronics component?

· Compact size : Circuits built using IC’s are smaller compared to that built using the
discrete circuit

· Low power consumption: because of smaller size and construction IC’s consume less
power compared to traditional circuit

· Lesser weight − ICs weighs lesser than discrete circuits that are used for used for
implementing the same function of IC.

· Reduced cost: because of the fabrication technologies and usage of lesser material than
discrete circuits , the cost is reduced in the manufacturing process of IC’s.
· Improved operating speeds: because of their lesser power consumption and switching
speeds , IC’s operate at improved speed as compared to digital circuits.

· Increased reliability: connections in IC’s are lesser in number as compared to that of

digital circuits which results in increased reliability.

Types of integrated circuits:

o Analog integrated circuits: analog IC’s operates over an entire range of the continuous
values of signal amplitude. Further there are two types of the analog integrated circuits.

1. Linear Integrated Circuits

2. Radio frequency integrated Circuits

o Digital Integrated Circuits : instead of operating for an entire range of continuous

values of the signal amplitude , digital integrated circuits operates only at the few
predefined levels.
SSI Circuits (small scale integration circuits)

http://www.getlofi.com/uploaded_images/10_1_b-721024.JPG

SSI was developed where transistors numbering in the tens providing a few logic gates was
present on the chip. Early developments of the integrated circuits started in 1949 when
German engineer Werner Jacobi filed a patent on integrated-circuit-like semiconductor
amplifying device showing five transistors on a common substrate in a 3-stage amplifier
arrangement.The basic idea behind the IC was to create small ceramic squares , each
containing a single miniaturized component
Semiconductor IC’s fabrication includes three key process steps — imaging, deposition and
etching. The main process steps are supplemented by doping and cleaning. Silicon is
almost always used, but various compound semiconductors are used for specialised
applications. The entire manufacturing process, from start to packaged chips ready for
shipment, takes six to eight weeks and is performed in highly specialized facilities referred
to as fabs. Integrated circuits are composed of many overlapping layers, each defined by
photolithography, and normally shown in different colors.

SSI circuits were crucial to early aerospace projects, and aerospace projects helped inspire
development of the technology , Both the Minuteman missile and Apollo program needed
lightweight digital computers for their inertial guidance systems first,MOS chips were
small-scale integration chips for NASA satellites.

· Early 3 and later 5 transistor chipset

3 transistor and later 5 transistor microchip was developed for basic electrical functions.
The Plessey SL201 integrated circuit and Philips TAA320 integrated circuit were successful
examples from the early 1950s

· The ZN414 integrated circuit

The idea was the production of a cheap and efficient 5 transistor microchip for basic radio
set circuit functions. It was first created in 1972 and became very popular with both
business and hobbyists around the world. The ZN414 integrated circuit is a successful
example of this radio-chip concept from 1972.

MSI Circuits (medium scale integration circuits)

It was the next higher level of IC integration, in which, typically 10 to 1000 transistors
making 30 to 300 logic gates per chip are fabricated on a single chip. Medium-scale
integration technology was prominent between years 1966 and 1971. This technology is
used to make multiplexers, decoders, counters, and registers.
https://i.stack.imgur.com/FZd2m.jpg

MSI circuits was developed in the early days of mainframe computers.It was the next step
in the development of integrated circuits contained hundreds of transistors on each chip. In
1964, Frank Wanlass demonstrated a single-chip 16-bit shift register he designed, with an
incredible (at the time) 120 transistors on a single chip.As compared to SSI , MSI devices
were attractive economically because while they cost little more to produce than SSI
devices. they allowed more complex systems to be produced using smaller circuit boards,
less assembly work (because of fewer separate components), and a number of other
advantages.

SSI and MSI devices often were manufactured by masks created by hand-cutting
Rubylith.LSI devices contain so many transistors, interconnecting wires, and other features
that it is considered impossible for a human to check the masks or even do the original
design entirely by hand. The engineer depends on computer programs and other hardware
aids to do most of this work.

MSI or Medium scale integrated circuits are a set of basic, elementary logic circuits. They
are available as ICs (integrated chips) and implement specific,commonly used digital
functions such as:

1. Multiplexing and Demultiplexing

2. Encoding and Decoding

MSIs can be used as a stand-alone IC or in combination with other ICs in order to
implement combinational circuits in various applications. In this module, you will study
many of the common types of MSI devices. For each type, you will start with a brief
discussion of its basic operating principle and then introduce specific ICs. Now let’s see
how they can be used alone or in combination with other ICs in various applications.

Some of the most widely used MSI circuits:

1. 74283 4-bit adder

2. 74HC283 from Philips

3. 555 timer

4. It was used in the core of the CPU of such computers as the PDP-11 and VAX 11/780

LSI Circuits (large scale integration circuits)

It is the process of integrating or embedding thousands of transistors on a single silicon
semiconductor microchip. LSI technology was conceived in the mid-1970s when computer
processor microchips were under development.

https://c7.alamy.com/comp/T5WM7K/lsi-quad-flat-pack-package-type-of-surface-mount-
technology-smt-chip-mounted-on-a-pcb-T5WM7K.jpg

The term “large scale integration” (LSI) was first used by IBM scientist Rolf Landauer
when describing the theoretical concept; that term gave rise to the terms “small-scale
integration” (SSI), “medium-scale integration” (MSI), “very-large-scale integration” (VLSI),
and “ultra-large-scale integration” (ULSI). Large scale integration (LSI) and application
specific integrated circuits (ASICs) are exactly what they say they are: integrated circuits
that have been specially designed and tooled to do one very specific job. In other words,
miniature worlds of components emulating what otherwise would be put together using
quantities of separate components on a printed circuit board.

LSI chips are widely used in applications with specific processing requirements and where
parameters such as speed and very low cost are important. Custom designed logic
integrated circuits devices result in better performance, lower cost, and sometimes lower
power consumption at given speeds. They also have some built in security protection: their
operation cannot be easily copied by competitors. Applications are to be found just about
everywhere: hand-held organizers, cell-phones, telecommunication equipment, musical
instruments, MP3 decoders and telephony receivers. Most commercial network interface
chips are nothing but LSI devices specially designed to interface between the network and
a microprocessor.
VLSI Circuits (very large scale integration circuits)

Very large scale integration is the process of creating an integrated circuit (IC) by
combining millions of MOS transistors onto a single chip.

https://www.electronicshub.org/vlsi-projects-for-engineering-students/
VLSI began in the 1970s when MOS integrated circuit chips were widely adopted, enabling
complex semiconductor and telecommunication technologies to be developed. are VLSI
devices. Before the introduction of VLSI technology, most ICs had a limited set of functions
they could perform. An electronic circuit might consist of a CPU, ROM, RAM and other glue
logic. VLSI lets IC designers add all of these into one chip. Very large-scale integration was
made possible with the wide adoption of the MOS transistor, originally invented
by Mohamed M. Atalla and Dawon Kahng at Bell Labs in 1959. Atalla first proposed the
concept of the MOS integrated circuit chip in 1960, followed by Kahng in 1961, both noting
that the MOS transistor’s ease of fabrication made it useful for integrated circuits. General
Microelectronics introduced the first commercial MOS integrated circuit in 1964. In the
early 1970s, MOS integrated circuit technology allowed the integration of more than
10,000 transistors in a single chip. This paved the way for VLSI in the 1970s and 1980s,
with tens of thousands of MOS transistors on a single chip (later hundreds of thousands,
then millions, and now billions).

Structured VLSI design is a modular methodology originated by Carver Mead and Lynn
Conway for saving microchip area by minimizing the interconnect fabrics area. This is
obtained by repetitive arrangement of rectangular macro blocks which can be
interconnected using wiring by abutment. An example is partitioning the layout of an adder
into a row of equal bit slices cells. In complex designs this structuring may be achieved by
hierarchical nesting.

The Design Process of a VLSI IC

Overall, VLSI IC design incorporates two primary stages or parts:

. Front-End Design: This includes digital design using a hardware description language,
for example, Verilog, System Verilog, and VHDL. Furthermore, this stage encompasses
design verification via simulation and other verification techniques.

. Back-End Design: This consists of characterization and CMOS library design.

Additionally, it involves fault simulation and physical design.

VLSI Technology has advanced rapidly since late 90s. Low cost, high performance Chips
designed and fabricated made strong impact in systems development and resulted in
applications to diversified fields like computers, communications, entertainment
electronics, medicine, and rural necessities. Spreading of Internet globally, making this
world as a ‘global village” and rapid strides in mobile communications have a direct
bearing on the progress made in VLSI technology. Research work is being done to further
develop the technology in new dimensions like Silicon Photonics, Organic semi-conductors,
Flexible displays etc. These developments take the technology further close to rural
applications and can result in significant improvement in the quality of life in villages. Fibre
optic connectivity, hosting of portals with useful information to rural folk, e-governance,
energy conservation, wireless sensor networks, Telephone-TV can improve the standard of
living in rural areas significantly. VLSI technology directly or indirectly is playing a vital
role in this direction.

ULSI Circuits (ultra large scale integration circuits)

Ultra large scale integration, which refers loosely to placing more than about one million
circuit elements on a single chip.
https://mcretro.net/co-processors-and-you/

ULSI technology was conceived during the late 1980s when superior computer processor
microchips, specifically for the Intel 8086 series, were under development. ULSI is a
successor to large-scale integration (LSI) and very large-scale integration (VLSI)
technologies but is in the same category as VLSI.

ULSI was designed to provide the greatest possible computational power from the smallest
form factor of microchip or microprocessor dye. This was achieved by embedding and
integrating integrated circuits (IC), which were formed with transistors and logic gates.
The close placement and design architecture enabled faster resolution of tasks and
processes. However, even though VLSI now contains more than millions of transistors, any
IC or microchip with more than one million transistors is considered a ULSI
implementation.

What is the operational amplifier?

An operational amplifier (op-amp) is an integrated circuit (IC) that amplifies the difference in voltage between two inputs. It is so
named because it was developed for perform arithmetic operations. Amplifiers, buffers, comparators, filters, etc. can be
implemented with simple external circuits.

What is the analog-to-digital converter?

An analog-to-digital converter (ADC) is used to convert an analog signal such as voltage to a digital form so that it can be read and
processed by a microcontroller. Most microcontrollers nowadays have built-in ADC converters. It is also possible to connect an
external ADC converter to any type of microcontroller.
What is a digital-to-analog converter?
A DAC converts an abstract finite-precision number (usually a fixed-point binary number) into a physical quantity (e.g., a voltage or
a pressure). In particular, DACs are often used to convert finite-precision time series data to a continually varying physical signal.