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Robotics: Beginners Guide 1

BASIC ELECTRONICS COMPONENTS


Resistors, capacitors, and inductors are basic electrical components used in electronic
circuits. Some of the electrical components and their symbols are given in Figure 3.
RESISTORS
Resistors are components hich resist the flo of electronic current. !he resistors are
mainly used to reduce the voltage applied to other components and to limit the current
floing through other components. !he higher the value of the resistance, the loer
the current ill be. Resistance of a resistor is measured in terms of "hms #$% since
the relationship beteen voltage #&, volts%, current #', (mpere%, and resistance #R% is
e)plained by "hm*s la given in e+uation,1
&-'R #.+,1%
!he most common resistors are made using a carbon rod core ith end caps and ire
leads. /e can categori0e resistors into to basic types: fi)ed and variable resistors #or
potentiometers%. ( fi)ed resistor is the one hich has a fi)ed resistance value.
&ariable resistors have variable resistance values. !he value of the resistor is often
changed by a user by turning a 1nob or a dial.
!here are some special resistors designed to change in resistance hen heated. !hey
are called !hermistors and are used in temperature measuring circuits. !he same idea
is also used to design pressure sensors here a membrane is designed to be a resistor.
!he membrane resistance changes hen it is deformed by the pressure in a chamber.
Robotics: Beginners Guide 2
Figure-3: Common Electrical Components and their Symbols
Resistors generate heat and have a attage rating relating the poer level they can
handle. !he higher the attage rating the more heat they can dissipate. !here are
standard attage ratings such as 134, 135, 132, 1, more atts. 'n addition to the value
and attage, each resistor has a tolerance regarding their resistance. Standard resistors
have 16,267 tolerance but special resistors can have tolerances around 17.
8epending on the application, the proper tolerance rate is chosen. !hese properties are
often mar1ed on the resistors using a color code. Sometimes, they are ritten on the
resistor.
Resistor Color Code and Standard Resistor Values
Fi)ed value resistors are color coded to indicate their value and tolerance. Some have
their value ritten on them. !here are three color coding systems: a 5 Band code, a 9
Band code, and : Band code.
Robotics: Beginners Guide 3
!he standard color coding method for resistors has 16 colors to represent numbers
from 6 to ;: blac1, bron, red, orange, yello, green, blue, purple, grey, and hite.
!he first to bands alays represent the significant digits on a 5 band resistor. "n a 9
and : band, the significant digits are the first three bands. !he third band is the
multiplier or decade hich is multiplied by the resulting value of the significant digit
color bands. For e)ample, if the first to bands are bron #1% and orange #3% and the
third band is red #2%, this means 162 or 166. !hen, this gives a value of 13 < 166, or
1366 "hms.
For the decade band, the gold and silver colors are used to divide by a poer of 16
and 166 respectively, alloing for values belo 16 "hms. !he tolerance of the
resistor is represented by the ne)t band. Four colors are used for the tolerance band:
bron #=3,17%, red #=3,27%, gold #=3,97%, and silver #=3,167%. For e)ample, if the
tolerance band is silver, the true value of the resistor can be 167 more or less than
1366 "hms. !hus, the actual value of the resistor can be from 11>6 to 1536 "hms.
!he si)th band on a : band resistor reveals the temperature coefficient of the resistor,
measured parts per million per degree ?entigrade #@@A3?%. Seven colors are used for
the temperature coefficient: hite #1%, purple #9%, blue #16%, orange #19%, yello #29%,
red #96%, and bron #166%. !he most popular color is bron #166 @@A3?% and ill
or1 for normal temperature conditions. !he other colors are used for temperature
critical applications. Figure,5 represents all the colors and their meaning depending
on their location on resistors.
Since the si0es of the electronic components are shrin1ing or changing in shape, it
becomes very difficult to put color bands on a resistor. 'nstead, a simpler
alphanumeric coding system is used. !his coding system uses three numbers,
sometimes folloed by a single letter. !he numbers play the same role as the first
three bands on a 5 band resistor. First to numbers is the significant digits. !he third
number is the decade. !here are five possible letters: A-267, B-167, C-97, G-27,
F-17. For e)ample, if 5>3B is ritten on a resistor array, the 5 and > are the
significant digits and the 3 is the decade, giving 5> ) 1666 or 5>666 "hms. Since the
letter is B, the resistor has 167. !he same coding system is also used on the surface
mount resistors ith SA8 pac1age.
Since it could be difficult to see te)t on some components, the letters B, A and R are
used in place of the decimal point. !he letter B represents 1666, the letter A
represents 1666666, and the letter R represents 6. For e)ample, a 3;66 "hm resistor
ill have 3B; on the pac1age and a >.2 "hm resistor is represented as >R2. !here are
seven standards for resistor values: .3, .:, .12, .25, .54, .;:, and .1;2 based on
their tolerance levels 967, 267, 167, 97, 27, 17, and less than 6.97 respectively.
.3 standard is no longer used. .: standard is used very seldom. !he most used
standards are .12 and .25. 'n the .12 standard, the resistors ta1e all decades of the
folloing values: 1.6, 1.2, 1.9, 1.4, 2.2, 2.>, 3.3, 3.;, 5.>, 9.:, :.4 and 4.2 'n the .25
standard, the resistors ta1e all decades of the folloing values: 1.6, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.9,
1.:, 1.4, 2.6, 2.2, 2.5, 2.>, 3.6, 3.3, 3.:, 3.;, 5.3, 5.>, 9.1, 9.:, :.2, :.4, >.9 and 4.2.
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Figure-4: Resistance color codes
INDUCTORS
(n inductor is an electronic component composed of a coil of ire. !he magnetic
properties of a coil come into effect. /hen a voltage is applied, a current starts
floing in the coil and a magnetic field is created as shon in Figure 9. /hile the
field is building, the coil resists the flo of the current. "nce the field is built, current
flos normally. /hen the voltage is removed, the magnetic field around the coil
1eeps the current floing until the field collapses. !hus, the inductor can store energy
in its magnetic field, and resist any change in the amount of current floing through
it. !he unit of inductance is the Denry #D%. 'n order to increase the inductance, e can
use core materials li1e Soft iron, Silicon iron, etc. !he most common type of inductor
is the Bar ?oil type. !he others are surface mount inductors, !oroids #ring,shaped
core%, thin film inductors, and transformers. !he choice of inductor depends on the
space availability, fre+uency range of operation, and certainly poer re+uirements.
Robotics: Beginners Guide 9
Figure-5: An Inductor and its magnetic ield
CAPACITOR
( capacitor is an energy storing device, made up of to parallel conductive plates
separated by an insulating material. !his insulating material is called a dielectric. 't
stores a charge because electrons crod onto the negative plate and repel electrons on
the positive plate, thereby inducing an e+ual and opposite charge. !he unit of the
capacitance is Farad #F%. Doever, practical values of a capacitor are in micro and
nano Farad ranges. Figure : presents an electrolytic capacitor and its symbols.



Figure-!: An Electrolytic capacitor and its symbol
!here are to different types of capacitors: .lectrolytic and Eon,electrolytic. Eon,
electrolytic capacitors use mica or polyester as dielectric. .lectrolytic capacitors use
aluminum metal plates on either side of a sheet of paper soa1ed in aluminum borate.
?eramic capacitors are used in high fre+uency applications. !hese are stable at high
fre+uencies. !antalum bead capacitors are very small in si0e, thus commonly used as
surface mount components.
Farge capacitors have the value printed plainly on them but smaller ones often have
Gust 2 or three numbers on them. 't is similar to the resistor codes. !he first to are the
1st and 2nd significant digits and the third is a multiplier code. Sometimes, one or to
letters are added for tolerance and temperature coefficient.
Robotics: Beginners Guide :
!he values calculated using the digits on a capacitor is in pF #pico Farad%.
For e)ample, if a capacitor has 169F on it, the capacitor has 16< 166,666 - 1666666
pF - 1666 nF #nano Farad% - 1 H F #micro Farad% value and 17 tolerance.
!here are to letters used for temperature co efficient: @ #=166% and I #=46%. !here
are other standards such as .'( #.lectronic 'ndustrial (ssociation% here there are
more letters for a detailed tolerance and temperature coefficients.
DIODES
8iode is an electrical device alloing current to move through it in one direction ith
far greater ease than in the other direction. !he most common type of diode in modern
circuit design is the semiconductor diode. 8iodes are polari0ed, hich means that
they must be inserted in the correct ay. 8iodes have to connections: an anode
#positive% and a cathode #negative%. !he cathode is alays identified by a dot, ring, or
some other mar1, shon in Figure >.
Figure-": #iodes
8iodes are said to be biased, based on the voltages applied to it. !o forard bias a
diode, the anode must be more positive than the cathode. !o reverse bias a diode, the
anode must be less positive than the cathode. /hen forard biased, the device
conducts current, but hen reverse biased, it prevents the flo of current.
Eote that diode starts to conduct hen the voltage on the diode reaches a certain level
#in practice this is about 6.> &olt%. &oltages above this value increase the current
going through the diode linearly. "n the other hand, if the voltage on the diode is
reversed, the diode does not let any current pass through itself. Doever, if the
reverse voltage is increased up to a certain level, the diode can be bro1en and lets a
high current pass through itself. !his voltage is called brea1don voltage.
Robotics: Beginners Guide >
LIGHT EMITTING DIODE (LED
( light,emitting diode #F.8%, shon in Figure 4, is a semiconductor device that emits
incoherent narro,spectrum light hen electrically biased in the forard direction.
!he longer leg in the figure is the anode, and the shorter one is the cathode. !his
effect is a form of electro,luminescence. !he color of the emitted light depends on
the chemical composition of the material used, and can be near,ultraviolet, visible, or
infrared.
Figure-$: %ight Emitting #iode &%E#'
(n F.8 is a special type of semiconductor diode. Fi1e a standard normal diode, it
consists of a chip of semiconductor material impregnated #doped% ith impurities to
create a structure called a p,n Gunction. ?urrent flos easily from the p,side #anode% to
the n,side #cathode%. ?harge,carriers #electrons and holes% flo into the Gunction from
electrodes ith different voltages. /hen an electron meets a hole, it falls into a loer
energy level, and releases energy in the form of a photon as it does so. !he light e
see from an F.8 is created by these photons.
TRANSISTOR
( transistor shon in figure,;, can be initially thought of as an Jelectronically,
controlled resistor.J !o of the pins act li1e a normal resistor. !he other JcontrolJ pin
controls the resistance JseenJ beteen the other 2 pins. !he JcontrolJ pin is called the
gate in a Field .ffect !ransistor #F.!% #the other 2 pins are the source and drain%. !he
JcontrolJ pin is called the base in a Bipolar Cunction !ransistor #BC!% #the other 2 pins
are the emitter and the collector%.
!o electrical +uantities can be used to control the resistance beteen the to
terminals , current and voltage. 'n a F.!, the voltage at the gate controls the
resistance beteen source and drain, hile in the BC!, the current floing into the
base controls the resistance beteen the emitter and collector. /hile often referred to
as an amplifier, a transistor does not create a higher voltage or current of its on
accord. Fi1e any other device, it obeys the Birchoff*s las. !he resistance of a
transistor dynamically changes, hence the term transistor.
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Figure-( )ransistors
"ne of its popular uses is in building a signal amplifier, but it can also be used as a
sitch. !oday*s transistors are mostly found inside '?s. Stand, alone transistors are
used mostly only in high poer applications or for poer, regulation.
Both the BC! and the F.! are popular today #among the F.!s, the A"SF.! being
the most popular form of transistor%, each one having certain advantages over the
other. BC!s are much faster and high current devices, hile F.!s are small,si0ed lo,
poer devices. Knderstanding the function of a transistor is a 1ey to understanding
electronics.
OPERATIONAL AMPLI!IER
"ne can clearly generali0e and say that the field of electronics largely depends upon
manipulating ith the input signals such as voltage or current to produce desired
output. !hese manipulations include #not limited to% mathematical operations, such as
addition, subtraction, integration, and differentiation. 'n the analog domain, the most
common device that is used to perform the above listed operations is the operational
amplifiers or op amps. ?urrent applications of operational amplifiers go far beyond
simple mathematical operations. "p,amps are used in many control and
instrumentation systems to perform various tas1s such as voltage regulators,
oscillators, logarithmic amplifiers, pea1 detectors, and voltage comparators.
"perational amplifiers have special characteristics due to hich they are idely used
as predictable building bloc1s in many circuit designs. Some of these characteristics
are as follos: very high gain #16,666 to million%, high input resistance #163 to 1619
ohms%, small si0e, lo poer consumption, good reliability and stability, and last but
not the least, lo cost of manufacturing. Figure 16 illustrates the standard symbol of
an operational amplifier. 't consists of to input terminals and one output terminal.
!he input terminal indicated ith minus sign is called the inverting terminal and the
other input terminal is called the non,inverting terminal. ( signal applied at the
inverting terminal and ground appears at the output ith a 146o phase shift. Fi1eise
a signal applied at the non,inverting terminal and ground appears at the output
ith a 6L phase shift.
Robotics: Beginners Guide ;
Figure-*+ ,perational Ampliier
'n the analysis and design of circuits employing op,amps, a simplified circuit model
1non as ideal op,amp is often used that has the folloing characteristics.
'nfinite open loop voltage
'nfinite input resistance
!he amplifier dras 0ero current
"utput resistance is negligible
!he gain is constant and independent of fre+uency

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