Instructor

Subhananda Chakrabarti

Section

S1

Semester

Autumn ‘21

Course Difficulty

Digital part of the syllabus is easier as it is more logical. Analog portion has a comparatively heavier theoretical aspect to it. The course paces slowly so, manageable. A moderate difficulty level overall in this section considering that it is an 8 credit course.

Time Commitment Required

Most of the work is done in the lectures and the tutorials. Barring that, studying before tests which are regularly scheduled is sufficient.

Grading Policy and Statistics

Extremely lenient grading. The professor claimed that the grading policy is a black box procedure which involved several adjustments at an individual level which gave everybody the best possible grade they could get.

Attendance Policy

90% attendance policy was enforced initially with a claim that grade adjustments will be made based on that if one is missing out on a grade marginally but because of the online semester, the professor ended up revoking the attendance policy towards the end of the semester.

Pre-requisites

It’s a 3rd sem course and hence, no real pre-reqs. 12th grade electronics knowledge may help initially.

Evaluation Scheme

4 major quizzes, midsem, endsem and 2 vivas were conducted. Best 3/4 quizzes and best 1/2 vivas were considered for evaluation. The weightages are tentative and were adjusted later on. Quizzes: 30%, Midsem: 25%, Endsem: 40%, Viva: 5%

Topics Covered in the Course

Number systems, Logic gates, combinational circuits, multiplexers, decoders, encoders, half adder, full adder, k maps, latches, flip flops, clock circuitry, counters.
Semiconductor fundamentals, PN junction diode, varactor diode, ideal diode, BJT, JFET, MOSFET, biasing, inversion.

Teaching Style

The professor used slides and took sufficient amount of time to explain every concept in the live lectures. The slides were detailed and were sourced from the books recommended by the professor himself. The lectures involved more of the conceptual aspects and the actual problem solving was done in tutorials. He also scribbled diagrams on a whiteboard often to explain some of the more intricate concepts. Extra lectures were conducted regularly but it played out well in the end - got an extra week off before endsems. Students were initially worried to ask questions because of the strict policies but everything eased out eventually.

Tutorials/Assignments/Projects

Often, the tutorials were not in sync with the lectures and that resulted in additional effort. The tutorials are very important because questions very similar to them pop up in the exams. The tutorials will often get stretched beyond teaching hours. No assignments were given during the duration of the course.

Feedback on Exams

The exams were conducted on safe app. All questions were of subjective type and a very definite marking scheme was followed. Cribbing was essential as close alternative solutions very heavily penalised. However, the feedback was incorporated into the grading later on and the marking improved.
The quizzes were often too long to finish in time. All exams derived inspiration from the tutorials and also often asked explanations of concepts taught in the class
The endsem was deliberately made not very tough to compensate for the tougher analog portion. The endsem covered the entire syllabus to incorporate the easier digital electronics portion again.
The vivas were conducted by TAs in a group setting. A few out of syllabus questions popped up in them.

Course Importance

The vital fundamental concepts of semiconductors and their operation is important for advanced electronics courses. This is a good base for all semiconductor based advanced courses.

Going Forward

The professor offered 7-8 options for a basic self project based on student demand. The TAs overlooked the projects.

References Used

Tocci for digital electronics
Electronic Devices and Circuit Theory –Robert Boylestadand Louis Nashelsky(Prentice Hall)

Other Remarks

The start of the course may be intimidating. The TAs accept most of the valid cribs. We didn’t end up completing a big chunk of the initially planned portion. It’s very easy to lose track of what’s going on in the complicated scribbles of analog concepts.

Review By: Kaivaly Daga