Electrical Engineering and Computer Architecture Flashcards

Flashcards covering fundamental terms, theorems, and definitions from electrical engineering, digital logic, and computer architecture notes.

Cascode Configuration

A two-stage FET or BJT amplifier configuration designed to minimize parasitic capacitances and reduce the Miller effect, offering high input impedance and wide bandwidth.

Memory Management Unit (MMU)

A hardware component in a computer system responsible for translating virtual memory addresses to physical memory addresses.

Barkhausen Criterion

The fundamental condition for sustained oscillation in an electronic oscillator, requiring a total loop gain of unity ($1$) and a phase shift of zero degrees (0^\bar{\text{o}} or $0^\text{o}$).

Minterm

A product term in Boolean algebra containing all variables of the function in either complemented or uncomplemented form.

Prime Implicant

An essential grouping of minterms in Boolean logic minimization that cannot be reduced further.

Routh-Hurwitz Criterion

A mathematical stability test used to determine if all roots of a control system's characteristic equation lie in the left half of the s-plane without solving for the poles directly.

Displacement Current

A term in Maxwell's Ampere-Maxwell Law representing the current created by a time-varying electric field.

Quine-McCluskey Method

A tabular method used for the Boolean minimization of large logic circuits where Karnaugh mapping becomes impractical.

Schottky Diode

A specialized semiconductor diode formed by a metal-to-semiconductor junction, offering a very low forward voltage drop and fast switching speeds.

Tunnel Diode

A heavily doped PN-junction diode that exhibits negative resistance due to quantum tunneling, allowing current to decrease as voltage increases.

Tellegen's Theorem

A network theorem stating that the algebraic sum of electrical power delivered to all branches in any lumped network obeying Kirchhoff's laws is identically zero.

Miller Effect

The multiplication of effective input capacitance in an amplifier due to feedback capacitance between input and output terminals, which acts to limit high-frequency bandwidth.

Clamper Circuit

An electronic circuit consisting of a diode and capacitor used to shift the DC reference level of an AC signal without altering its overall shape.

Clipper Circuit

An electronic circuit used to remove or trim a portion of a signal waveform above or below a specified voltage reference level.

Silicon-Controlled Rectifier (SCR)

A four-layer ($\text{PNPN}$) semiconductor power device functioning as a unidirectional controlled switch triggered into conduction by a gate current.

Interrupt Latency

The time interval between the moment a peripheral device asserts an interrupt request and the CPU fetching the first instruction of the Interrupt Service Routine (ISR).

Seebeck Effect

The thermoelectric phenomenon where a temperature gradient across two dissimilar electrical conductors produces a measurable electrical potential difference.

Common-Mode Rejection Ratio (CMRR)

A parameter measuring an operational amplifier's ability to reject unwanted noise signals applied simultaneously and in-phase to both input terminals.

Poynting Vector

A vector representing the directional power flux per unit area of an electromagnetic field, defined mathematically by the cross product $\bar{\text{E}} \times \bar{\text{H}}$.

Watchdog Timer

A specialized hardware timer in microcontrollers designed to automatically reset the system if software hangs or freezes.

Pinch-off Voltage

The gate-to-source voltage ($V_{\text{GS}}$) at which the depletion region completely closes off the conductive channel in a Junction Field-Effect Transistor (JFET).

Early Effect

The variation of effective base width in a BJT caused by changes in collector-base reverse-bias voltage, leading to a small rise in collector current as $V_{\text{CE}}$ increases.

Butterworth Filter

An active filter response type characterized by a maximally flat passband with no amplitude ripple.

DIAC

A two-terminal bidirectional thyristor switch designed to break over and conduct strictly when its applied voltage exceeds a precise threshold.

Programmable Logic Controller (PLC)

An industrial digital computer designed to control automated machinery and processes using programmable memory and ladder logic.