UNIVERSITY OF MALTA

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING STREAM
B. ENG. (HONS.) COURSE
YEAR 1
JUNE 2011 SESSION OF EXAMINATIONS

Ques. 1 cont

b)

18th June 2011

ESE 1231 - Fundamentals of Electronics

09.15 11.15 hrs

What is the power that is being dissipated by transistor Q1 in Figure 1? The

transistor is found to have a case temperature of 110OC. Is the transistor
within the safe operating area under these conditions? You can assume the
transistor has a power handling capability of 800mW at 50OC and the derating factor of 3.33mW/OC.
(Use the emitter current to calculate Q1 power)
(5 marks)

c)

This paper contains FOUR questions. You are to attempt any THREE questions.
Stationery: Use of calculators is allowed.

1.

a)

Draw the characteristics curve (Current vs Voltage) for:

i.
Ideal diode
ii. Practical Diode Model
iii. Complete Diode Model
Give a brief explanation of any differences between the complete diode model
and the ideal diode model.
(8 marks)

A BJT Q1 (NPN) is used in a circuit as shown in Figure 1.

In Figure 1:
R1 = 100 k
R2 = 12 k
R3 = 82 k
R4 = 1.5 k
R5 = 680
VSUPPLY = 24V
= 180
VBE = 0.7V
VIN = 3V

2.

a)

A rectifier is shown in Figure 2.

i.
ii.
iii.
iv.

What is this configuration typically called?

Calculate the peak load voltage.
Calculate the load voltage.
Calculate the load current.

(10 marks)

Assume a diode voltage drop of 0.7V, a primary voltage (VIN) of 600V RMS
(50Hz), a transformer turns ratio of 3:1 and a load resistance RL of 5.6 k.

Figure 1

i.

What are the different modes of operation of a NPN transistor? For each
mode, describe the condition of each PN junction.
(4 marks)

ii.

Calculate the emitter current in Figure 1 when VIN is 3V.

D2

D3

VIN (RMS)
(6 marks)
iii.

Calculate the value of VOUT when VIN is 3V in Figure 1.

(3 marks)

iv.

Calculate the value of VCE when VIN is 3V in Figure 1.

(3 marks)

v.

In which mode of operation is the BJT working? Confirm that the BJT
is working in this mode.
(4 marks)

50 Hz

D1

D4

RL

Figure 2

Quest. 2 cont
Ques. 1 cont
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Quest. 3 cont
Quest. 2 cont
b)

Draw the voltage waveform vs time across the load RL for the circuit shown in
Figure 2. On the waveform, indicate the peak load voltage and the average
load voltage, found in (a).
(4 marks)

c)

Explain how the voltage waveform in (b) can be filtered. Sketch the filtered
waveform.
(2 marks)

d)

A capacitor of 100F is placed across the load. Determine the voltage ripple
(7 marks)
and the average DC voltage value across the load RL.

e)

What is the peak inverse voltage (PIV) of the diodes in Figure 2? Explain
your working.
(5 marks)

f)

Explain the function of the capacitor in filtering the waveform for a half wave
rectifier.
(5 marks)
For a half wave rectifier, V AVE =

3.

VPK

a)

Draw the diagram of an inverting op-amp and derive the closed loop gain ACL
equation.
(10 marks)

b)

If Ri = 39k and Rf = 220k in (a), calculate ACL and fmax, if the slew rate is
0.5V/s. Assume a 4V peak-to-peak input signal.
(3 marks)

c)

What happens to the output signal when the frequency of the input is greater
than the maximum operating frequency fmax of the op-amp?
(3 marks)

d)

Explain how an inverting amplifier can be modified for use as a digital-toanalogue converter (DAC). Explain how a 4-bit digital signal can be
converted to analogue.
(8 marks)

e)

Draw the general amplifier model.

f)

An input voltage source of 40mV RMS having an internal resistance of 15 is

connected to the amplifier. The amplifier has an input impedance of 1.8k, a
voltage gain of 250 and an output impedance of 330. The load resistance is
2.2 k. Calculate the load voltage and the effective gain.
(4 marks)

g)

List the properties of an ideal amplifier.

f max =

4.

a)

(3 marks)

SlewRate
2VPK

A water system in a house is shown in Figure 3. The system has 3 water

tanks. Rain water is collected in tank 1, stored in the reservoir tank 2, before
being transferred to tank 3 for use by the user. The system has 3 water
sensors labeled A, B and C to detect the presence of water in the tanks. The
water sensors output a logic 1 when there is water and logic 0 when there is no
water. The water circulates through the system by Pump 1 and Pump 2.
Water flow between tanks is indicated by the arrows.

Figure 3

(2 marks)
Quest. 4 cont
Quest. 3 cont

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Quest. 4 cont
System description:
Pump 1 operates according to water sensors B and C only.
Pump 2 operates according to water sensors A and B only.
Pump 2 is OFF, when there is no water in tank 2 (sensor B), OR when water
tank 3 (sensor A) is completely full of water.
Pump 1 is OFF, when tank 2 (sensor B) has water, OR when tank 1 (sensor
C) is empty.
Pump 2 is ON, when water tank 3 (sensor A) is not full-up AND there is
water in tank 2 (sensor B).
Pump 1 is ON, whenever water tank 2 (sensor B) is empty AND water tank 1
(sensor C) has water.
i.

Write down the truth table for Pumps 1 and 2 in the water system
described. The inputs are the water sensors A, B and C and the outputs
are Pump 1 and Pump 2. (Truth table should have 3 columns for input
and 2 columns for output).
(10 marks)

ii.

Hence, write down the Boolean expression of Pump 1 and the Boolean
expression of Pump 2, as a function of the water sensors A, B and C
from the truth table found in part (i).
(2 marks)

iii.

By using Karnaugh maps, minimise the Boolean expressions (Pump 1

and Pump 2) found in (ii). Using logic gates draw the simplified circuits
of Pump 1 and Pump 2. (A Karnaugh map should be used for Pump 1
and another Karnaugh map for Pump 2).
(8 marks)

b)

Explain how a resistor and a capacitor can be used to construct a Low Pass
Filter (LPF). Draw the circuit and derive an equation that relates the output
voltage Vout to the input voltage Vin. Calculate the cut-off frequency fc of an
RC filter that has a resistance R of 3.9k and capacitor C of 56nF.
(9 marks)

c)

Explain how a thyristor can be used as a light dimmer when using AC voltage.
(4 marks)

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