ABSTRACT
This chapter will describe the properties and characteristics of the semiconductor components of analog integrated circuits (AICs). These include diodes, bipolar junction transistors (BJTs), and various types of field-effect transistors (FETs). Biomedical engineers probably will never be called upon to design circuits with or use discrete transistors, with the possible exception of power transistors. Instead, modern analog electronic systems use integrated circuits. To appreciate the behavior and limitations of ICs, however, it is necessary to understand the fundamental behavior of their semiconductor components. (The actual design of ICs is beyond the scope of this text.) One of the most ubiquitous analog ICs is the operational amplifier (op amp); op amps are used in many signal conditioning applications, including differential amplifiers; instrumentation amplifiers; active filters; true RMS converters; precision rectifiers; track-and-hold circuits; etc. Other commonly encountered ICs in biomedical engineering are dc voltage regulators, temperature sensors, phase-lock loops, synchronous rectifiers, analog multipliers, dc-to-dc converters, medical isolation amplifiers, analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), digital-to-analog converters (DACs), etc.
