Physics Department @ Brock University

PHYS 3P92

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Experimental Physics II (Electronics)

Instructor: E. Sternin

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This year, final project presentations, are combined with those of PHYS 2P32: Wednesday, April 13, 9:30-14:00, in H300
Labs begin Mo Jan. 4, 2016 13:00-17:00 in H300.
This is a senior undergraduate laboratory course, 13 weeks in duration, four hours per week. Seven experiments, running one or two weeks each, are completed:

Breadboard techniques and simple circuits
- errors introduced by instruments, low-pass filtering, measuring phase shift
Operational amplifiers: basic concepts
- operational characteristics, offset voltages and currents, gain, simple op-amp circuits
Building circuits with operational amplifiers
- current-to-voltage converter, math operations, op-amp operational characteristics
Advanced op-amp designs
- op-amps integrator and differentiator, difference amplifier, instrumentation amplifier, logarithmic amplifier, analog multiplier
Active filters and tuned amplifiers
- active filters, notch filter, lock-in amplifier
Microcomputers in a Physics Laboratory
- basics of microcomputer design, registers, memory map, and I/O, introduction to machine-language programming, controlling interface boards
Building and using a digital thermometer
- A/D and D/A conversion, mixed-language programming

Lab reports must be typed, and written in the form of a scientific paper. Excessive reproduction of the lab manual is discouraged; students should use a proper form of citation and an appropriate bibliography. However, each lab report should contain all information necessary to reproduce the results. Lab marks conribute a total of 70% to the final mark. Late lab reports are penalized at 15%/day sinking cap.
In addition, a term project requiring at least three weeks of independent work by the student is completed, and a public presentation of the project is made. The project contributes 20% and the final seminar presentation an additional 10% to the final mark. For inspiration, some previously-completed or currently available projects are listed under Term Projects on the left; additional ideas will be discussed in class and students are encouraged to come up with their own.
Maintaining safe and tidy workspace in the laboratory is required. A passing grade in the course is conditional on the final clean-up of the laboratory workspace at the end of the term, to the satisfaction of the instructor.