Electronic Hardware Design Courses begin with an overview of analog and digital devices, microprocessors and microcontrollers, communication interfaces. Then we will start with preliminary design which includes creating a detailed system block diagram, Critical Components Selection and Interfacing passive components to Analog Electronics.

The next step is to create a diagram of the electronics design, called a schematic diagram, which is similar to a blueprint for a house. In most cases you’ll need a schematic circuit for each block of your system block diagram.

The schematic shows how every component, from microchips to simple resistors, connects together. Creating the schematic or circuit diagram is the core step in designing electronics.

A circuit, by its nature analog, is simulated, while registering and displaying the voltages at the nodes and currents flowing through the components. Circuit simulators are complex pieces of code that rely heavily on optimization techniques. They start with models of the components, which mimic their behavior with a certain level of accuracy. The drawn schematic provides not only the components to be used but also how they connect to each other.

Nearly all modern electronic products include a microchip called a Microcontroller Unit (MCU) that acts as the “brains” for the product. A microcontroller is very similar to a microprocessor found in a computer or smartphone.

The microcontroller needs to be programmed to perform the desired functionality. Microcontrollers are almost always programmed in the very common computer language called ‘C’. The program, called firmware, is stored in permanent but reprogrammable memory usually internal to the microcontroller chip.

The structure, operation and design of the circuits are programmable using hardware description languages. In most of the industries, Verilog and VHDL are common and standardized by IEEE.

The language helps to describe any digital circuit in the form of structural, behavioral and gate level and it is found to be an excellent programming language for FPGAs and CPLDs Present industry practice has created a high demand for designers with knowledge and experience in using simulators, and synthesis/ place and route engines.

Once the schematic is done you will create the design for the actual Printed Circuit Board (PCB). The PCB is the physical board that holds and connects all of the electronic components. For many projects creating the PCB layout can be the most time consuming step.

The software will have various verification tools to ensure the PCB layout meets the design rules for the PCB process used, and that the PCB matches the schematic.

Signal, Power Integrity and Thermal Analysis(Special Course for PCB Layout Engineers)

Now the modern PCB design grows increasingly complex. Early in the product hardware design cycle, the major concern is to reason out whether the engineering intent is being accomplished correctly and fully.

Now that we are struggling to Route High Speed Lines, for example to master high-speed clock as the logic rise and fall times both gain switching speed (which is often appropriate of DDR2, DDR3, and DDR4 designs). Thorough signal integrity testing that comprises signal integrity modeling, hurdling reflections and distortions, and averting crosstalk issues of high-speed interfaces.

With the dominance of high-density ICs featuring fine-pitch components and complicated stack-ups in modern electronics, challenges associated with excessive board voltage consumption and device-level power consumption become increasingly common. The impact of power delivery issues may subject the PCB design to a total failure. Power Integrity analysis that ensures power decoupling and distribution sustainability improvement along with reducing noise propagation through the system.

The footprints of electronic devices shrink due to a way higher component density on boards. In the face of the entire circuit design failure danger, power dissipation is referred to as one of the major concerns. Thermal analysis cycle will aid you in hurdling overheating-associated issues and optimizing the layout physical behavior, thus ensuring a worry-free selection of an enclosure for the tested board.