The number of different analog circuits so far devised is huge, especially because a 'circuit' can be defined as anything from a single component, to systems containing thousands of components.
Analog circuits are sometimes called linear circuits although many non-linear effects are used in analog circuits such as mixers, modulators, etc. Good examples of analog circuits include vacuum tube and transistor amplifiers, operational amplifiers and oscillators.
One rarely finds modern circuits that are entirely analog. These days analog circuitry may use digital or even microprocessor techniques to improve performance. This type of circuit is usually called "mixed signal" rather than analog or digital.
Sometimes it may be difficult to differentiate between analog and digital circuits as they have elements of both linear and non-linear operation. An example is the comparator which takes in a continuous range of voltage but only outputs one of two levels as in a digital circuit. Similarly, an overdriven transistor amplifier can take on the characteristics of a controlled switch having essentially two levels of output. In fact, many digital circuits are actually implemented as variations of analog circuits similar to this example—after all, all aspects of the real physical world are essentially analog, so digital effects are only realized by constraining analog behavior.
Digital circuits
Main article: Digital electronics
Digital circuits are electric circuits based on a number of discrete
voltage levels. Digital circuits are the most common physical
representation of Boolean algebra,
and are the basis of all digital computers. To most engineers, the
terms "digital circuit", "digital system" and "logic" are
interchangeable in the context of digital circuits. Most digital
circuits use a binary system with two voltage levels labeled "0" and
"1". Often logic "0" will be a lower voltage and referred to as "Low"
while logic "1" is referred to as "High". However, some systems use the
reverse definition ("0" is "High") or are current based. Quite often the
logic designer may reverse these definitions from one circuit to the
next as he sees fit to facilitate his design. The definition of the
levels as "0" or "1" is arbitrary.Ternary (with three states) logic has been studied, and some prototype computers made.
Computers, electronic clocks, and programmable logic controllers (used to control industrial processes) are constructed of digital circuits. Digital signal processors are another example.
Building blocks:
Highly integrated devices:
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