The Book End

0pBasic Engineering Circuit Analysis

J. David Irwin and Chwan-Hwa Wu
John Wiley & Sons
976 pages; $99.95
ISBN: 0-471-36574-2

The sixth edition of this text includes some important changes resulting from the way introductory circuits are currently being taught and includes contributions from Chwan-Hwa Wu as a new co-author. The book is designed to serve as a core text for students majoring in electrical and computer engineering as well as a basic introduction to electronic circuits for students in other disciplines.

The book begins with a discussion of circuit elements followed by resistive circuits, including operational amplifiers, transients, sinusoidal steady state and complex frequency, and ends with Laplace and Fourier methods. It is written for students who have completed introductory physics and calculus college courses. The goal is to provide an effective and efficient environment for students to obtain a thorough understanding of circuit analysis as well as an introduction to the design of linear electronic circuits.

Each chapter begins with a preview of the topics covered and a side column containing comments to help shorten the learning curve. A large number of examples are supplied to aid in understanding the material. Practical examples, referred to as applications, frequently deal with design issues. Drill problems and exercises are intended to be assessment tools, which help to guide the student in the proper problem-solving techniques.

Problem-solving strategies are placed throughout the book to aid the student in selecting the proper solution techniques applicable to particular situations. Computer-aided design tools, such as PSPICE® and Matlab,® are applied to the analysis and design of electronic circuits. In addition, a study guide is available containing a CD ROM that includes circuit simulations and five easy-to-use video segments demonstrating PSPICE solutions. This study guide also contains 100 representative problems with complete solutions.

This book is a good first exposure to basic electronic circuit analysis and forms a solid foundation for further study. It is very clearly presented and an easy guide to learning in this area.

To order this book, contact:
John Wiley & Sons Inc.,
605 Third Avenue,
New York, NY 10158
(212) 850-6336 or (800) 225-5945.

RF and Microwave Coupled-line Circuits

Rajesh Mongia, Inder Bahl and Prakash Bhartia
Artech House Inc.
520 pages; $89, £67
ISBN: 0-89006-830-5

Coupled transmission structures are critical components in distributed RF and microwave passive circuits. This book is primarily intended for design engineers and research and development specialists involved in coupled-line circuit design, analysis, development and fabrication. The first chapter covers the nature of coupled structures and their importance in microwave circuits. Chapter 2 establishes the basic circuit parameters and representation of microwave networks. The fundamental building blocks for coupled-line circuits are covered in Chapter 3, including the characteristics of planar lines, such as microstrip, coplanar and striplines, and coupled lines using broadside coupling, edge coupling or, in the case of waveguides, coupling with shields present.

Chapter 5 describes the design and performance of forward-directional couplers using asymmetrical coupled lines. Parallel-coupled backward TEM directional couplers are described in Chapter 6 and, in Chapter 7, the design and synthesis procedure for such couplers is outlined together with some techniques to obtain broadband performance. Chapter 8 presents the tight coupler, which can be designed and fabricated in a number of configurations.

The most commonly used form of coupled-line circuit is the filter. Chapter 9 extensively covers filter parameters, filter synthesis, design and realization. Modern miniature filters are also discussed and a number of software packages for filter design are assessed.

Chapter 10 covers the analysis and design of DC blocks, coupled-line transformers, interdigital capacitors, spiral inductors and transformers, while Chapter 11 describes the design and analysis of baluns. Chapter 12 covers the topic of high speed digital interconnects and the problem of crosstalk. Finally, Chapter 13 provides information on the use of multiconductor lines as building blocks for coupled-line circuits.

To order this book, contact:
Artech House Inc.,
685 Canton St.,
Norwood, MA 02062
(781) 769-9750, ext. 4002; or

46 Gillingham St.,
London SW1V 1HH, UK
+44 (0)171 973 8077.