What are the components of a circuit board
Electronic devices have become a necessary piece of our lives. They have made our carries on with more agreeable and advantageous. From flying to clinical and medical care ventures, electronic devices have a wide scope of uses in the cutting edge world. Truth be told, the hardware transformation and the PC unrest go connected at the hip.
Most contraptions have small electronic circuits that can control machines and cycle data. Basically, electronic circuits are the lifesavers of different electrical apparatuses. This guide clarifies in insight concerning regular electronic segments utilized in electronic circuits and how they work.
In this article, I will give a review of electronic circuits. At that point, I will give more data on 7 distinct sorts of parts. For each sort, I'll talk about the organization, how it works, and the capacity and noteworthiness of the part.
Capacitor
Resistor
Diode
Semiconductor
Inductor
Hand-off
Quartz Crystal
Electronic Circuit Overview
An electronic circuit is a structure that guides and controls electric flow to perform different capacities including signal enhancement, calculation, and information move. It involves a few unique segments, for example, resistors, semiconductors, capacitors, inductors, and diodes. Conductive wires or follows are utilized to interface the parts to one another. In any case, a circuit is finished just on the off chance that it starts and finishes at a similar point, shaping a circle.
The Elements of an Electronic Circuit
The multifaceted nature and the number of segments in an electronic circuit may change contingent upon its application. Notwithstanding, the least difficult circuit comprises of three components, including a leading way, a voltage source, and a heap.
Component 1: Conducting Path
The electric flow courses through the directing way. In spite of the fact that copper wires are utilized in straightforward circuits, they are quickly being supplanted by conductive follows. Conductive follows are only copper sheets overlaid onto a non-conductive substrate. They are regularly utilized in little and complex circuits, for example, Printed Circuit Boards (PCB).
Component 2: Voltage Source
The essential capacity of a circuit is to permit electric flow to go through it securely. In this way, the primary key component is the voltage source. It is a two-terminal gadget, for example, a battery, generators, or force frameworks that give an expected contrast (voltage) between two focuses in the circuit so current can course through it.
Component 3: Load
A heap is a component in the circuit that devours the capacity to play out a specific capacity. Light is the most straightforward burden. Complex circuits, be that as it may, have various loads, for example, resistors, capacitors, semiconductors, and semiconductors.
Electronic Circuit Facts
Actuality 1: Open Circuit
As referenced previously, a circuit should consistently shape a circle to permit the current to move through it. Be that as it may, with regards to an open circuit, the current can't stream as at least one segment is detached either deliberately (by utilizing a switch) or inadvertently (broken parts). At the end of the day, any circuit that doesn't frame a circle is an open circuit.
Truth 2: Closed Circuit
A shut-circuit is one that frames a circle with no interferences. In this way, it is the specific inverse of an open circuit. Nonetheless, a total circuit that doesn't play out any capacity is as yet a shut circuit. For instance, a circuit associated with a dead battery may not play out any work, however, it is as yet a shut circuit.
Actuality 3: Short Circuit
On account of short out, a low-opposition association structure between two focuses in an electric circuit. Accordingly, the current will in general move through this recently framed association instead of along the proposed way. For instance, if there is an immediate association between the battery's negative and positive terminal, the current will course through it as opposed to going through the circuit.
Be that as it may, shortcircuits for the most part lead to genuine mishaps as the current can stream at perilously elevated levels. Henceforth, a short out can harm electronic hardware, cause batteries to detonate, and even light a fire in business and private structures.
Actuality 4: Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs)
Most electronic apparatuses require complex electronic circuits. That is the reason fashioners need to mastermind little electronic segments on a circuit board. It includes a plastic board with interfacing copper tracks on one side and heaps of openings to append the segments. At the point when the design of a circuit board is printed artificially onto a plastic board, it is known as a printed circuit board or PCB.
Figure 1: Printed Circuit Board.
Actuality 5: Integrated Circuits (ICs)
Despite the fact that PCBs can offer a lot of preferences, most present-day instruments, for example, PCs and mobiles require complex circuits, having thousands and even a large number of parts. That is the place where incorporated circuits come in. They are the minuscule electronic circuits that can fit inside a little silicon chip. Jack Kilby developed the principal incorporated circuit in 1958 at Texas Instruments. The sole reason for ICs is to expand the productivity of electronic gadgets while decreasing their size and assembling cost. Throughout the long term, incorporated circuits have gotten progressively advanced as innovation keeps on developing. That is the reason PCs, workstations, mobile telephones, and other buyer gadgets are improving constantly.
Figure 2: Integrated Circuits.
Electronic Components
On account of current innovation, electronic circuit building measure has been totally robotized, particularly for building ICs and PCBs. The number and course of action of parts in a circuit may shift contingent upon its multifaceted nature. In any case, it is constructed utilizing a few standard segments.
The accompanying segments are utilized to build electronic circuits.
Segment 1: Capacitor
Capacitors are generally used to manufacture various sorts of electronic circuits. A capacitor is an aloof two-terminal electrical part that can store energy in an electric field electrostatically. In straightforward terms, it functions as a little battery-powered battery that stores power. Notwithstanding, in contrast to a battery, it can charge and release in the split of a second.
Figure 3: Capacitors
A. Synthesis
Capacitors come in all shapes and sizes, however, they generally have similar essential segments. There are two electrical transmitters or plates isolated by a dielectric or separator stacked between them. Plates are made out of directing material, for example, slim movies of metal or aluminum foil. A dielectric, then again, is a non-leading material, for example, glass, artistic, plastic film, air, paper, or mica. You can embed the two electrical associations distending from the plates to fix the capacitor in a circuit.
B. How Can It Work?
At the point when you apply a voltage over the two plates or interface them to a source, an electric field creates over the protector, causing one plate to amass positive charge while negative charge gets gathered on the other. The capacitor keeps on holding its charge regardless of whether you detach it from the source. The second you associate it with a heap, the put-away energy will spill out of the capacitor to the heap.
Capacitance is the measure of energy put away in a capacitor. The higher the capacitance, the more energy it can store. You can build the capacitance by drawing the plates nearer to one another or expanding their size. Then again, you can likewise upgrade the protection characteristics to build the capacitance.
C. Capacity and Significance
Despite the fact that capacitors look like batteries, they can perform various kinds of capacities in a circuit, for example, obstructing direct current while permitting rotating current to pass or smooth the yield from a force gracefully. They are likewise utilized in electric force transmission frameworks to balance out voltage and force stream. One of the main elements of a capacitor in the AC frameworks is the power factor amendment, without which you can't give an adequate measure of beginning force to single-stage engines.
Channels Capacitor Applications
In the event that you are utilizing a microcontroller in a circuit to run a particular program, you don't need its voltage to drop as that will reset the regulator. That is the reason fashioners utilize a capacitor. It can flexibly the microcontroller with the fundamental force for a brief instant to dodge a restart. All in all, it sifts through the clamor on the electrical cable and settles the force gracefully.
Hold-Up Capacitor Applications
In contrast to a battery, a capacitor delivers its charge quickly. That is the reason it is utilized to give the capacity to a circuit for a brief time. Your camera batteries charge the capacitor joined to the blazing weapon. At the point when you take an ablaze photo, the capacitor delivers its charge in a brief instant to create a glimmer of light.
Clock Capacitor Applications
In a full or time-subordinate circuit, capacitors are utilized alongside a resistor or inductor as a planning component. The time needed to charge and release a capacitor decides the activity of the circuit.
Part 2: Resistor
A resistor is an uninvolved two-terminal electrical gadget that opposes the progression of flow. It is presumably the least complex component in an electronic circuit. It is additionally one of the most well-known segments as the opposition is an inborn component of essentially all electronic circuits. They are normally shading coded.
Figure 4: Resistors
A. Structure
A resistor is certainly not an extravagant gadget at all since obstruction is a characteristic property controlled by practically all conductors. In this way, a capacitor comprised of a copper wire folded over a protecting material, for example, a clay pole. The number of turns and the slenderness of copper wire are legitimately relative to the obstruction. Th
B. How Can It Work?
At whatever point the current goes through a wire, it makes an attractive field. Nonetheless, the extraordinary state of the inductor prompts the production of a lot more grounded attractive field. This ground-breaking attractive field, thusly, opposes exchanging current, however, it lets direct current move through it. This attractive field additionally stores energy.
Take a basic circuit containing a battery, a switch, and a bulb. The bulb will shine splendidly the second you turn the switch on. Add an inductor to this circuit. As soon you turn the switch on, the bulb changes from splendid to diminish. Then again, when the switch is killed, it turns out to be splendid, only for a small amount of a second prior to killing totally.
As you turn the switch on, the inductor begins utilizing the power to make an attractive field, incidentally impeding the current stream. However, just DC current goes through the inductor when the attractive field is finished. That is the reason the bulb changes from splendid to diminish. This time, the inductor stores some electrical energy as an attractive field. Thus, when you turn the switch off, the attractive field keeps the current in the loop consistent. Along these lines, the bulb consumes splendidly for some time prior to the killing.
C. Capacity and Significance
In spite of the fact that inductors are helpful, it is hard to join them into electronic circuits because of their size. As they are bulkier contrasted with different parts, they add a great deal of weight and consume a lot of room. Henceforth they are generally supplanted by resistors in incorporated circuits (ICs). In any case, inductors have a wide scope of mechanical applications.
Channels in Tuned Circuits
One of the most well-known utilization of inductors is to choose the ideal recurrence in tuned circuits. They are utilized widely with capacitors and resistors, either in equal or arrangement, to make channels. The impedance of inductor increments is the recurrence of sign increments. In this manner, an independent inductor can just go about as a low-pass channel. In any case, when you consolidate it with a capacitor, you can make a scored channel in light of the fact that the impedance of a capacitor diminishes as the recurrence of sign increment. In this way, you can utilize various blends of capacitors, inductors, and resistors to make different kinds of channels. They are found in many hardware including TVs, PCs, and radios.
Inductors as Chokes
On the off chance that another current course through an inductor, it makes a contrary current stream. Consequently, it can change over an AC flexibly into a DC. At the end of the day, it gags the AC gracefully however permits the DC to go through it, henceforth the name 'stifle.' Usually, they are found in power flexibly circuits that need to change over AC gracefully to DC gracefully.
Ferrite Beads
A ferrite dot or ferrite gag is utilized to smother high-recurrence clamor in electronic circuits. A portion of the basic employments of ferrite globules incorporates PC links, TV links, and versatile charge links. These links can, here and there, go about as reception apparatuses, interloping with sound and video yield of your TV and PC. In this way, inductors are utilized in ferrite globules to diminish such radio recurrence impedance.
Inductors in Proximity Sensors
Most closeness sensors deal with the rule of inductance. An inductive closeness sensor contains four sections including an inductor or curl, an oscillator, a location circuit, and a yield circuit. The oscillator produces a fluctuating attractive field. At whatever point an article comes into the nearness of this attractive field, vortex flows begin to develop, decreasing the sensor's attractive field.
The recognition circuit decides the quality of the sensor, while the yield circuit triggers the fitting reaction. Inductive nearness sensors, likewise called contactless sensors, are esteemed for their dependability. They are utilized at traffic signals to recognize the traffic thickness and furthermore as leaving sensors in vehicles and trucks.
Acceptance Motors
An acceptance engine is presumably the most widely recognized case of the use of inductors. Generally, in an enlistment engine, inductors are set in a fixed position. All in all, they are not permitted to line up with the close by attractive field. An AC power flexibly is utilized to make a turning attractive field which at that point pivots the pole. The force input controls the speed of revolution. Subsequently, acceptances engines are regularly utilized in fixed speed applications. The acceptance engines are entirely dependable and vigorous in light of the fact that there is no immediate contact between the engine and the rotor.
Transformers
As referenced before, the revelation of inductors prompted the creation of transformers, one of the principal parts of intensity transmission frameworks. You can make a transformer by joining the inductors of a common attractive field. They are typically used to increment or decline voltages of the electrical cables to the ideal level.
Energy Storage
Much the same as a capacitor, an inductor can likewise store energy. Notwithstanding, in contrast to a capacitor, it can store energy temporarily. As the energy is put away in an attractive field, it falls when the force gracefully is eliminated. In any case, inductors work as dependable energy stockpiling gadgets in switch-mode power flexibly, for example, PCs.
Segment 6: Relay
A transfer is an electromagnetic switch that can open and close circuits electromechanically or electronically. You need a moderately little current to work a hand-off. Normally, they are utilized to direct low flows in a control circuit. Be that as it may, you can likewise utilize transfers to control high electric flows. A hand-off is what could be compared to a switch. You can turn it on with a little current to turn on (or influence) another circuit utilizing a huge current. Transfers are either electromechanical transfers or strong state transfers.
Figure 8: Relays
A. Organization
An Electromechanical Relay (EMR) includes an edge, loop, armature, spring, and contacts. The edge underpins different pieces of the transfer. The armature is the moving piece of a transfer switch. A loop (generally copper wire), twisted around a metal bar produces an attractive field that moves the armature. Contacts are the leading parts that open and close the circuit.
A Solid-State Relay (SSR) comprises an information circuit, a control circuit, and a yield circuit. The info circuit is what might be compared to a curl in an electromechanical hand-off. The control circuit goes about as a coupling gadget among information and yield circuits, while the yield circuit plays out similar capacity as the contacts in an EMR. Strong state transfers are getting progressively mainstream as they are less expensive, quicker, and solid contrasted with electromechanical transfers.
B. How Can It Work?
Regardless of whether you are utilizing an electromechanical hand-off or a strong state hand-off, it is either a Normally Closed (NC) or a Normally Opened (NO) hand-off. In the event of an NC transfer, the contacts stay shut when there is no force gracefully. Nonetheless, in a NO transfer, the contacts stay open when there is no force gracefully. To put it plainly, at whatever point current moves through a hand-off, the contacts will either open or close shut.
In an EMR, power gracefully empowers the hand-off curl, making an attractive field. The attractive loop pulls in a ferrous plate mounted on the armature. At the point when the current stops, the armature is delivered into its resting position by spring activity. An EMR can likewise have single or numerous contacts inside a solitary bundle. On the off chance that a circuit utilizes just one reach, it is known as a Single Break (SB) circuit. A Double Break Circuit (DB), then again, accompanies two contacts. Normally, single break transfers are utilized to control low power gadgets, for example, marker lights, while twofold break contacts are utilized to manage high-power gadgets, for example, solenoids.
With regards to working an SSR, you have to apply a voltage higher than the predefined pickup voltage of the hand-off to initiate the info circuit. You need to apply a voltage, not exactly the specified least dropout voltage of the hand-off to deactivate the info circuit. The control circuit moves the sign from the info circuit to the yield circuit. The yield circuit turns on the heap or plays out the ideal activity.
C. Capacity and Significance
As they can control a high current circuit by a low current sign, most control measures use transfers as the essential security and exchanging gadgets. They can likewise recognize shortcomings and anomalies happening in the force dissemination frameworks. Average applications incorporate media transmission, cars, traffic light frameworks, home apparatuses, and PCs among others.
Defensive Relays
Defensive transfers are utilized to trip or separate a circuit if any inconsistencies are identified. Once in a while, they can likewise set off cautions when a deficiency is distinguished. Kinds of insurance transfers rely upon their capacity. For instance, an overcurrent transfer is intended to recognize the current surpassing a foreordained worth. At the point when such current is distinguished, the hand-off works stumbling an electrical switch to shield the hardware from likely harm.
A separation hand-off or impedance transfer, then again, can recognize irregularities in the proportion of current and voltage as opposed to checking their extent autonomously. It swarms energetically when the V/I proportion falls under a foreordained worth. Normally, defensive transfers are utilized to ensure hardware, for example, engines, generators, and transformers, etc.
Programmed Reclosing Relay
A programmed reclosing transfer is intended to cause numerous reclosures of an electrical switch that is as of now stumbled by a defensive transferring. For instance, when there is an abrupt voltage drop, the electrical circuit in your home may encounter a few brief force blackouts. These blackouts happen on the grounds that a reclosing transfer is attempting to turn on the defensive hand-off consequently. In the event that it succeeds the force flexibly will be reestablished. If not, there will be a finished Blac
Limiting the Flow of Current
If you don’t add resistors to a circuit, the current will flow at dangerously high levels. It can overheat other components and possibly damage them. For example, if you connect an LED directly to a battery, it would still work. However, after some time the LED will heat up like a fireball. It will eventually burn as LEDs are less tolerant to heat.
But, if you introduce a resistor in the circuit, it will reduce the flow of current to an optimal level. Thus, you can keep the LED on longer without overheating it.
Dividing Voltage
Resistors are also used to reduce the voltage to the desired level. Sometimes, a particular part of a circuit such as a microcontroller may need a lower voltage than the circuit itself. This is where a resistor comes in.
Let’s say your circuit runs off of a 12V battery. However, the microcontroller needs only a 6V supply. So, to divide the voltage in half, all you have to do is place two resistors of equal resistance value in series. The wire in between the two resistors will have halved the voltage of your circuit where the microcontroller can be attached. Using appropriate resistors, you can lower the voltage within the circuit to any level.
Resistor-Capacitor Networks
Resistors are also used in combination with capacitors to build ICs that contain resistor-capacitor arrays in a single chip. They are also known as RC filters or RC networks. They are often used to suppress electromagnetic Interference (EMI) or Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) in various instruments, including input/output ports of computers and laptops, Local Area Networks (LANs), and Wide Area Networks (WANs), among others. They are also used in machine tools, switchgears, motor controllers, automated equipment, industrial appliances, elevators, and escalators.
Component 3: Diode
A diode is a two-terminal device that allows electric current to flow in only one direction. Thus, it is the electronic equivalent of a check valve or a one-way street. It is commonly used to convert an Alternating Current (AC) into a Direct Current (DC). It is made either of a semiconductor material (semiconductor diode) or vacuum tube (vacuum tube diode). Today, however, most diodes are made from semiconductor material, particularly silicon.
Figure 5: Diode
A. Composition
As mentioned earlier, there are two types of diodes: vacuum diodes and semiconductor diodes. A vacuum diode consists of two electrodes (cathode and anode) placed inside a sealed vacuum glass tube. A semiconductor diode comprises p-type and n-type semiconductors. It is, therefore, known as a p-n junction diode. It is usually made of silicon, but you can also use germanium or selenium.
B. How Does It Work?
Vacuum Diode
When the cathode is heated by a filament, an invisible cloud of electrons, called space charge, forms in the vacuum. Though electrons are emitted from the cathode, the negative space charge repels them. As electrons can’t reach the anode, no current flows through the circuit. However, when the anode is made positive, the space charge vanishes. As a result, current starts flowing from the cathode to the anode. Thus, electric current within the diode flows only from the cathode to the anode and never from the anode to the cathode.
P-N Junction Diode
A p-n junction diode comprises p-type and n-type semiconductors of silicon. The p-type semiconductor is usually doped with boron, leaving holes (positive charge) in it. The n-type semiconductor, on the other hand, is doped with antimony, adding a few extra electrons (negative charge) in it. So, electric current can flow through both semiconductors.
When you put p-type and n-type blocks together, the extra electrons from the n-type combine with the holes in the p-type, creating a depletion zone without any free electrons or holes. In short, current can no longer pass through the diode.
When you connect the battery’s negative terminal to the n-type silicon and the positive terminal to p-type (forward-bias), current starts to flow as electrons and holes can now move across the junction. However, if you reverse the terminals (reverse-bias), no current flows through the diode because holes and electrons are pushed away from each other, widening the depletion zone. So, just like a vacuum diode, a junction diode can also allow current to pass in one direction only.
C. Function and Significance
Though diodes are one of the simplest components in an electronic circuit, they have unique applications across industries.
AC to DC Conversion
The most common and important application of a diode is the rectification of AC power to DC power. Usually, a half-wave (single diode) or a full-wave (four diodes) rectifier is used to convert AC power into DC power, particularly in household power supply. When you pass AC power supply through a diode, only half the AC waveform passes through it. As this voltage pulse is used to charge the capacitor, it produces steady and continuous DC currents without any ripples. Different combinations of diodes and capacitors are also used to build various types of voltage multipliers to multiply a small AC voltage into high DC outputs.
Bypass Diodes
Bypass diodes are often used to protect solar panels. When the current from the rest of the cells passes through a damaged or dusty solar cell, it causes overheating. As a result, the overall output power decreases, creating hot spots. The diodes are connected parallel to the solar cells to protect them against this overheating problem. This simple arrangement limits the voltage across the bad solar cell while allowing the current to pass through undamaged cells to the external circuit.
Voltage Spike Protection
When the power supply is suddenly interrupted, it produces a high voltage in most inductive loads. This unexpected voltage spike can damage the loads. However, you can protect expensive equipment by connecting a diode across the inductive loads. Depending on the type of security, these diodes are known by many names including snubber diode, flyback diode, suppression diode, and freewheeling diode, among others.
Signal Demodulation
They are also used in the process of signal modulation because diodes can remove the negative element of an AC signal efficiently. The diode rectifies the carrier wave, turning it into DC. The audio signal is retrieved from the carrier wave, a process called audio-frequency modulation. You can hear the audio after some filtering and amplification. Hence, diodes are commonly found in radios to extract the signal from the carrier wave.
Reverse Current Protection
Reversing polarities of a DC supply or incorrectly connecting the battery can cause a substantial current to flow through a circuit. Such a reverse connection can damage the connected load. That’s why a protective diode is connected in series with the positive side of the battery terminal. The diode becomes forward-biased in the case of correct polarity and the current flows through the circuit. However, in the event of a wrong connection, it becomes reverse-biased, blocking the current. Thus, it can protect your equipment from potential damage.
Component 4: Transistor
One of the most crucial components of an electronic circuit, transistors have revolutionized the field of electronics. These tiny semiconductor devices with three terminals have been around for more than five decades now. They are often used as amplifiers and switching devices. You can think of them as relays without any moving parts because they can turn something ‘on’ or ‘off’ without any movement.
Figure 6: Transistors
A. Composition
In the beginning, Germanium was used to build transistors which were extremely temperature-sensitive. Today, however, they are made from Silicon, a semiconductor material found in the sand because Silicon transistors are much more temperature-tolerant and cheaper to manufacture. There are two different types of Bipolar Junction Transistors (BJT), NPN and PNP. Each transistor has three pins called Base (b), collector (c), and emitter (e). NPN and PNP refer to the layers of semiconductor material used to make the transistor.
B. How Does It Work?
When you sandwich a p-type silicon slab between two n-type bars, you get an NPN transistor. The emitter is attached to one n-type, while the collector is attached to the other. The base is attached to the p-type. The surplus holes in the p-type silicon act as barriers, blocking the flow of the current. However, if you apply a positive voltage to the base and the collector and negatively charge the emitter, electrons start flowing from the emitter to the collector.
The arrangement and number of p-type and n-type blocks remain inverted in a PNP transistor. In this type of transistor, one n-type is sandwiched between two p-type blocks. As voltage allocation is different, a PNP transistor works differently. An NPN transistor requires a positive voltage to the base, while a PNP requires a negative voltage. In short, the current must flow away from the base to turn a PNP transistor on.
C. Function and Significance
Transistors function as both, switches and amplifiers in most electronic circuits. Designers often use a transistor as a switch because unlike a simple switch, it can turn a small current into a much larger one. Though you can use a simple switch in an ordinary circuit, an advanced circuit may need varying amounts of currents at different stages.
Transistors in Hearing Aids
One of the most well-known applications of transistors is the hearing aid. Usually, a small microphone in the hearing aid picks up the sound waves, converting them into fluctuating electrical pulses or currents. When these currents pass through a transistor, they are amplified. The amplified pulses then pass through a speaker, converting them into sound waves once again. Thus, you can hear a substantially louder version of the surrounding noise.
Transistors in Computers and Calculators
We all know that computers store and process information using the binary language of “zero” and “one.” However, most people don’t know that transistors play a critical role in making something called logic gates, which are the backbones of computer programs. Transistors are often hooked up with logic gates to build a unique piece of an arrangement called a flip-flop. In this system, the transistor remains ‘on’ even if you remove the base current. It now flips on or off whenever new current passes through it. Thus, a transistor can store a zero when it’s off or a one when it’s on, which is the working principle of computers.
Darlington Transistors
A Darlington transistor is made of two PNP or NPN polar junction transistors placed together. It is named after its inventor Sidney Darlington. The sole purpose of a Darlington transistor is to deliver a high current gain from a low base current. You can find these transistors in instruments that require a high current gain at a low frequency such as power regulators, display drivers, motor controllers, light and touch sensors, alarm systems, and audio amplifiers.
IGBT and MOSFET Transistors
The Insulated-Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) transistors are often used as amplifiers and switches in various instruments including electric cars, trains, refrigerators, air-conditioners, and even stereo systems. On the other hand, Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistors (MOSFET) are commonly used in integrated circuits to control a device’s power levels or for storing data.
Component 5: Inductor
An inductor, also known as a reactor, is a passive component of a circuit having two terminals. This device stores energy in its magnetic field, returning it to the circuit whenever required. It was discovered that when two inductors are placed side by side without touching, the magnetic field created by the first inductor affects the second inductor. It was a crucial breakthrough that led to the invention of the first transformers.
Figure 7: Inductors
A. Composition
It is probably the simplest component, comprising just a coil of copper wire. The inductance is directly proportional to the number of turns in the coil. Sometimes, however, the coil is wound around a ferromagnetic material such as iron, laminated iron, and powdered iron to increase the inductance. The shape of this core can also increase the inductance. Toroidal (donut-shaped) cores provide better inductance compared to solenoidal (rod-shaped) cores for the same number of turns. Unfortunately, it is difficult to join inductors in an integrated circuit, so they are usually replaced by resistors.