Book Review: Introduction to Circuits and Electronics

The author adopts a circuit theoretician's approach in analysis and seems to have an obsession with h-parameters. As h, is not neglected this leads to somewhat lengthy formulae for even relatively simple circuits. This is not an encouragement to the creative design of circuits that the author claims (in the Preface) to be keen to stimulate. Is it not time to 'bury' the h parameters in modern b.j.t. circuit analysis? Of more importance is the exponential relationship between the quiescent collector current, I" and the base-emitter voltage, VSE' From this it is easily shown that the small-signal low-frequency voltage gain of a voltage-driven common-emitter amplifier stage biased to operate with a collector-emitter voltage equal to half the rail voltage (Yc" in volts) is approximately 20Ycc a very useful formula for first-order design and not an h parameter in sight. One could go on in this vein. Sufficeit to say that this is a disappointing book. The intending purchaser would do well to bear in mind that the second edition of the excellent book by Gray and Meyer is available in paperback at about one-third the cost of this hardback. B. L. HART, School of Technology, Essex Institute ofHigher Education, Chelmsford