Basic Analysis of Electronic Circuits

Rhae Elyxis D. Estanislao#1, Jan Rafael B. Eusebio#2

School of Electrical, Electronics, and Computer Engineering, Mapa Institute of Technology
Muralla St., Intramuros, Manila 1002 Philippines
1

lyxis.estanislao@gmail.com

janrafael.eusebio@hotmail.com

Abstract Circuit analysis is essential for engineers, especially for

power electronics engineers for them to be able to analyze the
behavior of electrical components under certain circumstances.
Through this analysis, voltages across, and currents through every
component in the circuit will be obtained to know their characteristic
curves. In this paper, components such as resistor, capacitor, inductor,
diode, and transistor were analyzed, specifically through transient and
DC sweep analysis.
Keywords circuit analysis, characteristic curve, transient analysis,
dc sweep analysis

I. INTRODUCTION
In every circuit, it is quite impossible not to have a passive
and/or active electronic components. Passive components are those
that do not increase the power of a signal. They often cause power
to be lost. Some can increase the voltage at the expense of current,
so overall, there is a loss of power. Passive components include
two-terminal components such as resistors, capacitors, inductors,
and transformers. On the other hand, active components are those
that increase the power of a signal and it must be supplied with the
signal and a source of power. Active components include
amplifying components such as transistors, triode vacuum tubes
(valves), and tunnel diodes [1&2]. Analyzing these components is
the main objective of this paper.
There are different ways to analyze electronic components, and
most of them tend to analyze the voltage across and current passing
through these components. Different circuit analyses include
transient analysis, AC analysis, DC analysis, noise analysis,
transfer function analysis, etc. Among these analyses, transient
analysis and DC (or DC sweep) analysis are widely used. The
transient analysis computes the transient output variables as a
function of time over a user-specified time interval [3]. Transient
analysis is most useful for studying fault conditions in the circuit,
like short circuits, overloads, etc. [4].
DC sweep analysis deals with the computation of voltages and
currents as a function of (a) a variable dc voltage, or (b) a variable
dc current, or (c) a variable parts value (example: resistor), or (d) a
variable parameter (example: current gain of a transistor). A
"sweep" usually means turning one parameter then pausing for
each measurement, which is more efficient than randomly
hopscotching over a grid of measurements [5].
The authors used SIMetrix, a mixed-mode circuit
simulator that comprises a substantially enhanced SPICE simulator,
schematic editor and waveform viewer in a unified environment, in
acquiring the results in this paper.

II. RC TRANSIENT ANALYSIS

This section analyses the transient response of a basic series RC
circuit. The phase relationship between the current and voltage
across the capacitor is determined through the analysis of their
corresponding curves. In addition, the mathematical expressions of
both the voltage and current are also calculated by using both the
direct method and Laplace transform.
A RC Circuit Transient Response
The transient response of the circuit drawn in Fig. 1 is
investigated by carrying out a simulation for both the current and
voltage curves. The results provided in Fig. 2 are taken from the
SIMETRIX post-layout simulations. It is revealed that the voltage
across the capacitor, initially set to zero, increased logarithmically
until it reached a point where it remained a constant value. The
situation at this point can be aptly identified as the steady-state
response. Interestingly, the response of the current was determined
to be opposite to the voltage, decreasing logarithmically until it
became zero. This gives the idea that the capacitor initially acts like
a short circuit, but slowly builds up voltage and becomes an open
circuit at steady-state.

Fig. 1 Series RC Circuit

Fig. 2 Capacitor Voltage and Current Transient Response

B Mathematical Expressions of Capacitor Voltage and Current
Through Differential Equations

To support the results obtained from the simulation, the

mathematical equivalents of the voltage across the capacitor and
the current through it were also derived using differential
equations. Specifically, the following equation was used:

dvc (t ) vc (t ) V

0
dt
RC RC
Using the Laplace Method, the voltage and current can be
derived as:

d qc ( t ) qc ( t ) V o
+
=0
dt
RC
R
Q (S ) V
( S Qc ( S ) ) + C = o
RC
SR
V
1
Qc ( S ) S+
= o
RC SR
Vo
R
Qc ( S ) =
1
S S+
RC
CV o
CV o
Q C ( S )=

S
1
S+
RC

A. Diode Characteristic Curve

In this paper, 3 different diodes, namely 1N4001, MR750, and
BY229 were put under observation. These diodes have different
purposes based on their datasheet, therefore it is expected that the
output graph of these diodes differ with each other. By simply
connecting the diode to a voltage source, its IV characteristic curve
was observed. This setup is found on Fig. 3 for 1N4001, Fig. 5 for
MR750, and Fig. 7 for BY229. DC sweep analysis were used to
analyze the behavior of the diode while the dc voltage source was
varied.
1N4001 is probably one of the most common diodes
because of its purpose. This diode is actually a general purpose
diode with low forward voltage drop and high surge current
capability [ref: datasheet]. With these in mind, the authors analyzed
the relationship of its voltage drop and its current through DC
sweep analysis. Based on Fig. 4, 1N4001 really has a very low
forward voltage drop of about 1V and has a maximum peak reverse
voltage of -60V. Between those points, it can be observed that no
current is flowing therefore the diode is not working in this
condition. But when its voltage drop reaches 1V, current starts to
flow at a fast pace as the voltage is continually increase. Same is
the case when it exceeds the -60V, and there is a possibility that the
diode may be destroyed. This simply indicates that when the diode
exceeds the 1V voltage drop, its voltage somewhat becomes
constant. In this case, the diode simply acts as a switch: turns on
when Vd>1V, and turns of when Vd<1V but >-60V.

q c ( t )=CV o( C V o ) e RC
t

q c ( t )=CV o 1e RC
dq
I=
dt

RC
d q c ( t ) d CV o 1e
=
dt
dt

)]

Fig. 3 Schematic diagram for 1N4001

t
RC

I c=

CV (1e )
o

RC
t

I c =I o 1e RC
V =IR

V c =V o 1e RC

III. DIODE CHARACTERISTICS

DC sweep analysis is done to analyze the behavior of certain
components under varying condition. It results in a plot of specified
voltages and/or currents in the circuit as a function of a particular
variable. The variables can be the magnitude of the voltage or
current source, temperature, gain, etc; but in this experiment only
the dc voltage and dc current were swept. expressions of both the
voltage and current are also calculated by using both the direct
method and Laplace transform.

Fig. 4 IV characteristic curve of 1N4001

The MR750 diode was analyzed next. MR750 is a high

current lead mounted rectifier, which has high surge current
capability and high reliability [ref: datasheet]. Based on Fig. 6, it
can be noticed that MR750 is almost the same with 1N4001 in
terms of forward voltage drop and maximum peak reverse voltage,
but beyond these voltages, the graph becomes slightly different.
The slope of the current vs. voltage becomes steeper, which infers
that MR750 has better response when used as a switch than
1N4001.

Fig. 5 Schematic diagram for MR750

NPN bipolar junction transistor (BJT) was first to be

investigated, specifically transistor Q2N2222. It is shown on Fig. 9
that the circuit made for analyzing this NPN transistor contains
current source, which will act as in-flowing base current and it will
be the varying parameter for multi-step analysis. There is also a
voltage source that will be swept to have varying collector-emitter
voltage.

Fig. 9 Schematic diagram for NPN transistor

Fig. 6 IV characteristic curve of MR750

The BY229 diode was analysed next. BY229 is a fast

switching rectifier, which has superfast recovery time for high
efficiency and has low leakage current [ref: datasheet]. Based on
Fig. 8, it is clearly noticeable that this diode has no maximum peak
reverse voltage, meaning it will not operate at negative voltage. It
has also a very low forward voltage drop, that is why it is fast
switching.

Shown in Fig. 10 is the resulting graph for the DC sweep

analysis with multi-step analysis for NPN transistor. This shows
that the base current have a large effect on the behavior of the NPN
transistor For the usual collector-emitter voltage drops, the
collector current (Ic) is nearly independent of the collector-emitter
voltage (Vce), and instead depends on the base current (IB) [1].

Fig. 7 Schematic diagram for BY229

Fig. 10. IV characteristic curve of NPN transistor

PNP bipolar junction transistor (BJT) was then investigated.

The circuit shown in Fig. 11 is almost the same with the NPN,
except that the sources are reversed. The current source now acts as
an out-flowing base current and the voltage source now gives a
negative voltage.
Fig. 8 IV characteristic curve of BY229

IV. TRANSISTOR CHARACTERISTICS

BJTs and MOSFETs were also analyzed in this paper including
their subtypes: NPN and PNP BJT, and n-channel and p-channel
MOSFET. DC sweep analysis was still used to study the behavior
of different transistors under different conditions but unlike the DC
sweep analysis on the diodes, multi-step analysis will be added to
be better investigate these transistors.

Fig. 11 Schematic diagram for PNP transistor

Results shown on Fig. 12, shows almost the same as the graph
of NPN except the PNP plot is rotated by 180 degrees. This shows
that the base current stills controls the behavior of a PNP even
though it is in outward direction.

Lastly, p-channel MOSFET was investigated through the help

of the circuit shown in Fig. 15. In this circuit, two voltage sources
were used but unlike the n-channel MOSFET, negative voltages
supply the transistor.

Fig. 12 IV characteristic curve of PNP transistor

N-channel MOSFET was investigated next through the help of

the circuit shown in Fig. 13. In this circuit, two voltage sources
were used to act as a gate voltage and drain-source voltage.

Fig. 15 Schematic diagram for p-channel MOSFET

The result on Fig. 16 showed the same relationship with the nchannel as that of the PNP with the NPN. The p-channel plot if just
the n-channel plot rotated by 180 degrees. Therefore, an ohmic
region is still present, and the relationships between the drain
current, drain-source voltage, and gate voltage are still the same.
The gate voltage still is the one controlling the behaviour of the
transistor.

Fig. 13 Schematic diagram for n-channel MOSFET

Based on the result shown in Fig. 14, at starting VDds, the

characteristic curves are nearly straight lines through the origin,
which looks like the behavior of a resistor. This region is actually
called the ohmic region. The behavior of an n-channel MOSFET is
largely controlled by the voltage at the gate (usually a positive
voltage). For the usual drain-source voltage drops the drain current
(ID) is nearly independent of the drain-source voltage (VDS), and
instead depends on the gate voltage (VG).

Fig. 16 IV characteristic curve of p-channel MOSFETRLC Voltage, Current, And

Power Measurements

V. RLC VOLTAGE, CURRENT, AND POWER MEASUREMENTS

In this section, transient analyses of AC voltage, current, and
power are conducted on different circuit configurations using the
three basic passive devices: the resistor, inductor, and capacitor.

Fig. 14, IV characteristic curve of n-channel MOSFET

A. Simple Resistive Load

A simple resistive circuit, shown in Figure 17, is first analysed
for the response of the current, voltage and power. Post-simulation
results are shown in Fig. 18, where the voltage and current are
observed to be in phase. Other measurements are shown in Table I.

I (L)*V (L) / kW

300
0
-300
1.2
-0
-1.2
6
3
0

I (R)*V (R) / W

Fig. 17 Resistive Load

10

15

20

Time/mSecs

100
-300

25

30

5mSecs/div

Fig. 20 Voltage, Power, and Current at the Inductor

TABLE III
OTHER MEASUREMENTS FOR THE INDUCTIVE CIRCUIT

600
0
1
-3

10

15

20

25

30

Time/mSecs
5mSecs/div
Fig. 18 Voltage, Current, and Power at the Resistor
TABLE I
OTHER MEASUREMENTS FOR THE RESISTIVE CIRCUIT

Measurements
Maximum
Minimum
Frequency
Mean
RMS

Voltage
311.1270 V
-308.8116 V
60.0022 Hz
5.2726 mV
218.9580 V

Measurements
Maximum
Minimum
Frequency
Mean
RMS

Current
3.1113 A
-3.0881 A
60.0022 Hz
52.7256 uA
2.1896 A

Voltage
311.0106 V
-309.7230 V
60.0015 Hz
5.7465 mV
218.9581 V

Current
6.1889 A
0A
59.9998 Hz
3.0981 A
3.7862 A

C. AC Circuit with Capacitive Load

A process similar to that in B was conducted using a different
circuit configuration, as shown in Fig. 21. This circuit makes use of
a capacitive load, whose voltage, current, and power graphs are
shown in Fig. 22. Contrary to the inductive load, the current is what
tends to be leading the voltage by 90 degrees when it comes to
capacitive loads. Table III shows other parameters measured during
the simulation.
AC 1 0 Sine(0 311.127 60 0 0)

B. AC Circuit with Inductive Load

An inductive load is implemented in a simple AC circuit, shown
in Fig. 19, and then analysed using software simulations to
determine the response. The results in Fig. 20 reveal an interesting
aspect in terms of the phase of the voltage and current, with the
former leading the latter by approximately 90 degrees. Again, other
measurements, such as the maximum and minimum values, were
taken and are listed in Table II.

V (C)

I (C)
C1
26.53u

V1

Fig. 21 Capacitive AC Circuit

V1

V (L)

I (L)
265.26m IC=0
L1

Fig. 19 Inductive AC Circuit

I (C)*V (C) / W

AC 1 0 Sine(0 311.127 60 0 0)

300
0
-300
100
-400
3
0
-3

10

15

20

25

30

Fig. 22 Voltage, Power, and Current at the Capacitor

Time/mSecs

5mSecs/div

TABLE IIIII
OTHER MEASUREMENTS FOR THE CAPACITIVE CIRCUIT

Measurements
Maximum
Minimum
Frequency
Mean
RMS

Voltage
311.1270 V
-308.8116 V
60.0022 Hz
5.2726 mV
218.9580 V

Fig. 24 Voltage, Current, and Power Curves at Different

Components

Current
3.1175 A
-3.1269 A
60 Hz
-3.4260 mA
2.1990 A

D. RLC Circuit
A parallel-connected RLC circuit was investigated through a
transient analysis in order to directly compare and determine the
relationship between the voltage, current, and power through the
different passive components used in the circuit. A configuration
such as the one shown in Fig. 23 was used, with the postsimulation results shown in Fig. 24. Also listed in Table IV are
some of the other quantified data that were obtained during the
analysis.
AC 1 0 Sine(0 311.127 60 0 0)

TABLE IVV
OTHER MEASUREMENTS FOR THE RLC CIRCUIT

Max.
Min.
Freq.
Mean
RMS

Voltage
311.01 V
-309.72 V
60 Hz
5.75 mV
218.96 V

I (R)
3.11 A
-3.10 A
60 Hz
57.47 uA
2.19 A

I (L)
6.57 A
0A
60 Hz
3.29 A
4.02 A

I (C)
5.86 A
-5.90 A
60 Hz
-6.46 mA
4.14 A

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
We wish to acknowledge Engr. J.M. Martinez and other
contributors for useful discussions on the successful analysis of the
circuits involved. We also would like to thank the reviewers of our
paper for their time and valuable feedback.
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V1-pos
I(C)
C1
50u

V1

I(R)
100
R1

I(L)
250m IC=0
L1

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[2]
[3]
[4]
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[6]
[7]

I(C) / A

I(R) / A

Fig. 23 Parallel RLC Circuit Diagram

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V1-pos*I(C) / W

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