Types of circuits

From the smallest circuit to the largest electronics project, every circuit that performs a useful function has one or more of the same building blocks. I’m not talking about electronic components; I’m talking about sub-circuits that have a defined function.

These circuits are divided in digital and analog. In these pages you’ll learn how to design every type of circuit listed, with emphasis on a functionality level, instead of a component level, in order to be able to create any kind of amplifier as required by the project. Here’s the list of them:

Analog

• Amplifiers
• Filters
• Power sources
• Oscillators
• Rectifiers
• Timers
• Modulators
• Demodulators

Digital

• Logic gates
• Counters
• Encoders
• Decoders
• Flip-Flops
• Multiplexers
• Demultiplexers
• Analog to Digital Converter (ADC)
• Digital to Analog Converter (DAC)
• Microcontrollers
• Microprocessors

All of these sub-circuits have a defined function within a complete project, and some of them are even a project on their own. These categories are somewhat broad; every one of them has many different designs and implementations depending on the particular characteristics of the project, for example amplifiers.

There are transistor and OpAmp amplifiers. In transistor amplifiers there are common source, common base, common collector, there are Darlington amplifiers. Transistor amplifiers are further divided by the kind of transistor used: BJT, N-channel JFET, P-channel JFET, MosFET, Nmos, Pmos, Cmos; Each with its own set of configurations.

On OpAmp there are negative feedback, positive feedback, voltage follower and others.
As you can see there are a million different combinations of amplifier topologies as they are called, way too many to be familiar with all of them.