Analog Circuits for Music Synthesis
(2-0-3-3)
CMPE Degree: This course is Selected Elective for the CMPE degree.
EE Degree: This course is Selected Elective for the EE degree.
Lab Hours: 0 supervised lab hours and 3 unsupervised lab hours.
Technical Interest Groups / Course Categories: Threads / ECE Electives
Course Coordinator: Aaron D Lanterman
Prerequisites: (ECE 3043 [min C] or ECE 3741 [min C]) and ECE 3084 [min C]
Catalog Description
Circuits from classic analog synthesizers: voltage-controlled oscillators, filters, and amplifiers; nonlinear waveshapers. Operational transconductance amplifiers. Exploitation of dynamic resistance of semiconductors. Hands-on projects.Textbook(s)
Course Outcomes
Analyze circuits employing operational transconductance amplifiers.
Analyze linear and exponential voltage-to-current converters.
Analyze sawtooth-core and triangle-core voltage controlled oscillators.
Exploit the nonlinearities and dynamic resistance of semiconductor devices.
Analyze various voltage controlled filter configurations, such as Sallen-Key filters, state variable filters, and the Moog ladder filter.
Strategic Performance Indicators (SPIs)
N/A
Topic List
- Historical perspective
- Demonstration of a modular synthesizer
- Circuit theory review (emphasis on operational amplifiers)
- Operational transconductance amplifiers (OTAs)
- Voltage-controlled amplifiers
- Linear current sources
- Voltage-controlled oscillators
- Sawtooth cores (comparators with resettable integrators)
- Temperature-compensated exponential current sources
- Triangle cores (comparators and integrators with current switches)
- Basic waveshaping circuits
- Complex waveshaping circuits for generating time-varying spectra
- Voltage controlled filters (VCFs)
- Single-pole OTA-C VCFs (resistor replacement and "systems" viewpoints)
- Four-pole VCFs with feedback (pole migration and resonance peaks)
- Transistor-ladder and diode-ladder VCFs (dynamic resistance)
- Second-order filter properties
- State-variable VCFs
- Sallen-Key VCFs