Analog Curve TracerMakita Erni, Gregory Xie

Purpose of a curve tracer● Characteristic Curves

○ Transistor matching

● Plots current vs voltage for a component● Example: Tektronix 575 in lab

2https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/tektronix_transistor_curve_tracer_5.html

Why build a curve tracer?● Easier to read and export output

○ Helps with labs in class

● Smaller

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Overall Block Diagram

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Control Voltage Block Diagram

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Generating a pulse train

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Generating a staircase wave

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Note: Staircase doesn’t look correct because it finished resetting in the middle of a pulse - final design will solve this problem

Generating a triggered ramp

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Base Current Source/Sink

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Collector Current Source/Sink

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Subtractor

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Timeline

Week Goal

4/19-4/25 Integrate parts of project, simulate integrated design in LTSpice

4/26-5/2 Finish PCB layout, send to manufacturer

5/3-5/12 Assemble PCB, test physical circuit

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Questions?

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