Due to the remarkable progress made in integrated circuit

technology in recent years, integrated circuits have been im-

proved in terms of high speed, high performance and high

integration [1]. In order to keep up with the pace of the times,

colleges and universities need to reform and innovate in related

courses. Electronic circuit courses are the basic content of

integrated circuit technology and one of the main technical

theory courses for electronic science and technology majors.

The content is more, boring and complicated, with strong

logic, and the course hours are relatively small. According to

the characteristics of the course, it is necessary to simplify

the teaching content and absorb the essence of the past

teaching content, On this basis, further optimize innovative

teaching content. To reform the teaching, we know that the

characteristics of the curriculum are far from insufﬁcient, and

we need to fully understand the contemporary college students

in order to better teach students in accordance with their

aptitude. From the perspective of cognitive ability, they are

talents of the information age in the new century and have

good image thinking ability. Analyzed from the psychological

characteristics, they are full of interest and curiosity in new

things, full of exploration spirit, but not interested in pure

theoretical learning content. In order to train students into

applied talents who can solve practical problems, it is not

only necessary to add engineering content to the curriculum to

strengthen students’ awareness of engineering practice, On the

other hand, in order to increase students’ interest in learning,

it is recommended to use various non-traditional methods to

teach courses, such as project-based learning [2], collaborative

learning [3] or integrating experiments into the classroom

[4]. Obviously, the traditional teaching model cannot meet

the needs of students. Therefore, it is imperative to change

the traditional model, establish a new analog circuit teaching

system, and optimize and innovate teaching content.

In order to better implement the curriculum reform, it is ﬁrst

necessary to analyze the problems that existed in the previous

teaching process of the basics of electronic circuits.

Although the importance of experiment and practice to the

curriculum has been emphasized, it is undoubtedly difﬁcult to

combine theory and practice in teaching in a limited time. At

the same time, for most students, their grades make them pay

more attention to theoretical knowledge and take a perfunctory

attitude towards practice and experimental content, believing

that these content are optional. On the other hand, the school

adopts the separate teaching method of theory and experiment

when setting up courses, so that students basically rely on

the experimental instruction book instead of the knowledge

learned in the classroom in the experimental class, which

greatly reduces the effect of the experimental class. So it is

difﬁcult to achieve the desired result.

In view of the problems in the teaching and course content

proposed in this article, proceed from these two aspects. Up-

hold the teaching concept of “inquiry-based teaching, project-

driven approach” in the classroom, Take the case of street

lamp automatic controller as the introduction, review the

voltage transmission characteristics of the integrated opera-

tional ampliﬁer, and analyze it layer by layer.Guided by clear

circuit design cases, students are trained to solve practical

Combining Theory with Practice in Circuits and Systems Education

1,2,3*HUA FAN, 1MINGYU LIANG

1School of Integrated Circuit Science and Engineering(Exemplary School of Microelectronics),

University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, CHINA

2Chongqing Institute of Microelectronics Industry Technology, University of Electronic Science and

Technology of China, Chongqing, CHINA

3Institute of Electronic and Information Engineering of UESTC in Guangdong, Dongguan, CHINA

Abstract: In electronic information and related majors, “Circuit Analysis and Electronic Circuits” is a compulsory course,

and its importance is self-evident. The teaching method that combines theory and practice has now become a more common

method for circuit courses, but the inherent characteristics of circuit courses: a wide range of knowledge, complex basic

theories and basic concepts, and many important and difficult points. Which results in the relatively simple setting of

practical content corresponding to theoretical knowledge, Furthermore, students will find the course content boring and

boring. Starting from this point, this article carries out innovative reforms to the teaching content in both the theoretical

content and the practical content, so that the theory and the practical content are fully integrated. At the same time,

abandoning the traditional teacher-centered classroom, the teacher only acts as a “guide”, giving students the identity of

the “master” of the classroom, allowing students to explore and seek knowledge independently, and achieve “low input

and high output”. In turn, a good sense of self-learning and exploration and innovation ability can be formed, which can

train students into comprehensively developed learning, research and application talents.

Keywords: electronic circuit foundation, teaching method, course reform.

Received: July 9, 2022. Revised: August 13, 2023. Accepted: September 15, 2023. Published: October 13, 2023.

1. Introduction

2. Analysis of Problems in Teaching

3. Teaching and Curriculum Content Reform

WSEAS TRANSACTIONS on ADVANCES in ENGINEERING EDUCATION

DOI: 10.37394/232010.2023.20.12

Hua Fan, Mingyu Liang

E-ISSN: 2224-3410

Volume 20, 2023

problems through problem exploration, teacher analysis, and

student discussion. Using the speciﬁc circuit application of

the street lamp automatic controller, the circuit parameters

of the voltage comparator are calculated and analyzed, and

the ﬁnal implementation scheme is obtained, which reveals

the law of the voltage transmission characteristics of the

voltage comparator. Starting from the voltage transmission

characteristics of the integrated operational ampliﬁer working

in the linear region, the two forms of operational ampliﬁer

working in the saturation region are analyzed, and students

are gradually guided to complete the learning of the single-

threshold voltage comparator and the double-threshold voltage

comparator. The teaching process combines the actual appli-

cation case of the voltage comparator with the circuit model,

Deepen the understanding of circuit theory concepts, and

analyze the corresponding voltage transmission characteristics

through animation demonstration.

In order to complete the teaching of the above content in

a limited time and give students a rich and colorful class,

it is necessary to carefully prepare the course design of

the content to be taught before class. In the course design,

the teaching content is divided into knowledge review (2

minutes), teaching introduction (3 minutes), teaching content

(35 minutes), teaching summary (3 minutes), outreach training

(1 minute) and homework (1 minutes) . A total of 45 minutes

for the six stages. This is only an estimated time arrangement.

The speciﬁc implementation process is determined by the

actual situation in the classroom. The teaching arrangement

is ﬂexible and the time can be slightly adjusted.

Curriculum construction should rebuild some core knowl-

edge, recombine knowledge, optimize and upgrade old knowl-

edge, add new technologies to teaching content, and teaching

design focuses on the cultivation of learning ability and the

improvement of engineering thinking. When teaching, pay at-

tention to the connection between the front and rear knowledge

points. The knowledge review at the beginning of the class is

an important part of the learning process. This process can not

only systematize the knowledge that has been learned, but also

strengthen the understanding, consolidation and improvement

of knowledge, and can also make up for the defects of

knowledge. In this way, students can review their knowledge

while creating a good classroom atmosphere. At the same time,

they can be guided into the learning of the content of this

section through questions, so that students can truly enter the

classroom and become the “master” of the classroom. For ex-

ample, before learning the voltage comparator, brieﬂy review

the knowledge points about the op amp and directly give the

intuitive transmission characteristics. As shown in Fig. 1, At

the same time, cooperate with teachers to explain to strengthen

students’ mastery of integrated operational ampliﬁers and help

students establish a more complete knowledge framework of

voltage comparator circuits. Teaching introduction, it is the

beginning of a class, and it is also a key link of a class.

Appropriate teaching introduction can play a pivotal role in

Fig. 1. The voltage transfer characteristics of the operational ampliﬁer

working in the linear region.

the entire class, making students full of curiosity and interest

in knowledge, and fully mobilizing their enthusiasm. For

example, give an example: automatic street lamp controller,

as shown in Fig. 2. Taking the common street lamp control

in life as an example, on the one hand, it raises questions to

stimulate students’ interest in learning, and on the other hand,

it brings out the classroom theme of voltage comparator just

right. Combine the curriculum theory with life examples, from

the shallower to the deeper, and visualize the abstract theory.

As far as the voltage comparator course is concerned, the

Fig. 2. Design of street lamp automatic controller.

basic content starts from the design of street lamp automatic

controller. The teacher reminds the students by asking “to

realize the design of an automatic street lamp controller,

which can control the opening and closing of the street lamp

according to the intensity of the light”. According to the

prompts, combined with what they have learned, let students

think from practical problems, and under the guidance of

teachers, lead to the ﬁrst teaching theme-Single threshold

voltage comparator. Analyze layer by layer and introduce how

to use a single threshold voltage comparator to realize the

design of street lamp automatic controller. Teachers’ teaching

is based on the inquiry-based teaching method, supplemented

by other methods, to fully tap the students’ learning potential

and allow students to rely on the knowledge they have already

mastered. Guided by the teacher, take the initiative to explore,

think, and discuss step by step to reﬁne the three key points of

analyzing the voltage comparator. The ﬁrst step is to analyze

the design points of the street lamp automatic controller. The

3.1 Optimize and Innovative

Textbook Knowledge

WSEAS TRANSACTIONS on ADVANCES in ENGINEERING EDUCATION

DOI: 10.37394/232010.2023.20.12

Hua Fan, Mingyu Liang

E-ISSN: 2224-3410

Volume 20, 2023

light-sensitive resistor is used as the sensing unit to realize

the link of converting the intensity of light into voltage input

changes. As shown in Fig. 3. Utilizing the circuit principle

of the photoresistor and the ﬁxed resistor in series with

the voltage divider and the characteristic of increasing the

illuminance that the photoresistor decreases, the characteristic

that the input voltage also increases linearly as the illuminance

increases. Through the high and low level of the output voltage

to control the on or off of the transistor to control whether the

LED light is turned on. We hope that when the light is strong

enough, the street light controller can automatically turn off the

lights. So, here we need to design a single-threshold voltage

comparator to achieve voltage comparison and control the

output level. This concludes the ﬁrst key point of the voltage

comparator: To achieve voltage comparison, ﬁrst ensure that

the integrated operational ampliﬁer works in the saturation

region. Then consider, since the turn-on and turn-off of the

street lamp is determined by the output voltage, how does

the threshold voltage affect the voltage transfer curve of the

comparator? When the input voltage is at the inverting input of

the op amp, when the input voltage is less than the threshold

voltage, the output voltage is high, and when the input voltage

is greater than the threshold voltage, the output voltage is low.

Therefore, the second key point is summarized here: When

the input voltage is equal to the threshold voltage, it is an

important basis for judging the state jump of the comparator.

Finally, analyze the jump direction of the output voltage.

When the input voltage is at the non-inverting input terminal

of the op amp, the input voltage gradually increases. When

the threshold voltage is passed, the output voltage produces a

positive jump and the output is high; when the input voltage is

at the inverting input terminal of the op amp, the input voltage

gradually increases , When the threshold voltage is passed, the

output voltage produces a negative jump, and the output is low.

Therefore, the third key point is summarized here: when the

voltage at the non-inverting input terminal of the op amp is

greater than the voltage at the inverting input terminal, the

output of the comparator is high, and vice versa, the output of

the comparator is low. Therefore, the key is to analyze whether

the input voltage is located at the non-inverting input terminal

or the inverting input terminal of the op amp, and also to pay

attention to the relationship between the input voltage and the

threshold voltage. So get the design method of street lamp

control, as shown in Fig. 4.

Advanced content is to ask questions and ﬁnd solutions

on top of the basic content. The single-threshold voltage

comparator proposed above has only one threshold voltage.

When the input voltage is equal to the threshold voltage,

it will cause the output state to jump. This shows that its

sensitivity is high, but high sensitivity also brings its biggest

disadvantage, poor anti-interference ability. Fig. 5 shows the

voltage transmission curve of single-threshold street lamp

control. In real life, the illuminance ﬂuctuates due to various

factors. As a result, the operating state of the street lamp

control realized by the single-threshold voltage comparator is

not stable.

Fig. 3. Photoelectric conversion process.

Fig. 4. Single threshold to achieve street lamp control.

Fig. 5. Voltage transmission curve of single threshold street lamp control.

Then a feasible solution needs to be found for the problem

raised, and a dual-threshold voltage comparator is drawn,

as shown in Fig. 6. First of all, we need to know the

working principle of the dual-threshold voltage comparator.

The voltage transmission characteristics are determined by the

threshold voltage, the change trend of the output voltage and

its amplitude. In the ﬁrst step, according to the “virtual short”

and “virtual break” properties of the op amp, and Kirchhoff’s

voltage law (KVL), the following can be obtained:

u+=R1

R1+R2

uO+R2

R1+R2

UT(1)

Since when uI¿UT,uO=UOM ,the corresponding upper

threshold voltage can be obtained, and when uI¡UT,uO=0,

the corresponding lower threshold voltage can be obtained.

Substituting these two conditions into the above formula, the

WSEAS TRANSACTIONS on ADVANCES in ENGINEERING EDUCATION

DOI: 10.37394/232010.2023.20.12

Hua Fan, Mingyu Liang

E-ISSN: 2224-3410

Volume 20, 2023

upper threshold voltage and the lower threshold voltage are

respectively:

UT H =R1

R1+R2

UOM +R2

R1+R2

UT(2)

UT L =R2

R1+R2

UT(3)

Deﬁne the difference between the upper and lower threshold

voltages of the dual-threshold voltage comparator as the hys-

teresis voltage, and its expression is:

∆UT=UT H −UT L =R1

R1+R2

UOM (4)

It can be seen from the voltage transmission characteristic

curve that when the input signal disturbance is relatively

large, it will cause the output of the double-threshold voltage

comparator to undergo an error jump. However, the interfer-

ence less than the hysteresis will not cause the comparator

output to jump. Feedback accelerates the jump. To further

Fig. 6. Dual-threshold voltage comparator circuit.

enable students to change passive learning into active learning.

Group the students for team training, train them to study

together to achieve the course goals proposed by examples [5].

Analyze the application design of the dual-threshold voltage

comparator in the street lamp automatic controller, and discuss

the circuit parameters that meet the requirements. According

to the performance requirements of the street lamp automatic

controller, it can be known that the upper threshold voltage

is 8V, the lower threshold voltage is 6V, and the resistance

R1= 10kΩ. Combining the upper threshold voltage formula

and lower threshold voltage formula obtained above and the

known conditions, the threshold voltage can be calculated

UT= 7.2V, Feedback resistance R2= 50kΩ. The volt-

age transmission characteristics of the dual-threshold voltage

comparator can be further analyzed by means of animation

demonstration. The input voltage of the comparator is intro-

duced from the inverting end of the operational ampliﬁer.

When the input voltage is equal to the threshold voltage,

the output of the comparator jumps. As shown in Fig. ??,

When the input voltage is relatively low, the voltage at the

inverting terminal of the op amp is less than the voltage at

the non-inverting terminal, and the comparator output is a

high level 12V. When the input voltage gradually increases

and reaches the upper threshold voltage (8V), the comparator

output is in a state, the transition from high level 12V to

low level 0V. Next, analyze the reverse process. When the

input voltage is high, the voltage at the inverting terminal of

the op amp is greater than the voltage at the non-inverting

terminal, and the comparator output is low level 0V. As the

input voltage continues to decrease, when the input voltage

is equal to the lower threshold voltage (6V) When the output

state jumps, from low level 0V to high level 12V. After the

12V

Fig. 7. Voltage transmission characteristics of double-threshold voltage

comparator.

above analysis, students have been gradually guided to design

a dual-threshold voltage comparator whose circuit parameters

meet the requirements, as shown in Fig. 8. Applying this dual-

threshold voltage comparator to a street lamp control circuit

can analyze its voltage transmission characteristics. As shown

in Fig. 9, When the input signal amplitude is relatively low,

the comparator outputs a high level, the transistor is turned

on, and the LED light is on. When it increases to the upper

threshold voltage (8V), the comparator output changes from

high to high. Ping jumps to low level, the transistor is cut off,

and the LED light goes out. We can see that when there is

noise interference, the input voltage produces multiple up and

down disturbances near the upper threshold voltage (8V), and

the output voltage does not jump wrongly, which can realize

the stable control of street lights.Through the above analysis,

we can get such a conclusion, the double-threshold voltage

comparator has strong anti-interference ability.

Fig. 8. Voltage transmission characteristics of double-threshold voltage

comparator.

Practical content, that is, outreach training must only focus

on theoretical knowledge. In the teaching process, based on

the modern simulation software Multisim, practical content is

reasonably inserted into the explanation of theoretical knowl-

edge. The practical content is based on theoretical knowledge,

comprehensive and open. Speciﬁcally, teachers will group

students into groups, and the division of groups should take

into account the combination and collocation of students

3.2 Combination of Theory and Practice

WSEAS TRANSACTIONS on ADVANCES in ENGINEERING EDUCATION

DOI: 10.37394/232010.2023.20.12

Hua Fan, Mingyu Liang

E-ISSN: 2224-3410

Volume 20, 2023

Fig. 9. Voltage transmission characteristics of dual thresholds to achieve

street lamp control.

at all levels. Students will discuss and analyze, calculate

appropriate capacitance and resistance values, use Multisim

circuit simulation software for simulation and team up to

complete hardware production. The teacher guides students

to divide the curriculum knowledge into pieces, combine the

knowledge they have learned to solve practical problems,

and cultivate their ability to independently analyze circuit

principles. An example of the circuit is shown in Fig. 10. The

introduction of engineering examples is conducive to further

improving students’ ability to master and learn new knowl-

edge. In the process of circuit simulation and hardware design,

students can obtain intuitive perceptual cognition and reduce

the difﬁculty of abstract thinking. Implementing hierarchical

education, teaching students in accordance with their aptitude,

and expanding training content can allow students with strong

learning abilities to master more knowledge and improve

their abilities. At the same time, the model of teamwork

also provides a very good learning platform for students

with poor foundations. This active learning environment can

improve students’ self-conﬁdence and desire for performance

[6]–[10], which greatly improves the efﬁciency of learning.

The importance of teaching summary is self-evident. You can

comparator

10k



620k



360k



Fig. 10. Timing alarm circuit.

summarize and sort out the previous content, review important

knowledge, deepen students’ understanding of knowledge, and

have a positive effect on students’ full circuit design methods.

In this case, the classroom becomes a place to solve problems,

propose concepts and participate in collaborative learning.

By taking the teaching stage of voltage comparator as an

example, this article analyzes some problems in the theory,

practice and content of the electronic circuit course, and puts

forward effective methods for the problems. When teaching,

the teacher starts from the actual situation of the students, runs

through the classroom with an inquiry-based teaching method,

optimizes and innovates the content, and combines theory and

practice reasonably. The ultimate goal is to improve students’

ability to analyze and apply circuits, and train them to adapt

to the times.

The work of Hua Fan was supported by the National

Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) under Grant

62371109, supported by Sichuan Science and Technolo-

gy Program under Grant 2022YFG0164, supported by the

Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities

under Grant ZYGX2021YGLH203, supported by general

project of Chongqing Natural Science Foundation under

Grant 2022NSCQ-MSX5348, and supported by Guangdong

Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation under Grant

2023A1515010041.

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4. Conclusion

Acknowledgement

References

WSEAS TRANSACTIONS on ADVANCES in ENGINEERING EDUCATION

DOI: 10.37394/232010.2023.20.12

Hua Fan, Mingyu Liang

E-ISSN: 2224-3410

Volume 20, 2023

Contribution of Individual Authors to the

Creation of a Scientific Article (Ghostwriting

Policy)

The authors equally contributed in the present

research, at all stages from the formulation of the

problem to the final findings and solution.

Sources of Funding for Research Presented in a

Scientific Article or Scientific Article Itself

Conflict of Interest

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare

that are relevant to the content of this article.

Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0

(Attribution 4.0 International, CC BY 4.0)

This article is published under the terms of the

Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en

_US

The work of Hua Fan was supported by the National

Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) under

Grant 62371109, supported by Sichuan Science and

Technology Program under Grant 2022YFG0164,

supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the

Central Universities under Grant

ZYGX2021YGLH203, supported by general project of

Chongqing Natural Science Foundation under Grant

2022NSCQ-MSX5348, and supported by Guangdong

Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation under

Grant 2023A1515010041.

WSEAS TRANSACTIONS on ADVANCES in ENGINEERING EDUCATION

DOI: 10.37394/232010.2023.20.12

Hua Fan, Mingyu Liang

E-ISSN: 2224-3410

Volume 20, 2023