Customer Reviews

Microelectronic Circuits Revised Edition (Oxford Series in Electrical and Computer Engineering)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I used this textbook as an undergraduate (back in the early/mid 90s), mostly as a supplement to our main texts (Horowitz and Hill - which was horrible; and Lloyd Fortney's, which was better, but still difficult in places). The biggest strength of the book (an early 90s or mid 90s edition, which I am referring to) was its extremely clear presentation of passive and active components, such as the transistor op amps. The book systematically takes you through several configurations in which opamps and transistors are used in a real setting, and shows how the cryptic rules of transistors are put into action. I could never figure this stuff out from Horowitz and Hill (a horrible book that oversimplifies things, to the point where you are unable to do real calculations, IMO). But with Sedra, you had a clear idea of the different designs, how to analyze them from the basic equations, and he includes all the relevant plots (I-V curves, Vin-Vout, etc) for each design, and all examples are presented in a nice box for pedagogic purposes. I can't think of a better book to learn the very basics of electronics. Trust me, I've looked at dozens of them. This one is the best and most pedagogic one. I can't believe the negative reviews below. If this book is used as a reference book, it is sure to help you understand how electronics works, and give you a sound foundation in how to analyze circuits.

I received the book for one of my class. I was surprised by the size and weight of the book. It's a good book, explanations are thorough and it includes PSpice software that could help me doing my lab experiments using my own computer. I have never brought the book to class just because of the weight but I would definitely recommend this book.

I teach a junior-level analog circuits class using Sedra & Smith. I chose it for the following reasons: (1) the explanations seem thorough, detailed, and lucid; the authors don't skip a lot of steps or sweep things under the rug; there are plenty of figures to illustrate key concepts; I really like the tables they include to compare/ contrast different concepts within chapters; they have initially cumbersome but ultimately useful and clear notation for distinguishing small- and large-signal quantities; (2) the scope of coverage is excellent -- device behavior (rudimentary device physics); simple transistor circuits giving equal time to FETs and bipolar transistors; more-advanced circuits including some IC circuits; and misc. topics including op-amps, feedback, power amplifiers, etc. -- it's all in there; students who buy this book will have a useful reference for years to come; (3) there are a lot of homework problems for each sub-section; (4) S&S have good support for SPICE: the text includes the free student version of PSPICE with all the examples from the text pre-loaded.
I have a handful of nitpicks: for a 5th edition there are still too many errors; I thought their chapter on feedback was rather cumbersome and so mostly skipped it in my class; and of course even in such an enyclopedic text one wishes they had included more of some topics (my own list including more on regulators and on practical usage of analog-to-digital converters). Though given the already hefty size of the text I don't blame them.
Unfortunately, the student version of PSPICE is too hobbled, allowing only a few active elements and unable to run some of the more-complex examples from the text. Next year I am advising my students to use alternate SPICE programs.
Overall, Sedra & Smith is the definitive text for intermediate circuits courses.

This is one of the best textbooks I've ever had. It's an excellent introduction and intermediate analysis of electronics components and their applications. The first section succinctly explains how amplifiers, op-amps, diodes, MOSFETs, and BJTs work. One chapter is devoted to each of these topics, and they are all very well written. Key points are highlighted, there are lots of tables and reference sections summarizing the results of each section's discussion, there is a section dedicated to PSPICE applications of the given chapter, there is a great summary at the end of each chapter, and there are lots of high-quality practice questions at the end of each chapter.

The second section is devoted to amplifier design, especially IC amps, and an introduction to digital circuits. There are five chapters: single-stage IC amps, differential and multistage amps, feedback, op-amps and data converter circuits (ADCs and DACs), and digital CMOS logic circuits. Just like the first section, this section of the book is very well written and explained.

The third section of the textbook is for a few selected topics. There are four chapters covering memory and advanced digital circuits, filters and tuned amplifiers, signal generators and waveform-shaping circuits, and output stages.

Each section is the perfect length for one university course, making this textbook good for three courses. The amount of material can be quite overwhelming, but the high quality of this book makes it fairly easy to learn a large amount in a short time. Overall, this is an excellent textbook that I'd recommend to any electrical engineer. I am definitely keeping it as a reference.

This book was assigned for a linear electronics class. I wish the practice examples peppered through each chapter included more that were fully worked out. In addition the phrasing of the exercises as well as the end of chapter exercises were unclear.

Aword of caution to used book buyers: The book I purchased came in "new" condition - but after two weeks of regular use the binding cracked and I now have sections of text that are no longer attached. I don't know if this problem has been resolved in later printings - but if ever there was a case for buying the paperback international edition - this would be it. What a horrible publishing job.

This is a solid book. Good diagrams & format. On the heavier side though. Bought this instead of the 6th edition & they are basically the same.

arrived on time and it was as clean as new book, except the cover(not a big deal though).
Thanks!

This textbook tries to cover it all. It is the largest, heaviest textbook I've ever held. That would be just fine if it were any good. There are more typos than one one would expect from a fifth edition. Sometimes the constants are listed incorrectly (such as epsilon_0). The worst part of the book though is the questions. I've counted 30 questions in one problem. The questions are rarely if ever stated clearly. Oftentimes it is very difficult to figure what the author is asking. There are several questions in each chapter that are covered only a short sentence or two that does not relay the information necessary to complete the problem. Finally information necessary to complete the problems is not always given. If you have to use this textbook for a class I'm sorry. If you are a professor who uses this textbook - you can do much better.

worst book, I dont know why everyone seems to like it. You can find many other books that are straight forward, easy read and better return for your time (and money)