Syllabus

Objective

The Art and Science of PCB Design is an introductory course into the fundamental aspects of developing electronic systems on printed circuit boards (PCBs). This course will heavily focus on providing hands-on labs with electronic design tools actively used in industry towards designing a primary course project resulting in the physical assembly of a PCB-based device. Students will gain experience in designing systems, conducting SPICE simulations, drawing schematics, and creating a PCB layout. Complex topics in electrical and PCB design will be explored, including through guest speakers and through advanced simulations. This class is intended for students of all skill levels but at a minimum requires a basic understanding of circuit analysis, which will be applied towards learning how to implement real devices.

Topics

Upon completion of the course, students should be familiar with:

Understanding the design-for-manufacturing process at both the system and component level
Devising basic circuit topologies for common device applications
Applying SPICE-level simulations to electronic circuits
Independently converting an electronic system into a design schematic
Efficiently creating a printed circuit board (PCB) layout from a design schematic
Analyzing component datasheets
Understanding real-world device limitations when selecting components
Using industry-standard electronic design automation (EDA) tools (e.g. Altium, KiCAD, LTSpice)
Understanding the PCB fabrication process
Assembling complex PCBs by hand with surface-mount and through-hole technologies

Registration

Course Numbers

EECS 6.S092 (U, P/F, 3-units)
Edgerton EC.S03 (U, P/F, 6-units)

Prerequisites

It is recommended to understand basic circuit analysis provided in 6.200, 2.678/2.679, or equivalent. This generally entails understanding how to analyze/implement resistors, inductors, capacitors, and operational amplifiers in an electrical circuit.

Enrollment

Enrollment in the course entitles students to a seat in lab, grading feedback on lab/design assignments, provision of project PCB materials, and a PCB ruler. Non-enrolled, MIT-affiliated individuals are still welcome to attend lectures, view lecture recordings, and follow lab/assignment instructions available on the course website.

Students should fill out the interest form located on the course website in addition to registering via the MIT registrar to stay updated on the course.

Due to limited staffing and supplies, the course may need to cap enrollment. If a cap is necessary, for-credit registered students and those who fully attend all in-person labs will be prioritized for enrollment. Course listeners and those who are unable to attend all in-person labs during IAP are not guaranteed enrollment.

Required Safety Training

Students will be working with low-voltage electronics in this class and doing some soldering at high temperatures. Students will need to complete the Electrical Safety Awareness training that’s available in the Learning Center on atlas.mit.edu.

Course Structure

Lectures

Every week MWF 10AM-11AM in room 2-190.

In-person lectures will be provided three times a week by both staff instructors and guest speakers who are highly knowledgeable in the PCB design process. Short, open-note lecture quizzes will be administered after each lecture to evaluate student comprehension of lecture materials and to mark attendance.

Lectures will be recorded and posted to Panopto for online viewing.

Recitations

Every week MWF 11AM-12PM in room 2-190.

Optional recitation sessions will occur immediately after lecture for students to further deepen their understanding of concepts discussed in lecture. Recitations will consist of detailed derivations, case studies, and problem solving.

Labs

Every week TTh 9AM-12PM and 12PM-3PM in 38-500 lab space.

Students will participate in hands-on labs to gain familiarity with using EDA tools and physical PCB fabrication/assembly. Course lab assistants will guide students through labs and handle any questions or difficulties.

Labs will be 3 hours long. Two separate lab sessions will be provided with each student being assigned to one after the first lecture for the duration of IAP.

Office Hours

Every week MWF from 9-10AM and 12PM-1PM; TTh 3-5PM in 38-500 lab space (may be extended during 3rd and 4th week). Office hours will be staffed by instructors and lab assistants for students to ask questions and finish incomplete lab tasks.

Texts

Optional: The Art of Electronics, 3rd Edition (2015) by Horowitz and Hill

Lecture notes and additional resources are located on the course website.

Required Materials/Software

Students will choose between Altium Designer or KiCAD EDA to use for PCB design. Setup instructions can be found here.

LTspice will be used for SPICE simulations.

MIT Google Workspace account for accessing forms and lecture quizzes.

Students should bring their laptops to the in-person labs. Additionally, bringing a computer mouse is highly recommended for better interfacing with the PCB design software and LTspice.

Website

Course website: pcb.mit.edu

Piazza: piazza.com/mit/other/6s092ecs03

Grading

Grading will be based upon attendance, lecture quizzes, and completion of labs.

Course Assistance

For questions and assistance relating to course content (e.g., lab assignments, lecture content) students are encouraged to use lab hours, office hours, and Piazza to request assistance.

For technical questions and assistance relating to PCB or electrical design (e.g., personal projects, research work, and career work), instructors are happy to provide advice during IAP. Students are encouraged to use lab hours, office hours, and Piazza to request assistance.

For administrative questions, students should directly contact course instructors during office hours, lab hours or via email (iap-pcb-staff[at]mit[dot]edu).

Additional Facilities

Students are encouraged to use the following makerspaces and lab areas to complete assignments outside of lab/office hours as well as for projects beyond the course:

Staff

Note: please direct all administrative questions regarding the course to iap-pcb-staff@[at]mit[dot]edu, which includes all course instructors. Course assignment-related questions should be directed to Piazza.

Name	Role	Contact
Will Vu	Instructor	iap-pcb-staff@[at]mit[dot]edu
Deepta Gupta	Instructor	iap-pcb-staff@[at]mit[dot]edu
Noah Haefner	Instructor	iap-pcb-staff@[at]mit[dot]edu
Claudius Tewari	Lab Assistant	Piazza
Jake Li	Lab Assistant	Piazza
Jeewoo Kang	Lab Assistant	Piazza
Nerissa Wong	Lab Assistant	Piazza
Sean Boerhout	Lab Assistant	Piazza

Schedule

See the schedule page

Acknowledgements

Course Sponsor: Joe Steinmeyer jodalyst[at] mit[dot]edu

Special thanks to MIT Edgerton Center and MIT EECS department for providing funding and support for this course each year.