UGC NET Electronic Science Syllabus 2025-26 — Complete Unit-wise Guide
Electronic Science is one of the core technical subjects under UGC NET, ideal for candidates who have studied Electronics Engineering, Applied Electronics, or Instrumentation at the graduate/postgraduate level. This article provides a comprehensive, unit-wise breakdown of the 2025–26 syllabus as per the latest NTA guidelines.
Exam Pattern — UGC NET Electronic Science
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Subject Code | 27 |
| Paper | II (Subject-specific) |
| Total Questions | 100 MCQs |
| Total Marks | 200 |
| Duration | 3 hours (combined with Paper I) |
| Negative Marking | None |
| Mode | Computer-Based Test (CBT) |
Unit 1: Electronic Devices and Circuits
This foundational unit covers semiconductor physics, diode characteristics, and transistor operations — essential for all subsequent units.
Key Topics
- Semiconductor Physics: Energy bands, intrinsic and extrinsic semiconductors, carrier transport — drift, diffusion, Hall effect, continuity equation.
- Junction Diodes: p-n junction formation, I-V characteristics, ideal vs. real diode, small-signal model, rectifiers (half-wave, full-wave, bridge), clippers, clampers, Zener diode regulators.
- Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT): NPN/PNP, modes of operation, common-emitter/base/collector configurations, h-parameters, biasing circuits (fixed bias, self-bias, voltage divider bias), small-signal equivalent circuits, Ebers-Moll model.
- Field-Effect Transistors: JFET characteristics (ID-VDS), MOSFET (enhancement & depletion types), CMOS, biasing, pinch-off voltage, transconductance.
- Special Devices: SCR (thyristor), DIAC, TRIAC, UJT — operating principles and applications.
- Optoelectronic Devices: LED, photodiode, phototransistor, solar cell, LDR, optocoupler.
| Device | Type | Key Parameter | Application |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zener Diode | p-n junction | Zener voltage Vz | Voltage regulation |
| BJT | Bipolar | Current gain β (hfe) | Amplification, switching |
| MOSFET | Unipolar | Transconductance gm | Digital ICs, RF |
| SCR | Thyristor | Holding current Ih | Power control |
| LED | Optoelectronic | Forward voltage ~2V | Display, indicators |
Unit 2: Analogue Circuits
Amplifier design, feedback theory, and operational amplifiers form the backbone of analogue electronics.
- Amplifier Analysis: Single-stage and multistage BJT/FET amplifiers, voltage gain, input/output impedance, bandwidth, frequency response, Bode plots, gain-bandwidth product.
- Feedback Amplifiers: Types of feedback (series-shunt, series-series, shunt-shunt, shunt-series), effect on gain, bandwidth, input/output impedance, stability; Barkhausen criterion.
- Oscillators: RC phase-shift, Wien bridge, Hartley, Colpitts, Clapp, crystal oscillators; frequency stability.
- Power Amplifiers: Class A, B, AB, C, D; push-pull configuration, crossover distortion, efficiency.
- Operational Amplifiers: Ideal op-amp parameters, inverting/non-inverting amplifiers, summer, integrator, differentiator, instrumentation amplifier, comparator, Schmitt trigger, precision rectifier, log/antilog amplifiers.
- Active Filters: Butterworth, Chebyshev, Bessel; first- and second-order low-pass, high-pass, band-pass, notch filters using op-amps.
- Voltage Regulators: Series and shunt regulators, 78xx/79xx ICs, LM317 adjustable regulator, fold-back current limiting, switch-mode power supplies (SMPS) — buck, boost, buck-boost.
Unit 3: Digital Electronics
Boolean algebra through synchronous sequential circuits — the digital foundations of modern computing.
- Number Systems: Binary, octal, hexadecimal; BCD, Gray code, excess-3; arithmetic operations, 1's/2's complement.
- Boolean Algebra and Logic Gates: Boolean theorems, De Morgan's laws, SOP/POS forms, Karnaugh map minimisation (up to 6 variables), Quine-McCluskey method.
- Combinational Circuits: Multiplexer, demultiplexer, decoder, encoder, priority encoder, adder (half/full), subtractor, carry-look-ahead adder, BCD adder, magnitude comparator, parity generator/checker.
- Sequential Circuits: SR, D, JK, T flip-flops; master-slave configurations; timing diagrams; registers (SISO, SIPO, PISO, PIPO); ripple and synchronous counters; modulo-N counters; ring and Johnson counters.
- Programmable Logic: PLA, PAL, CPLD, FPGA — architecture and programming basics.
- Memory Devices: SRAM, DRAM, ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM, Flash; memory expansion; address decoding.
- Logic Families: TTL (74 series), ECL, CMOS — noise margin, fan-out, propagation delay, power dissipation, interfacing.
| Logic Family | Supply Voltage | Propagation Delay | Power Dissipation |
|---|---|---|---|
| TTL (74LS) | 5 V | ~9.5 ns | ~2 mW/gate |
| CMOS (74HC) | 2–6 V | ~9 ns | Very low (static) |
| ECL (10K) | −5.2 V | ~2 ns | ~25 mW/gate |
| CMOS (74AHC) | 2–5.5 V | ~4 ns | Very low |
Unit 4: Microprocessors and Microcontrollers
- Intel 8085: Architecture (ALU, registers, flags), instruction set, addressing modes (immediate, register, direct, indirect), timing diagrams, interrupts (TRAP, RST 7.5/6.5/5.5, INTR), DMA, memory interfacing.
- Intel 8086: 16-bit architecture, segmented memory model, BIU and EU, pipeline, instruction set extensions (multiply, divide, string operations), minimum and maximum modes.
- 8051 Microcontroller: Internal architecture (4 KB ROM, 128 B RAM, 2 timers, 4 ports, UART), instruction set, memory organisation (SFRs), interrupts, serial communication, timer/counter modes.
- Advanced Architectures: RISC vs. CISC; ARM Cortex-M overview; pipelining (hazards — structural, data, control); cache memory (direct-mapped, associative, set-associative); virtual memory concepts.
- Interfacing: ADC, DAC, keyboard, display (7-segment, LCD), I2C, SPI, USB basics; programmable peripheral ICs (8255 PPI, 8254 timer, 8259 interrupt controller).
Unit 5: Signals and Systems
- Signals Classification: Continuous-time (CT) vs. discrete-time (DT); deterministic vs. random; energy vs. power signals; even/odd decomposition.
- System Properties: Linearity, time-invariance, causality, stability (BIBO); LTI system representation.
- Fourier Analysis: Fourier series (trigonometric and exponential forms); Fourier transform — properties (linearity, time-shift, frequency-shift, convolution, Parseval's theorem); DFT and FFT algorithm (radix-2).
- Laplace Transform: Definition, region of convergence, properties, inverse Laplace; transfer function, poles and zeros, system stability from pole location.
- Z-Transform: Definition, ROC, properties, inverse Z-transform (partial fractions, power series); analysis of discrete-time LTI systems.
- Sampling: Nyquist-Shannon sampling theorem, aliasing, anti-aliasing filter, reconstruction; practical ADC/DAC specifications.
- Correlation and Convolution: Cross-correlation, auto-correlation, power spectral density; convolution integral and sum.
Unit 6: Control Systems
- System Modeling: Transfer function, block diagram algebra (reduction rules), signal flow graphs (Mason's gain formula).
- Time Domain Analysis: First- and second-order systems; step, ramp, impulse response; steady-state error; error constants (Kp, Kv, Ka); effect of poles and zeros.
- Stability Analysis: Routh-Hurwitz criterion; Nyquist criterion; gain margin, phase margin; gain crossover, phase crossover frequencies.
- Frequency Domain: Bode plots (magnitude and phase); polar plots; M and N circles; Nichols chart.
- Root Locus: Construction rules; effect of gain K; dominant poles; conditional stability.
- Compensators: Lead, lag, lead-lag compensators; PID controller — tuning (Ziegler-Nichols method).
- State-Space Analysis: State variables and equations; controllability and observability (Kalman rank conditions); state feedback and pole placement.