Chapter 1

1. Introduction to Network Analysis & Synthesis

1.1 Introduction

What is the deference between electrical network and circuit?

Network is a combination of electrical elements connected in any manner (conductively,

inductively or capacitively), whose impedance may be lumped or distributed or both. Further,
it can be defined as a collection of elements connected together to perform a certain task
governed by a certain laws.

If a number of electrical elements are connected in any manner then the network formed will
be called an electric network. There is a chance of an open path in the electrical network. An
Electrical Network is shown in below,

Figure 1- Example of Electrical Network

As you can see in the arrangement there is an open path, hence it is called an electrical
network. So, the points we can summarize about the Electrical Network are:

 There is an open path present in the network.

 Current may not be flowing through all the elements of the network.

Electric circuit is a closed energized network. The electrical circuit is a path or arrangement
of electrical elements in which there is a potential difference and current flows from higher
potential to lower potential condition being that all the connection of the circuit should be
closed and there must be no open path. An electrical circuit is shown in below,

Figure 2- Example of Electrical circuit

The important thing to notice here is that the circuit is closed and there is no open path. So
the current will be flowing through every element according to the difference in potential. So,
the points we can summarize about the Electrical Circuit are:

 There should be no open path in the circuit.

 The current should flow through every element present in the circuit.

Note: The main difference between the two is that in circuits current must pass through all
elements while in network current must not pass through all the components. Circuit should
have a completely closed path but the network may not have a closed path condition

In generally accepted definitions of network analysis and synthesis, there are three key
words: the excitation, the network, the response as shown by Figure 3.

Figure 3- Key terms in network analysis & synthesis

A network in which the electrical properties are unaffected by interchanging input and output
terminals is called balanced network. In such networks, the elements are symmetrical with
respect to ground potential. To mention some examples of networks:

 Filters - electrical networks which pass selective frequency signals.

 Amplifiers/ Attenuators - electrical networks which are used to magnify or reduce
signal power level from input to output.
 Equalizers - electrical networks used to counteract frequency or phase distortions.
 Matching networks - electrical networks that match source and load impedances.

The study of network analysis and synthesis is sometimes referred to as network theory.
Network theory is based on fundamental electrical parameters. Network theory can be
categorized into three classes

i. Mathematical modeling of electromagnetic phenomena

ii. Mathematical analysis of models of individual elements and system
iii. Synthesis and design of systems & devices
Modeling of a system should adequately describe the physical behavior of the system i.e.
model is the compromise between reality and theory (simplicity). Most electrical system
analysis depends on two fundamental theoretical concepts:

a. The lumped parameter circuit theory based on laws: KVL and KCL, ohms laws, etc…
b. Field theory based on Maxwell’s equations for networks composed of distributed
elements.

An electric network (amplifier, filter or equalizer circuits and the like) can be modeled using
certain lumped circuit elements.

1.2 Lumped Circuit elements

A circuit element is said to be lumped if the instantaneous current entering one terminal is
equal to the instantaneous current leaving at the other terminals otherwise it is distributed
elements. If the physical dimension are small compared with the wave length of the highest
signal frequency applied to the network, then the element will be consider to be lumped.
A large part of network theory deals with the study of lumped circuits.

Lumped circuit is a result of interconnection of lumped elements. Typical lumped elements

are: resistors, capacitors, inductors, and voltage and current sources.

 Resistors: An element which can be characterized by a curve in the V–I plane is

called a resistor (V represents voltage and I represent current).

There are two types’ i.e. linear and non-linear resistors.

A. . Linear resistors: I = GV or V=RI

Figure 4- Linear resistor (a)characteristic curve (b) Circuit symbol

 Another characterization of linear network is that the excitation and response of the
network are related by a linear differential equation.
 B. Non-linear resistors: i-v curve is not straight line, two non- linear resistors are
tunneldiode and SCR(silicon controlled rectifier). The current through tunnel
diode is single valued function of the voltage, which makes it a voltage controlled
resistor. This is depicted in fig. 5(a). In SCR, the voltage is single valued function
of the current, which makes it act as the current controlled resistor as shown in fig.
5 (b). These non-linear resistors V-I characteristic have unique property of
negative resistance in some ranges.

Figure 5- Non-linear characteristic curves

Evidently, nonlinear resistors cannot be characterized by a single valued resistance R, as in
the case of linear resistors. The resistance value of nonlinear resistor depends on the
operating point and hence is characterized by incremental resistance which is defined as the
slope of the v-I characteristic at the particular operating point. Nonlinear resistors find use in
rectification, frequency multiplication, current and voltage limiting, and many other
electronic applications.

A distinct property of a linear resistor not usually possessed by a non-linear resistor is that the
v-I characteristic is symmetric with respect to the origin. An element exhibiting such a
symmetric property is called bilateral element. All linear circuits are bilateral but not all
nonlinear circuits are bilateral.

 Capacitors: An element which can be characterized by a curve in the v-q plane is

called a capacitor (q represents the charge). A capacitor is linear if its characteristic is
a straight line passing through the origin of the v-q plane.

A linear capacitor is described analytically by Q=CV where the constant C is the slope of the
straight line, and is called the capacitance. The unit of capacitance is farad.
 Figure 6- Linear capacitor (a) characteristic curve (b) Circuit symbol
A linear capacitor is represented by the symbol shown above and is described analytically by
q = CV where the constant C is the slope of the straight line, and is called the capacitance.
The unit of capacitance is farad. (A farad is a very big unit for measuring capacitance; a more
practical unit in a network being µF -microfarad, or pF microfarads).

The current charge relation being i = dq/ dt , for a linear capacitor, we have

If a capacitor is characterized by a v-q curve other than a straight line through the origin, it is
called a nonlinear capacitor. Fig.6 shows the characteristic of a nonlinear capacitor (metal
oxide semiconductor capacitor). A nonlinear capacitor is characterized by q = f (v) (for a
voltage-controlled capacitor) and by v =ψ (q) (for a charge-controlled capacitor).

For a voltage controlled capacitor the current through the capacitor is

is called the incremental capacitance of the capacitor.

The instantaneous power entering an element is given by

p(t) = v(t)i(t)

where v is the voltage in volts and i is the current in ampere. Hence, the energy in the
element from t0 and t is

Let a capacitance be characterized by c = vˆ(q) the energy in the capacitor, from the above
equations as
If the initial charge on the capacitors, q(t0 ), is zero, then the energy stored in the capacitor is

For a linear capacitor (q = Cv) it reduces to

 Inductors: An element which can be characterized by a curve in the i -φ plane is

called an inductor (φ represents the flux). An inductor is called a linear inductor, if its
characteristic is a straight line passing through the origin of the i -φ plane as shown by
fig. 7.

Figure 7- Linear inductor (a) characteristic curve (b) Circuit symbol

A linear inductor is represented by the symbol shown in fig. 7. (b) and described analytically
by φ = Li where the constant L is the slope of the straight line and is called inductance. The
unit of inductance is Hennery. (Since inductance of one Henry is quite large, typical values of
inductors are given mH- milli-henrys.)

The voltage flux linkage relation being v = dφ / dt for a linear inductor, we have

If an inductor is characterized by a i -φ curve other than a straight line through the origin,
then it is called nonlinear inductor. A nonlinear inductor is characterized by φ = f (i) (For a
current controlled inductor) and by i =ψ (φ) (for a flux-controlled inductor) for a current-
controlled inductor the voltage across the inductor is

is called the incremental inductance.

Nonlinear inductors can be used in a frequency conversion, memory and storage. A special
type of nonlinear inductor, such as a ferromagnetic-core inductor, has a characteristic
that exhibits the phenomenon of hysteresis.

 independent source

An ideal independent source is an active element that provides a specified voltage or

current that is completely independent of other circuit variables.

If N excited by a source of electric energy. If we change the network N, then v and i in

general also change. If the prescribed voltage is maintained then the source of energy is
called a voltage source. On the other hand if the prescribed current is maintained it is called
current source.

Figure 8- Independent source

A two terminal element is called an ideal independent voltage source, if it is capable of
supplying any current at the same prescribed voltage, i.e. the voltage across the source is
independent of the current drawn from the source. If the voltage of a voltage source is
identically zero, the voltage source is effectively a short circuit. The internal resistance of an
ideal voltage source is considered to be zero.

A two-terminal element is called an ideal independent current source, if it is capable of

supplying a prescribed current at any voltage, i.e. the current drawn from a current source is
independent of the voltage across the source. If the current drawn from a current source is
identically zero, the current source is effectively an open circuit. The internal shunt resistance
of an ideal current source is considered to be infinite. In the physical world there are no ideal
independent current and voltage sources.
 • An ideal dependent (or controlled) source is an active element in which the source
quantity is controlled by another voltage or current.

A dependent voltage (or current) source is a source the voltage (or current) of which depends
on another voltage (or current). A dependent or controlled source is said to be voltage or
current controlled if its terminal behavior is controlled by another voltage or current.

There are four possible types of dependent sources, namely:

1. A voltage-controlled voltage source (VCVS).

2. A voltage-controlled current source (VCCS).

3. A current-controlled voltage source (CCVS).

4. A current-controlled current source (CCCS).

 Dependent sources are useful in modeling elements such as transistors, operational

amplifiers and integrated circuits.

C*Ix C*Ix
C*Vx C*Vx

1 2 3 4

Figure 9- dependent or controlled source

1.3 Classification of networks

The overall behavior of an electrical network can be predicated by the constituent element
and their interconnection. The behavior of the network, considered as a black box, leads to a
number of classifications like linear, nonlinear: time-invariant and time variant; passive,
active.

I. Passive and Active Networks

Consider a network made up of a single linear resistor. The energy supplied to (or dissipated
by) the resistor, from the previous relation is
If the resistor has to deliver power to the external world, R has to be negative. As long as R is
positive the resistor will consume power, and such a resistor is called a passive resistor.

 Let v(t) and i(t) be the two voltage and current at the terminals of a network. Then the
energy delivered to the network is given by

A network is said to be passive if, and only if, W(t,t0) + E(t0) ≥ 0 for all t and to, and for all
v(t) and i(t) , where E(to)is the energy in the network at t = to. Otherwise, the network is said
to be active. In other words, if the energy delivered to the network is non-negative for all time
and input, the network is said to be passive.

The conditions for activity of an element can also be obtained by a study of its characteristics.
For example, we can state that a nonlinear resistor is passive if, and only if, its characteristic,
for all time, is in the first and third quadrants of v-i plane. Similarly, a capacitor (inductor) is
passive if, and only if, its characteristic is in the first and third quadrants of the v - q(φ - i)
plane.

Passive

• A linear network is passive if

a) The energy delivered is non-negative for any excitation.

b) No voltages or currents appear between any two terminals before excitation is

applied.

II. Time-invariant and Time-variant Networks

Time invariant: A network is time invariant if a network that doesn’t contain time variant
components.

e(t)  r(t) then e(t  T )  r(t  T )

For time invariant system the response (output) depends on the shape of the excitation (input)
but not on the time of application. A network composed of time invariant elements is
necessarily time-invariant whereas network composed of time-variant elements may exhibit
time-invariant terminal behaviour.

Let a linear resistor be characterized by v(t) = R(t)i(t) where R(t) is a prescribed time
function. This can be achieved, for example, by the sliding contact of potentiometer being
moved back and forth by a motor. Such a resistor is called a time-varying resistor. Similarly,
it is possible to build time-varying capacitors and inductors. The elements we considered
previously were all time invariant in that they were characterized by parameters which were
not dependent on time.

III. Causal and non-causal Network

Causal

• A network is causal or non- anticipative if the response is zero before any excitation.

e(t)  0 for t  T then r(t)  0 for t  T

A network is causal or non- anticipative if the response at any time depends on only present
and past input.

A network is non-causal or anticipative if the response at any time depends on only present
and future input.

IV. Linear and Nonlinear Networks

In a linear network, the relationship between the voltage and current is described by a linear
equation. Consider two networks N1, and N2 as shown in fig.10 (a) and (b) respectively.
Network (a) is made up of a linear resistor R, while (b) is made up of a semi-conductor diode
and linear resistor R. let the cut-in voltage of the diode be 0.6volt. In network (a) current I1 is
given by V/R and exists for all values of V. In network (b) if V is less than 0.6 volt the
current I2 is zero and for voltages higher than 0.6volts I2 is given by (V-0.6)/(R+RF), where
RF is the forward resistance of the diode. Obviously, in network (a) the current response is
linear in contrast to that in (b).
 Figure 10- Linear and Non-linear networks
A system (network) is linear if (i) the principle of superposition and (ii) the principle of
proportionality hold. By the superposition principle, if, for a given network, [e1(t),r1(t)] and
[e2 (t), r2(t)] are excitation-response pairs, then if the excitation were e(t) = e1(t) + e2 (t), the
response would be r(t) = r1(t) + r2 (t) . By the proportionality principle, if the excitation were
C1e1(t), where C1a constant is, then the response would be C1r1(t), i.e. the constant
proportionality C1 is preserved by the linear network.

c1e1(t) c1r1(t)
System

c2e2(t) c2r2(t)
System

c1e1(t) +c2e2(t) c1r1(t)+c2r2(t)

System

V. Invertibility and Inverse system

A system is said to be invertible if the distinct input lead to distinct outputs. If

the system is invertible, then the inverse of a system is exists that, when
cascaded with the original system, yields the output w(t) or w(n) equals to the
input x(t) or x(n) to the first system.

Figure 11- Invertible system and example of Invertible system

Reciprocal

• A network is said to be reciprocal if when the point of excitation and response are
interchanged, the relation between excitation and response remains the same.

• The inclusion of controlled sources or active elements may also destroy reciprocity. A
non-bilateral element, such as a diode, destroys reciprocity

I= 0.35294A

I = 0.3798A I = 0.3397A

Figure 12: Example of Reciprocal and non- Reciprocal network

VI. Continues and Discreet Networks