Components may be passive or active:
* Passive components - those that do not have gain or directionality.In network analysis they are called electrical elements.
* Active components - those that have gain or directionality, in contrast to passive components, which have neither. They include semiconductor devices and vacuum tubes (valves).
Switches
Components that may be made to either conduct (closed) or not (open)
* Switch - manually operated switch
* Keypad - small array of pushbutton switches
* Relay - Electrically operated switch. (This is a mechanical component, unlike the Solid State Relay)
* Reed switch - Magnetically activated switch
* Thermostat - Thermally activated switch
* Circuit Breaker - Over-current activated switch
* Limit switch - Mechanically activated switch
* Mercury switch
* Centrifugal switch
Resistors
A resistor is a component of an electrical circuit that resists the flow of electrical current. A resistor has two terminals across which electricity must pass, and is designed to drop the voltage of the current as it flows from one terminal to the next. A resistor is primarily used to create and maintain a known safe current within an electrical component.
Resistance is measured in ohms..
* Resistor - fixed value
* Resistor network - array of resistors in one package
* Trimmer - Small variable resistor
* Potentiometer, Rheostat - variable resistor
* Heater - heating element
* Resistance wire - wire of high-resistance material, similar to heating element
* Thermistor - temperature-varied resistor
* Varistor - voltage-varied resistor
Protection devices
Passive components that protect circuits from excessive currents or voltages
* Fuse - Over-current protection, one time use
* Resettable fuse (PolySwitch, self-resetting fuse)- Over-current protection, resettable
* Metal Oxide Varistor, Surge Absorber (MOV) - Over-voltage protection. These are passive components, unlike the TVS
* Inrush current limiter - protection against initial Inrush current
* Gas Discharge Tube - protection against high voltage surges
* Circuit Breaker - Over-current activated switch
* Spark gap - two electrodes with a gap in between to create arcing
* GFCI or RCD
* Voltage Regulator
Capacitors
Components that store electrical charge in an electrical field. Capacitors are used for filtration in the electronic circuits because capacitors easily pass AC signals but they block DC signals. .
Capacitance is the measure of a capacitor's ability to store charge. A large capacitance means that more charge can be stored. Capacitance is measured in farads( F).
* Capacitor - fixed capacitance
* Capacitor network (array)
* Variable capacitor - change the capacitance
* Varicap diode - variable capacitor come diode
Magnetic (inductive) devices
Electrical components that use magnetism
* Inductor, coil, choke
* Variable inductor
* Saturable Inductor
* Transformer
* Magnetic amplifier (toroid)
* Ferrite impedances, beads
* Motor / Generator
* Solenoid
* Speaker / Microphone
Networks
Components that use more than one type of passive component
* RC network - forms an RC circuit, used in Snubbers
* LC Network - forms an LC circuit, used in tuneable transformers and RFI filters
Piezoelectric devices, crystals, resonators
Passive components that use piezoelectric effect
* Components that use the effect to generate or filter high frequencies
o Crystal - Is a ceramic crystal used to generate precise frequencies (See the Modules class below for complete oscillators)
o Ceramic resonator - Is a ceramic crystal used to generate semi-precise frequencies
o Ceramic filter - Is a ceramic crystal used to filter a band of frequencies such as in radio receivers
o Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) filters
* Components that use the effect as mechanical Transducers.
o Ultrasonic motor - Electric motor that uses the piezoelectric effect
o For piezo buzzers and microphones, see the Transducer class below
Power sources
Sources of electrical power
* Battery - acid- or alkali-based power supply
* Fuel cell - an electrochemical generator
* Power supply - usually a mains hook-up
* Photo voltaic device - generates electricity from light
* Thermo electric generator - generates electricity from temperature gradients
* Electrical generator - an electromechanical power source
Transducers, sensors, detectors
1. A transducer is an electronic device that converts energy from one form to another. Common examples include microphones, loudspeakers, thermometers, position and pressure sensors, and antenna.So Transducers generate physical effects when driven by an electrical signal, or vice-versa.
2. Sensors (detectors) are transducers that react to environmental conditions by changing their electrical properties or generating an electrical signal. A Sensor is a device, which responds to an input quantity by generating a functionally related output usually in the form of an electrical or optical signal.
3. The Transducers listed here are single electronic components (as opposed to complete assemblies), and are passive .Only the most common ones are listed here.
* Audio (see also Piezoelectric devices)
o Loudspeaker - Magnetic or piezoelectric device to generate full audio
o Buzzer - Magnetic or piezoelectric sounder to generate tones
* Position, motion
o Linear variable differential transformer (LVDT) - Magnetic - detects linear position
o Rotary encoder, Shaft Encoder - Optical, magnetic, resistive or switches - detects absolute or relative angle or rotational speed
o Inclinometer - Capacitive - detects angle with respect to gravity
o Motion sensor, Vibration sensor
o Flow meter - detects flow in liquid or gas
* Force, torque
o Strain gauge - Piezoelectric or resistive - detects squeezing, stretching, twisting
o Accelerometer - Piezoelectric - detects acceleration, gravity
* Thermal
o Thermocouple, thermopile - Wires that generate a voltage proportional to delta temperature
o Thermistor - Resistor whose resistance changes with temperature, up PTC or down NTC
o Resistance Temperature Detector (RTD) - Wire whose resistance changes with temperature
o Bolometer
o Thermal cutoff - Switch that is opened or closed when a set temperature is exceeded
* Magnetic field (see also Hall Effect in semiconductors)
o Magnetometer, Gauss meter
* Humidity
o Hygrometer
* Electromagnetic, light
o Photo resistor - Light dependent resistor (LDR)
Semiconductors
Electronic control components with no moving parts. Active components
Diodes
A device which conducts electricity in only one direction.
* Standard Diode, Rectifier, Bridge Rectifier
* Schottky Diode, Hot Carrier Diode - super fast diode with low forward voltage drop
* Zener Diode - lets electricity flow "backwards" if it is suitably high in voltage
* Transient Voltage Suppression Diode (TVS), Unipolar or Bipolar - used to block high-voltage spikes
* Varactor, Tuning diode, Varicap, Variable Capacitance Diode - A diode come capacitor
* Light Emitting Diode (LED) - A diode which gives out light
o LASER Diode - A laser LED
* Photodiode - Only passes power when in light
o Solar Cell, photovoltaic cell, PV array or panel
o Avalanche Photodiode
* Diode for Alternating Current (DIAC, Trigger Diode, SIDAC)
* Current source Diode
* Peltier cooler
Transistors
* Bipolar transistors
o Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT, "transistor") - NPN or PNP
--> Photo transistor
o Darlington transistor - NPN or PNP
--> Photo Darlington
o Sziklai pair (Compound transistor, complementary Darlington)
* Field effect transistor (FET)
o Junction Field Effect Transistor (JFET) - N-CHANNEL or P-CHANNEL
o Metal Oxide Semiconductor FET (MOSFET) - N-CHANNEL or P-CHANNEL
o MEtal Semiconductor FET (MESFET)
o High Electron Mobility Transistor (HEMT)
* Thyristors
o UniJunction Transistor (UJT)
o Programmable UniJunction Transistor (PUT)
o Silicon Controlled Rectifier (SCR)
o Static Induction Transistor/Thyristor (SIT, SITh)
o TRIode for Alternating Current (TRIAC)
* Composite transistors
o Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT)
