Modern semiconductor technology has evolved to such an extent that many analog and digital circuits are available in the form of integrated circuit (IC) packages. Manufacturers of these packages provide application notes that can be used to implement circuit functions. Knowledge of the characteristics and operation of devices within the IC packages is essential, however, to understand the limitations of these ICs when they are interfaced as building blocks in circuit designs. Such knowledge also serves as the basis for developing future generations of IC packages.

Although the trend in the technology suggests that discrete circuit designs may disappear entirely in the future, transistor amplifiers (in large-scale or very large scale integrated forms) will continue to be the building blocks of ICs.

Meant for the undergraduate students of Electrical and Electronics & Communication Engineering, this book focuses on the internal structures and characteristics of ICs and their non-linear applications.