System subunits

Any electronic system may be considered to be made up of a number of subunits, each one containing a combination of active and/or passive components (discussed in chapter 10) designed to process appropriately the electronic signal as it moves through the system. These different processes include generation, amplification, differentiation, integration, modulation, de-modulation and switching. Also all subunits containing active components require electrical energy and this is provided by a further subunit, the power supply. The power supply does not itself generate or process a signal, but without it no generation or processing using active components can take place.