Essentials of Nonlinear Circuit Dynamics with MATLAB (R) and Laboratory Experiments

This book deals with nonlinear dynamics of electronic circuits, which could be used in robot control, secure communications, sensors and synchronized networks. The genesis of the content is related to a course on complex adaptive systems that has been held at the University of Catania since 2005. The efforts are devoted in order to emulate with nonlinear electronic circuits nonlinear dynamics. Step-by-step methods show the essential concepts of complex systems by using the Varela diagrams and accompanying MATLAB® exercises to reinforce new information. Special attention has been devoted to chaotic systems and networks of chaotic circuits by exploring the fundamentals, such as synchronization and control. The aim of the book is to give to readers a comprehensive view of the main concepts of nonlinear dynamics to help them better understand complex systems and their control through the use of electronics devices.

Arturo Buscarino graduated in Computer Science Engineering in 2004 and received his Ph.D. in Electronics and Automation Engineering in 2008, at the University of Catania, Italy. Currently, he is a Technical Assistant at the University of Catania and teaches Modeling and Optimization at the Laura Magistrale in Management Engineering. He collaborates with the EUROFusion Consortium, ENEA Frascati, and JET Culham, UK. Dr. Buscarino has been a visiting researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, US. His scientific interests include nonlinear circuits and systems, chaos and synchronization, complex networks, control systems, Cellular Nonlinear Networks, and plasma engineering. He is Associate Editor of Cogent Engineering. Dr. Buscarino has published one research monography on nonlinear circuits, and more than 60 papers on refereed international journals and international conference proceedings.

Luigi Fortuna received the degree of electrical engineering (cum laude) from the University of Catania, Italy, in 1977. He is a Full Professor of System Theory at the University of Catania. From 2005 to 2012, he was the Dean of the Engineering Faculty. He has been a visiting researcher at the Joint European Torus in Abingdon UK. He currently teaches complex adaptive systems and robust control. He has published 14 scientific books and 12 industrial patents. Dr. Fortuna has been a consultant of STMicroelectronics and other companies. He is the Editor in Chief of the SpringerBrief Series on Nonlinear Circuits. His scientific interests include robust control, Tokamak machine control, complex engineering, nonlinear circuits, chaos, cellular neural networks, robotics, and smart devices for control. Additionally, he is an IEEE Fellow.

Mattia Frasca graduated in Electronics Engineering in 2000 and received his Ph.D. in Electronics and Automation Engineering in 2003, at the University of Catania, Italy. Currently, he is a research associate at the University of Catania, where he also teaches process control. His scientific interests include nonlinear systems and chaos, complex networks, and bio-inspired robotics. He is Associate Editor of the International Journal of Bifurcations and Chaos, and Editor of Chaos, Solitons and Fractals. He is the general chair for the next edition of the European Conference on Circuits Theory and Design to be held in Catania. Additionally, he is co-author of one research monograph with Springer, three with World Scientific, and one book on Optimal and robust control with CRC Press. Dr. Frasca has published more than 250 papers on refereed international journals and international conference proceedings and is co-author of two international patents. He is an IEEE Senior and also a member of the Board of the Italian Society for Chaos and Complexity (SICC).