GATE ECE Books 2026 - Best Books for Electronics and Communication Engineering Paper

Subjects

GATE Syllabus

Reference GATE Books for ECE 2026

Engineering Mathematics

• Linear Algebra
• Calculus
• Differential Equations
• Vector Analysis
• Complex Analysis
• Numerical Methods
• Probability and Statistics

• Higher Engineering Mathematics – Dr BS Grewal
• Engineering Mathematics – Erwin Kreyszig
• Advanced Engineering Mathematics – Dr. HK Dass
• Advanced Engineering Mathematics by R. K. Jain, S. R. K. Iyengar

General Aptitude

Verbal Ability

Numerical Ability

• Quantitative Aptitude – R. S. Agarwal
• Logical Reasoning – R. S. Agarwal
• Objective English – Hari Mohan Prasad
• Quantitative Aptitude by CAT by Arun Sharma

Network Theory

Network solution methods: nodal and mesh analysis; Network theorems: superposition, Thevenin and Norton’s, maximum power transfer; Wye‐Delta transformation; Steady state sinusoidal analysis using phasors; Time domain analysis of simple linear circuits; Solution of network equations using Laplace transform; Frequency domain analysis of RLC circuits; Linear 2‐port network parameters: driving point and transfer functions; State equations for networks.

• Network Theory by Alexander Sadiku
• Circuit Theory by A. Chakraborty
• Network Analysis by Van Valkenburg
• Engineering Circuit Analysis – Hayt & Kammerly
• Linear Circuit Analysis - De Carlo/Lin

Electronic Devices

Energy bands in intrinsic and extrinsic silicon; Carrier transport: diffusion current, drift current, mobility and resistivity; Generation and recombination of carriers; Poisson and continuity equations; P-N junction, Zener diode, BJT, MOS capacitor, MOSFET, LED, photodiode and solar cell; Integrated circuit fabrication process: oxidation, diffusion, ion implantation, photolithography and twin-tub CMOS process.

• Integrated Electronics:- Jacob Millman & Christos C. Halkias
• Solid State Electronic Devices- Ben Streetman and Sanjay Banerjee
• Semiconductor devices – David Neamen
• Semiconductor devices-S. M. Sze
• DC Analysis of MOS Transistor-Tsivid

Analog Circuits

Small signal equivalent circuits of diodes, BJTs and MOSFETs; Simple diode circuits: clipping, clamping and rectifiers; Single-stage BJT and MOSFET amplifiers: biasing, bias stability, mid-frequency small signal analysis and frequency response; BJT and MOSFET amplifiers: multi-stage, differential, feedback, power and operational; Simple op-amp circuits; Active filters; Sinusoidal oscillators: criterion for oscillation; single-transistor and opamp configurations; Function generators, wave-shaping circuits and 555 timers; Voltage reference circuits; Power supplies: ripple removal and regulation

• Micro Electronics circuit – Sedra & Smith
• Linear ICs – Gaekwad
• Analog Electronics, Electronics devices and circuits – Donald A Neaman
• Electronic Devices and Circuit Theory by Robert L Boylestad & Nashelsky
• Pulse and Digital Electronics by Millman and Taub

Digital Circuits

Number systems; Combinatorial circuits: Boolean algebra, minimization of functions using Boolean identities and Karnaugh map, logic gates and their static CMOS implementations, arithmetic circuits, code converters, multiplexers, decoders and PLAs;

Sequential circuits: latches and flip‐flops, counters, shift registers and finite state machines; Data converters: sample and hold circuits, ADCs, and DACs;

Semiconductor memories: ROM, SRAM, DRAM; 8-bit microprocessor (8085): architecture, programming, memory and I/O interfacing.

• Digital Electronics – Morris Mano
• Microprocessor Architecture, Programming and Applications with the 8085 – Ramesh Gaonker
• Digital Electronic Principles and Applications by Ronald J. Toccii, Pearson Publications
• Digital circuits and design by salivahanan
• Fundamentals of digital systems by Anandkumar
• Digital Logic and Computer Design by M.Morris Mano

System & Signal

Continuous-time signals: Fourier series and Fourier transform representations, sampling theorem and applications; Discrete-time signals: discrete-time Fourier transform (DTFT), DFT, FFT, Z-transform, interpolation of discrete-time signals; LTI systems: definition and properties, causality, stability, impulse response, convolution, poles and zeros, parallel and cascade structure, frequency response, group delay, phase delay, digital filter design techniques.

• Signals & Systems By Alan V. Oppenheim
• Modern digital and analog Communications system by BP Lathi
• Digital Signal Processing by S.K Mitra
• Signals & System – Oppenheim & Schafer
• Signals & System – Proakis
• Signals & System – Schaum Series-H.P. Hsu

Control System

Basic control system components; Feedback principle; Transfer function; Block diagram representation; Signal flow graph; Transient and steady-state analysis of LTI systems; Frequency response; Routh-Hurwitz and Nyquist stability criteria; Bode and root-locus plots; Lag, lead and lag-lead compensation; State variable model and solution of state equation of LTI systems.

• Automatic Control Systems – Benjamin C Kuo
• Modern Control System – Katsuhiko Ogata
• Control Systems Engineering by Norma Nise
• Control Systems by Nagarath and Gopal
• NPTEL Video lectures by M. Gopal

Communications

Random processes: autocorrelation and power spectral density, properties of white noise, filtering of random signals through LTI systems; Analog communications: amplitude modulation and demodulation, angle modulation and demodulation, spectra of AM and FM, superheterodyne receivers, circuits for analog communications; Information theory: entropy, mutual information and channel capacity theorem;

Digital communications: PCM, DPCM, digital modulation schemes, amplitude, phase and frequency shift keying (ASK, PSK, FSK), QAM, MAP and ML decoding, matched filter receiver, calculation of bandwidth, SNR and BER for digital modulation; Fundamentals of error correction, Hamming codes; Timing and frequency synchronization, inter-symbol interference and its mitigation; Basics of TDMA, FDMA and CDMA.

• Analog and Digital Communication System by Simon Haykin
• Principle of Communication System by Taub& Schillings
• Modern digital and analog Communications system by BP Lathi
• Electronic Communication Systems by Kennedy and Davis (just the Noise chapter)

Electro-Magnetics

Electrostatics; Maxwell’s equations: differential and integral forms and their interpretation, boundary conditions, wave equation, Poynting vector;

Plane waves and properties: reflection and refraction, polarization, phase and group velocity, propagation through various media, skin depth; Transmission lines: equations, characteristic impedance, impedance matching, impedance transformation, S-parameters, Smith chart; Waveguides: modes, boundary conditions, cut-off frequencies, dispersion relations;Antennas: antenna types, radiation pattern, gain and directivity, return loss, antenna arrays; Basics of radar; Light propagation in optical fibers.

• Elements of Electromagnetics by Matthew N.O. Sadiku Network lines and fields by J.D Ryder (Transmission lines part) Electromagnetic waves and Radiating Systems by Jordon and Balmain
• Antenna Theory by Balanis
• NPTEL Lectures by Prof. R. Shevgaonkar
• Engineering Electromagnetics-William Hayt
• Schaum’s Outline of Electromagnetics -Joseph A. Edminister
• Antenna And Wave Propagation-KD Prasad

MCQ books

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Gate ECE by R.K Kanodia