Digital Systems: From Logic Gates to Processors

Universitat Autnoma de Barcelona (Autonomous University of Barcelona) via Coursera

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Overview

This course gives you a complete insight into the modern design of digital systems fundamentals from an eminently practical point of view. Unlike other more "classic" digital circuits courses, our interest focuses more on the system than on the electronics that support it. This approach will allow us to lay the foundation for the design of complex digital systems. You will learn a set of design methodologies and will use a set of (educational-oriented) computer-aided-design tools (CAD) that will allow...

Syllabus

All you need to know to start the course

This module is includes a number of general explanations about how the course will run and about the virtual machine you should install on your computer to answer the different quizzes.

Previous knowledge: A review

This module presents a series of tests you can use to check your level of knowledge about numbering systems and the use of pseudocode to describe algorithms.

What Digital Systems are?

Click on "v More" to read the purpose of this module This module is an introduction to Digital Systems. Here you will find:
A set of videos_L covering issue 1 and the corresponding exercises,
Two videos_P introducing the processor that we will design along the course, and
Some video-based explanations; a wiki and some FAQs about how VerilUOC_Desktop tool functions. You will have to use VerilUOC_Desktop in the next module

Read the "Lesson Index" in the "Index and PDF files" section and the "README" in the VerilUOC_Desktop section for more information.

Combinational Circuits (I)

Click on "v More" to read the purpose of this module This module introduces combinational circuits, logic gates and boolean algebra, all of them items necessary to design simple combinational circuits. Read the "Index of lessons" for more information. To solve the exercises in this module you will need to use VerilUOC_Desktop. Look at the module "VerilUOC_Desktop tools" to learn how to use it.

VerilUOC_Desktop tools

Click on "v More" to read the purpose of this module From this module you will need to use VerilUOC_Desktop to do some of the exercises in the quizzes. VerilUOC_Desktop is a software package based on Logisim, enhanced with a number of modules to enable:
- Enter Boolean equations (BoolMin),
- Enter digital circuits and check them according the problem statement (VerilCirc), and
- Enter chronograms (time-charts) and check that they are correct (VerilChart).
This section contains two videos explaining how these three tools work. By now you only need to use VerilCirc and BoolMin, so if you are pushed for time, you might postpone VerilChart for later. Obviously, it is impossible to cover in these two videos all eventualities you can find while working with VerilUOC_Desktop tools. In case of doubt, look at the VerilUOC_Desktop wiki, look at the FAQs or post your problems in the forums. There are specific forums for VerilCirc, BoolMin and VerilChart.

Combinational circuits (II)

Click on "v More" to read the purpose of this module We continue the study of combinational circuits. While in the previous module we were working on the classical design techniques of combinational circuits, this one is focused on other issues such as a brief introduction to computer aided design tools (CAD tools), or the direct synthesis of combinational circuits from its algorithmic description. Read the "Lesson index" for more information. To solve the exercises in this module VerilUOC_Desktop is needed. Remember that the module "VerilUOC_Desktop tols" contains all the information you need about this tool.

Arithmetic components + Introduction to VHDL

Click on "v More" to read the purpose of this module Arithmetic circuits are an essential part of many digital circuits and thus deserve a particular treatment.
- The first part of this module presents some implementations of the basic arithmetic operations. Only operations with naturals (non-negative integers) are considered.
- The second part of this module introduces the basics of VHDL with the goal of providing enough knowledge to understand its usage throughout this course and start developing basic hardware models.

Sequential circuits (I)

Click on "v More" to read the purpose of this module This is the first module dedicated to Sequential Circuits (Digital Systems with Memory).To solve the quizzes you will need VerilUOC_Desktop.

Sequential circuits (II)

Click on "v More" to read the purpose of this module This second module dedicated to Sequential Circuits deals with particular sequential circuits that are building blocks of larger circuits, namely registers, counters and memory blocks.

Sequential circuits III and Finite State Machines

Click on "v More" to read the purpose of this module This module deals with two topics:
In previous lessons, the relation between algorithms (programming language structures) and combinational circuits has been commented. This relation also exists between algorithms and sequential circuits. We will explore this relation in the current module.
The second topic we will see is the definition and VHDL modelling of Finite State Machines.

Implementation of digital systems

Click on "v More" to read the purpose of this module This last module presents some basic information about manufacturing technologies, as well as about implementation strategies, and synthesis and implementation tools.