B014748 - DIGITAL SYSTEMS ELECTRONICS

Italian (All slides are in English): if needed, proper support to those who don't speak Italian can be given

The Course introduces the main features of integrated circuits used in digital systems, and includes numerous laboratory experiences.
Main topics: Combinatory and sequential logic circuits. Major characteristics of bipolar, CMOS and BiCMOS integrated circuits; Power consumption; Interconnection issues; Digital buses; Typical problems.
Timing of digital circuits based on buffers, bus-switches, registers, latches, counters, memories.

Tocci, Widmer, Moss, “Digital Systems: Principles and Applications”, 10-th 11-th Editions, Prentice-Hall, (main reference text)

P.Spirito: Elettronica Digitale, 2nd-3rd ed, McGraw Hill, (support for digital circuits description)

Data sheets and application notes of logic integrated circuits

1) Knowing the main characteristics of digital integrated circuits
2) Capability of interpreting the data sheets of digital integrated circuits
3) Capability of evaluating the main factors that contribute to the performance of a digital system
4) Capability of evaluating the possible maximum speed of a digital system
4) Capability of designing digital systems of mean complexity

Knowledge of basic circuits based on fundamental electronic devices (bipolar and CMOS transistors, diodes etc)

Remote and class lectures and laboratory experiments (according to Covid emergency)

The standard exam is oral. It may be substituted by a written proof at the end of the Course. In both cases, the aim is verifying:
- by means of theoretical questions, the knowledge of main characteristics of circuits employed in digital systems;
- by means of exercises, the capability of designing simple digital systems and/or of evaluating the related properties.

- Boolean algebra, elementary logic gates (NOT, OR, AND,NOR, NAND), De Morgan Theorem and Karnaugh maps. Elementary sequential circuits (Flip-flop, transparent latch, registers)

- Elementary logic circuits: TTL and CMOS inverters. BiCMOS circuits.

- Integrated digital circuits
Package, available functionalities, main parameters (data sheet). State-of-the-art, low-voltage circuits. Input/Output volages and currents. Interconnection issues, noise margins.
Static and dynamic power consumption.
"Bus" issues: conflicts and "floating" buses.
Typical malfunctioning causes. Electrostatic discharge (ESD).

- Integrated digital circuits: timing issues of logic gates, buffer and bus-switch, latch, flip-flop D, register, counters (single or cascaded, programmable), read-only memories and RAM. Fundamentals of advanced integrated circuits (FPGA, DSP)

- A/D and D/A CONVERTERS. Generalities. Main architectures.

- Laboratory experiments.