1

SIMPLIFICATION OF
BOOLEAN FUNCTIONS
April, 2020 Prof. Gustavo Sanchez
[email protected]
Professor Automation & Data Science
JK Lakshmipat University, India
 2

MOTIVATION
 3

• The truth table representation of a Boolean

function is unique
Boolean inputs
𝑌 = 𝐶′𝐵′𝐴 + 𝐶′𝐵𝐴+ 𝐶𝐵′𝐴 + 𝐶𝐵𝐴
C B A Y
8 AND operations
0 0 0 0 3 OR operations
0 0 1 1 Canonical form SOP: 3 variables: C,B,A

0 1 0 0 𝑌 = (𝐶 + 𝐵 + 𝐴)(𝐶 + 𝐵′ + 𝐴)(𝐶 ′ + 𝐵 + 𝐴)(𝐶 ′ + 𝐵′ + 𝐴)

0 1 1 1 8 OR operations
1 0 0 0 3 AND operations
Canonical form POS: 3 variables: C,B,A
1 0 1 1
1 1 0 0
𝑌=𝐴
Corresponding algebraic
1 1 1 1 expression is NOT unique
• It is possible to measure 4

the complexity of any

algebraic expression by
counting the number of
variables and operations it
requires

• We discuss a method to
generate the simplests
algebraic expressions for Prof. Maurice Karnaugh
any Boolean function: U.S.A scientist
Karnaugh maps
• Why is it convenient to generate
5

simplest expressions for a Boolean

function ?
• Cost
• Space
• Speed
• Energy
• Maintenance
 BASIC
6

CONCEPTS
 K-maps
7

• A K-map is a diagram made up of squares,

representing minterms or maxterms of the
function that is to be simplified.
• By recognizing various patterns, we can
derive alternative algebraic expressions,
from which the simplest can be selected.
 Two-variable K-map
8

General K-map rule: any two adjacent squares

differ by only one variable, which is primed in one
square and unprimed in the other.
 Three-variable K-map
9

Note: right/left edges are adjacent squares also!

Four-variable K-map
10
 Gray code 11

Decimal Binary Gray

0 0000 0000
1 0001 0001
2 0010 0011
3 0011 0010
4 0100 0110
5 0101 0111
6 0110 0101
7 0111 0100
8 1000 1100
9 1001 1101
10 1010 1111 Frank Gray (1887-1969) was
11 1011 1110
a researcher at Bell Labs,
12 1100 1010
13 1101 1011 who made numerous
14 1110 1001 innovations in telecom
15 1111 1000
Adjacent squares
12
Sets of 2 adjacent squares
13
Sets of 2 adjacent squares
14
Sets of 4 adjacent squares
15
Sets of 4 adjacent squares
16
Sets of 8 adjacent squares
17
Sets of 8 adjacent squares
18
Adjacent squares with 1’s
19
 Implicants
20

• A term P is an implicant of a Boolean function F, if

whenever P takes the value 1 so does F.

• For instance, implicants of the function:

𝑓(𝑥, 𝑦) = 𝑥 + 𝑦
are 𝑥, 𝑦 but also 𝑥𝑦, 𝑥 ′ 𝑦, 𝑥𝑦′
 Implicants
21

• All implicants can be represented by sets of adjacent

squares.

′
𝑤 𝑥𝑦𝑧+ 𝑤𝑥𝑦𝑧 =
′
𝑤 + 𝑤 𝑥𝑦𝑧 = 𝑥𝑦𝑧
𝑤𝑥𝑦𝑧′ 𝑥𝑦
Implicants
22

𝑥𝑦
Implicants
23

′
𝑥 𝑦, 𝑥𝑦, 𝑦
Implicants
24

′ ′
𝑥𝑦 𝑧, 𝑦𝑧, 𝑥𝑦 , 𝑥𝑧 …
 Prime ( ′ )
25

• We use the prime symbol ( ′ ) to denote the

complement of any Boolean variable, this is:

′
If 𝑥 = 1 then 𝑥 = 0
′
If 𝑥 = 0 then 𝑥 = 1
 Prime integer
26

• An integer p > 1 is said to be prime if it

has no integer divisors other than 1 and
p itself.
 Prime implicants
27

• A prime implicant is a term obtained by combining the

maximum possible number of adjacent squares in the
K-map.
• A single 1 (minterm) forms a prime implicant if it is not
adjacent to any other 1’s.
• Two adjacent 1’s form a prime implicant, provided
that they are NOT within a group of four adjacent
squares and so on.
 28

METHOD
 Simplication rules
29

When combining adjacent squares in a map, we

must ensure that:
1) all the minterms of the function are covered
2) the number of terms/variables in the expression
is minimized
3) there are no redundant terms
 Two-variable K-map
30

• The number of adjacent squares to be combined must be a

power of two, such as 2, or 4, as large as possible.
• As more adjacent squares are combined, we obtain a
product term with fewer literals:
• One square represents one minterm, giving a term with
two literals.
• Two adjacent squares represent a term with one literal.
• Four adjacent produce a function that is always equal to
1.
 Two-variable K-map
31

x y f 𝑓 = 𝑥 𝑦 + 𝑥𝑦 + 𝑥𝑦
′ ′
0 0 0 𝑓 = 𝑚1 + 𝑚2 + 𝑚3
0 1 1
1 0 1
1 1 1
𝑓 =𝑥+𝑦
Let’s try to combine
adjacent squares: 2 or 4!
 Three-variable K-map
32

• The number of adjacent squares to be combined must be a

power of two, such as 2, 4, or 8, as large as possible.
• As more adjacent squares are combined, we obtain a
product term with fewer literals:
• One square represents one minterm, giving a term with
three literals.
• Two adjacent squares represent a term with two literals.
• Four adjacent squares represent a term with one literal.
• Eight adjacent squares produce a function that is always
equal to 1.
 Three-variable K-map
33

x y z F 𝑓 = 𝑚2 + 𝑚3 + 𝑚4 + 𝑚5
0 0 0 0
0 0 1 0
0 1 0 1
0 1 1 1
1 0 0 1
1 0 1 1
1 1 0 0
1 1 1 0
′ ′
𝑓 = 𝑥 𝑦+𝑥𝑦 = 𝑥 ⊕ 𝑦
 Three-variable K-map
34

x y z F 𝑓 = 𝑚3 + 𝑚4 + 𝑚6 + 𝑚7
0 0 0 0
0 0 1 0
0 1 0 0
0 1 1 1
1 0 0 1
1 0 1 0
1 1 0 1
1 1 1 1
′
𝑓 = 𝑦𝑧+𝑥𝑧
 Three-variable K-map
35

x y z F 𝑓 = 𝑚0 + 𝑚2 + 𝑚4 + 𝑚5 + 𝑚6
0 0 0 1
0 0 1 0
0 1 0 1
0 1 1 0
1 0 0 1
1 0 1 1
1 1 0 1
1 1 1 0
′
𝑓 = 𝑧 + 𝑥𝑦′
 Four-variable K-map
36

• The number of adjacent squares to be combined must be a

power of two, such as 2, 4, 8 and 16 as large as possible.
• As more adjacent squares are combined, we obtain a
product term with fewer literals.
• One square represents one minterm, giving a term with
four literals.
• Two adjacent squares represent a term with three literals.
• Four adjacent squares represent a term with two literals.
• Eight adjacent squares represent a term with one literal.
Four-variable K-map
37

′ ′ ′
𝑓 = 𝑤 𝑧 + 𝑥𝑧 + 𝑦′
Four-variable K-map
38

Not canonical form!

′ ′ ′ ′ ′
𝐹 = 𝐵 𝐶 + 𝐵 𝐷 + 𝐴 𝐶𝐷′
 Essential prime implicants
39

• If one minterm is covered by only one

prime implicant, that prime implicant is
said to be essential
 Essential prime implicants
40

• The simplified expression is obtained from the

logical sum of all the essential prime implicants,
plus other prime implicants that may be needed
to cover remaining minterms.
• Occasionally, there may be more than one way
of combining squares, each one producing an
equally simplified expression.
Essential prime implicants
41
 POS simplification
42

• The minterms not included in the standard SOP form

denote the complement of the function.
• If we mark the empty squares by 0’s and combine
them into valid adjacent squares, we obtain a
simplified SOP expression of the complement of the
function: F’
• The complement of F’ gives us back the function F in
POS form (De Morgan’s theorem)
POS simplification
43
 “Do not care” conditions
44

• In some applications the function is not specified for

certain combinations of the variables, this is: we do not
care what value is assumed by the function for those
unspecified minterms.
• To distinguish the don’t-care condition an X is used.
• When simplifying the function, we can choose to
include each don’t-care minterm with either 1’s or 0’s,
depending on which gives the simplest expression.
“Do not care” conditions
45
Problems
46
Problems
47
Problems
48