Chapter Three

Logic Gates
 1. The Inverter

A X

▪ The inverter performs the Boolean NOT operation. When the

input is LOW, the output is HIGH; when the input is HIGH,
the output is LOW.

Input Output
A X
LOW (0) HIGH (1)
HIGH (1) LOW(0)

▪ The NOT operation (complement) is shown with an overbar.

Thus, the Boolean expression for an inverter is X = A.
 1. The Inverter

A X

Example waveforms:
A
X
▪ A group of inverters can be used to form the 1’s complement of
a binary number: Binary number
1 0 0 0 1 1 0 1

0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0
1’s complement
 2. The AND Gate

A A
X & X
B B

▪ The AND gate produces a HIGH output when all inputs are
HIGH; otherwise, the output is LOW. For a 2-input gate, the truth
table is Inputs Output
A B X
0 0 0
0 1 0
1 0 0
1 1 1

▪ The AND operation is usually shown with a dot between the

variables but it may be implied (no dot). Thus, the AND operation
is written as X = A .B or X = AB.
 2. The AND Gate

A A
X & X
B B

Example waveforms:
A
B

X
▪ The AND operation is used in computer programming as a
selective mask. If you want to retain certain bits of a binary
number but reset the other bits to 0, you could set a mask with 1’s
in the position of the retained bits.
If the binary number 10100011 is ANDed with
the mask 00001111, what is the result? 00000011
 3. The OR Gate

A X A ≥1 X
B B
▪ The OR gate produces a HIGH output if any input is HIGH; if all
inputs are LOW, the output is LOW. For a 2-input gate, the truth
table is Inputs Output
A B X
0 0 0
0 1 1
1 0 1
1 1 1

▪ The OR operation is shown with a plus sign (+) between the

variables. Thus, the OR operation is written as X = A + B.
 3. The OR Gate

A X A ≥1 X
B B
Example waveforms:
A
B

X
▪ The OR operation can be used in computer programming to set certain bits
of a binary number to 1.
ASCII letters have a 1 in the bit 5 position for lower case letters
and a 0 in this position for capitals. (Bit positions are numbered
from right to left starting with 0.) What will be the result if you
OR an ASCII letter with the 8-bit mask 00100000?
The resulting letter will be lower case.
 4. The NAND Gate

A X A & X
B B
▪ The NAND gate produces a LOW output when all inputs are
HIGH; otherwise, the output is HIGH. For a 2-input gate, the
truth table is Inputs Output
A B X
0 0 1
0 1 1
1 0 1
1 1 0

▪ The NAND operation is shown with a dot between the

variables and an overbar covering them. Thus, the NAND
operation is written as X = A .B (Alternatively, X = AB.)
 4. The NAND Gate

A X A & X
B B
Example waveforms:
A
B

X
▪ The NAND gate is particularly useful because it is a “universal”
gate – all other basic gates can be constructed from NAND
gates.
How would you connect a 2-input NAND gate
to form a basic inverter?
 5. The NOR Gate

A X A ≥1 X
B B
▪ The NOR gate produces a LOW output if any input is HIGH; if
all inputs are HIGH, the output is LOW. For a 2-input gate, the
truth table is
Inputs Output
A B X
0 0 1
0 1 0
1 0 0
1 1 0
▪ The NOR operation is shown with a plus sign (+) between the
variables and an overbar covering them. Thus, the NOR
operation is written as X = A + B.
 5. The NOR Gate

A X A ≥1 X
B B
Example waveforms:
A
B

X
The NOR operation will produce a LOW if any input is HIGH.
+5.0 V
When is the LED is ON for the circuit shown? 330 W

The LED will be on when any of A

B X
the four inputs are HIGH. C
D
 6. The XOR Gate

A X A =1 X
B B
▪ The XOR gate produces a HIGH output only when both inputs are
at opposite logic levels. The truth table is
Inputs Output
A B X
0 0 0
0 1 1
1 0 1
1 1 0

▪ The XOR operation is written as X = AB + AB. Alternatively, it

can be written with a circled plus sign between the variables as X
= A + B.
 6. The XOR Gate

A X A =1 X
B B
Example waveforms:
A
B

X
▪ Notice that the XOR gate will produce a HIGH only when exactly one
input is HIGH.
If the A and B waveforms are both inverted for the above
waveforms, how is the output affected?

There is no change in the output.

 7. The XNOR Gate

A X A =1 X
B B
▪ The XNOR gate produces a HIGH output only when both inputs
are at the same logic level. The truth table is
Inputs Output
A B X
0 0 1
0 1 0
1 0 0
1 1 1
▪ The XNOR operation shown as X = AB + AB. Alternatively,
the XNOR operation can be shown with a circled dot
between the variables. Thus, it can be shown as X = A . B.
 7. The XNOR Gate

A X A =1 X
B B
Example waveforms:
A
B

X
▪ Notice that the XNOR gate will produce a HIGH when both inputs are the
same. This makes it useful for comparison functions.
If the A waveform is inverted but B remains the same, how is
the output affected?

The output will be inverted.