Unit 1

Introduction to Digital Electronics

Digital Electronics

1.1. Introduction

1.2. Number Systems and Codes

1.3. Boolean Algebra. Truth Tables

1.4. Logic Gates

1.5. Digital Logic Circuits

1.6. Logic Functions Minimization

1.7. Combinational Systems Design

Rev. 2021‐09‐22

Unit 1: Introduction to Digital Electronics 1

 FIRSTLY: A FEW WORDS ABOUT THE HUGE ADVANCE IN
MICROLECTRONIC / NANOELECTRONIC DIGITAL DESIGN

Trt and ICs => BREAKTHROUGHS, MILESTONES of 20th century.

Digital Electronics

The former => awarded with the Nobel Prize in Physics.

Another BREAKTHROUGH => Design Languages in the late 20th century

These rocketed the complexity of microelectronics.

1 million transistors in the 80s => 100 thousand million today

So, the integration density increased by 105 in less than 40 years

Main figures of a 2017 article (should be updated) on the comparison ‘MECHANICS

vs MICROELECTRONICS’
Digital Electronics
 Therefore

Nobody
Digital Electronics

knows

what the

future

holds
 1.1. Introduction
• Since the discovery of electric energy, it was obvious that it is
possible to represent information by electrical variables.
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• The electrical variables, voltage or current, can also change in

time, and thus we can have analog and digital signals.

• Analog electrical signals can take any value among certain limits.
In mathematical terms, these signals are considered continuous.

• Digital signals can only take a finite number of levels, or states,

between a maximum and a minimum. From the point of view of
mathematics, these signals are considered discrete (sampled).

Unit 1: Introduction to Digital Electronics 5

 1.1.1. Analog vs. Digital

Sàmpling in Time
Sampling in time and value
Digital Electronics

Analog Measurement Sampled Temperature

(Temperature / Time) Discrete Values / Time

ADC
DAC

Unit 1: Introduction to Digital Electronics 6

 1.1.1. Analog vs. Digital
Digital Electronics

Analog waveform of a cardiac pulse Digital waveform of the cardiac pulse

Analog Amplification System Digital to Analog Amplification System

Public Address System CD Player

Unit 1: Introduction to Digital Electronics 7

 1.1.1. Analog vs. Digital
• Analog electrical signals undergo problems related with
noise, interferences and distortion, which worsen the
quality when transmission to long distances and wirelessly.
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• Electronic systems that process analog signal are not easily

programmable. That means that they must be remade or
rewired to change their function.

• Also, the analog signals are hard to store and recover.

Unit 1: Introduction to Digital Electronics 8

 1.1.2. Digital (Binary) Systems

• Digital electronics is based on

circuits and systems that only
uses two possible states:
Digital Electronics

High Low
Positive
1 0
Logic
Negative
0 1
Logic

 Circuits with 2 states:  Advantages:

• Switches: Open / Close • Basic electronics devices
• Diodes: Forward / Reversed • Higher immunity to noise
Biased • Logic and arithmetic processes
• Transistors: Saturation / Cut-off easy to implement

Unit 1: Introduction to Digital Electronics 9

 1.1.3. Basic Concepts

• Digital circuits operate with signals that have only two possible
values: low and high voltage.
Digital Electronics

• A binary number system has two values: 0 and 1, i.e., low and
high voltage, respectively.
• A binary digit is called bit (BInary digiT).
• A set (group) of bits can be used to create a binary code, that can
represent numbers, letters, symbols, and any other information.

Unit 1: Introduction to Digital Electronics 10

 1.1.4. Electronic Digital Systems
Characteristics

• Digital systems are generally more complex than the analog

ones for providing the same function.
Digital Electronics

• The resolution of the digital code that represents analog signal

values is directly related to the number of bits. The more bits,
the closer to the real signal.

• Digital circuits are very easy to integrate in a chip, and the

precision of the operations they perform is not related to the
tolerance of the components.

• Since the decade of 1960, when the first digital chip was made,
the complexity has dramatically grown.

• Digital circuits can be programmable, which means that the

function they made can be modified without changing the chip,
just a program (software).

Unit 1: Introduction to Digital Electronics 11

 1.1.4. Electronic Digital Systems
Characteristics

• They can be configurable, which means that the connections between

the elements inside the chip can be changed by electrical signals.
Digital Electronics

• They can be simultaneously programmable and configurable.

• The digital nature makes easier to detect, and even correct, errors.
Therefore, the reliability of the data transmission is improved.

• Different signals (information) can be transmitted in sequence

(series) ⇒ Time Division Multiplexing (TDM), improving the speed of
data transfer among a set of processors.

Unit 1: Introduction to Digital Electronics 12

 1.1.5. Digital Systems Applications

Given the above-mentioned advantages, digital systems

are applied in:
Digital Electronics

• Data processing (IT).

• Data transmission (Data transfer, Telematics).

• Electronic control systems (Industrial controls,

Electronic control).

Unit 1: Introduction to Digital Electronics 13

 1.2. Number Systems and Codes

Positional Number System: The contributed amount by each digit

depends upon its position
Digital Electronics

System Base Symbols / Digits Example

Decimal 10 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 512D
Binary 2 0,1 (bit: BInary digiT) 1011B
Octal 8 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7 145O
Hexadecimal 16 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,A,B,C,D,E,F 6FH

• Decimal System
• 512D = 5·102 + 1·101 + 2·100
• Binary System
• 1101B = 1·23 + 1·22 + 0·21 + 1·20
• Base n System
• Sm... S2 S1 S0 = Sm·nm + ... + S2·n2 + S1·n1 + S0·n0

Unit 1: Introduction to Digital Electronics 14

 1.2. Number Systems and Codes

Decimal Binary Octal Hexadecimal

0 0000 0 0
1 0001 1 1
Digital Electronics

2 0010 2 2
3 0011 3 3
4 0100 4 4
5 0101 5 5
6 0110 6 6
7 0111 7 7
8 1000 10 8
9 1001 11 9
10 1010 12 A
11 1011 13 B
12 1100 14 C
13 1101 15 D
14 1110 16 E
15 1111 17 F

Unit 1: Introduction to Digital Electronics 15

 1.2. Number Systems and Codes

• Binary Code: n bits -> 2n (0 to 2n-1) 3 bits Gray Code

different combinations. 0 0 0
0 0 1
Digital Electronics

• Binary Coded Decimal (BCD) 0 1 1

0 1 0
0 to 9 - Only 10 different combinations. 1 1 0
1 1 1
• Continuous Codes: Each combination differs 1 0 1
only in one bit from the adjacent ones.
1 0 0
• Cyclic Codes: The first code also changes
only one bit from the last one. 4 bits Johnson Code
0 0 0 0
• Gray Code: Cyclic and continuous code. 0 0 0 1
Useful for high speed ADC and encoders for 0 0 1 1
rotary axis position. 0 1 1 1
1 1 1 1
• Johnson Code: Cyclic and continuous code 1 1 1 0
with only 2·n combinations. Applications on 1 1 0 0
special counters design.
1 0 0 0

Unit 1: Introduction to Digital Electronics 16

 1.2. Number Systems and Codes
Light Emitters
Emisores de luz Light Detectors
Detectores de luz

0001
1000 0000
Digital Electronics

a0 1001 0001
a1
a2 1101
1011 0011
a3
SISTEMA
Mechanical 0101
1010 0010
System 0111 0110
MECÁNICO

1111 0111

1101 0101
1100 0100
(a) Mechanical system coupled to an (b) Front view of the encoding disk
absolute position encoder

An example of Gray code encoder for angular position

Unit 1: Introduction to Digital Electronics 17

 1.2. Number Systems and Codes
Digital Electronics

(a) Binary code encoding disk (b) Gray code encoding disk

An example of Gray code encoder for angular position

Unit 1: Introduction to Digital Electronics 18

 1.2. Number Systems and Codes
ASCII Code: letters, numbers, symbols and control codes
Digital Electronics

Unit 1: Introduction to Digital Electronics 19

 1.3. Boolean Algebra
Set of elements, taking two possible values (0 and 1),
related by the logical operations sum ‘+’, product ‘·’, and
inversion ‘/’ with the following properties:
Digital Electronics

Commutative a+b = b+a

a b + ꞏ
aꞏb = bꞏa
0 0 0 0
Distributive aꞏ(b+c) = aꞏb+aꞏc
(of multiplication over addition)
a+(bꞏc) = (a+b)ꞏ(a+c) 0 1 1 0
(of addition over multiplication)
1 0 1 0
Neutral Element 0+a = a
1 1 1 1
1ꞏa = a
Complementary a+a = a+a’ = 1
Element aꞏa = aꞏa’ = 0

Unit 1: Introduction to Digital Electronics 20

 1.3.1. Boolean Algebra Rules

1. Duality Principle: Properties and theorems are valid if

operations sum and product are changed at the same time
Digital Electronics

that elements 1 and 0.

2. a+1=1 5. a+(b+c) = (a+b)+c = a+b+c
aꞏ0=0 aꞏ(bꞏc) = (aꞏb)ꞏc = aꞏbꞏc
6. a=a
3. a+a=a
aꞏa=a 7. De Morgan’s Laws

4. a+(aꞏb)=a Absorption
aꞏ(a+b)=a theorem

Unit 1: Introduction to Digital Electronics 21

 1.3.2. Logic Functions. Canonic Forms
• Logic Function: Algebraic relationship between Boolean variables
using basic operations.
• Two logic functions are equivalent if they have the same truth table.
Digital Electronics

• Canonical Terms: Sum or product that has all the variables in plain
or inverted ways.
• Canonical Function
• Canonical Product (minterm)
• Canonical Sum (maxterm)

Any logic function can be written as sum of minterms or as product of maxterms.

Unit 1: Introduction to Digital Electronics 22

 1.3.3. Truth Table

The Truth Table of a logic function is a way to represent the output

values it will take, that can only be 0 or 1, for each possible combination.
Digital Electronics

Example:

∏ ∑ c b a f LSB MSB

7 0 0 0 0 0
6 1 0 0 1 1
5 2 0 1 0 0
4 3 0 1 1 1
3 4 1 0 0 1
2 5 1 0 1 1
1 6 1 1 0 1
0 7 1 1 1 1

Unit 1: Introduction to Digital Electronics 23

 1.4. Logic Gates
• A circuit that performs a logic operation is called logic gate.
• Logic circuits made of logic gates are digital circuits that
implement logical functions (Boolean algebraic circuits).
Digital Electronics

• From basic logic gates it is possible to build logic circuits.

• From logic circuits it is possible to build complex digital systems.

Digital circuit

Unit 1: Introduction to Digital Electronics 24

 1.4. Logic Gates

Classic Standard
Gate Function Switches
Symbols Symbols
Digital Electronics

a+b a a a+b
a+b ≥1
OR a+b b b
a b

aꞏb
a a aꞏb
b aꞏb &
AND aꞏb b b
a

a a a 1 a
NOT a a

(Inverter)

Basic Logic Gates

Unit 1: Introduction to Digital Electronics 25

 1.4. Logic Gates

Gate Function Classic Standard

Symbols Symbols
Digital Electronics

a a & aꞏb
aꞏb
NAND

Functions
b

Universal
b

a a+b a ≥1 a+b
NOR b
b

a a =1 a b
XOR a b
(Exclusive OR) b b

a a b a =1 a b
XNOR b b

Other Logic Gates

Unit 1: Introduction to Digital Electronics 26

 1.4.1 Truth Tables and Logic Gates

Example: F(Z,Y,X) = ((X+Y’)·Z)+(X’·Y·Z’)

Digital Electronics

LSB MSB

Unit 1: Introduction to Digital Electronics 27

 1.4.1 Truth Tables and Logic Gates

Example: F(Z,Y,X) = ((X+Y’)·Z)+(X’·Y·Z’)

Digital Electronics

LSB MSB

Unit 1: Introduction to Digital Electronics 28

 1.5. Digital Logic Circuits
Unit 8 from “Fundamentals of Electronics”

• Logic Families
Digital Electronics

• Transfer Characteristics

• Noise Margins

• Input and Output Voltages and Currents

• Fan Out

• Power Dissipation

• Propagation Delays

• Glitchs and Hazards

Unit 1: Introduction to Digital Electronics 29

 1.6. Logic Simplification
• Concept: Reduce the adjacent canonic terms to the minimum, by
suppressing the changing variable.
• Example:
𝑑̅ · 𝑐 · 𝑏 · 𝑎 𝑑·𝑐·𝑏·𝑎 𝑑 𝑑̅ · 𝑐 · 𝑏 · 𝑎 𝑐·𝑏·𝑎
Digital Electronics

• To achieve this, tabulated graphical methods are employed.

• The first one that was proposed is Karnaugh’s Maps.

𝑓 𝑎, 𝑏, 𝑐, 𝑑
LSB MSB

c cd
0 1 00 01 11 10
ab ab

00 00
b 0 4 0 8 12 4
0 1
a
01 2 6 01 2 10 14 6
0 0 2
11 3 7 11 3 11 15 7
1 1 3
10 1 5 10 1 9 13 5
Two variables Three variables Four variables
Adjacency among cells
Unit 1: Introduction to Digital Electronics
30
 1.6.1. Karnaugh’s Map Method
1. Fill the table with the information from the truth table or logic function.
2. Group adjacent cells that contain the same value in groups that are
power of 2, the bigger the better, in rectangular shape.
3. Also take those cells that can not be joined (single cells).
4. Found the minimum number of combinations of groups.
Digital Electronics

5. Express the function as a sum of the groups, removing the variables

that change.
Example: 𝑓 𝐴, 𝐵, 𝐶, 𝐷 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,10,11,13

D
C ꞏBꞏA

𝑓 𝐴, 𝐵, 𝐶, 𝐷 𝐷 𝐶̅ · 𝐵 𝐶·𝐵·𝐴

CꞏB

Analog simplification for the product of maxtems  DO IT

Unit 1: Introduction to Digital Electronics 31
 1.6.2. Incomplete Functions
• Completely Defined Function: The output value is known for each
input combination.
• Incomplete Function: The output value is not known for one or more
input combination. This can happen due to the physical nature of the
inputs, for example. These output values are declared ‘X’.
Digital Electronics

• These indifferent terms are later assigned the values 1 or 0, aimed at

simplifying as much as possible the function.

Example:
c b a f
0 0 0 1
0 0 1 1
0 1 0 X
0 1 1 X
1 0 0 X
1 0 1 0
1 1 0 0
1 1 1 X

Unit 1: Introduction to Digital Electronics 32

 1.6.4. Numerical Minimization Methods

• Logic minimization can be a very involved process.

• In real logic design applications, only two kinds of minimization problems exists.
Digital Electronics

1. Logic functions of a few variables that you can “eyeball”, with up to five
variables.

• Use Boolean algebra or Karnaugh maps

2. More complex, multiple-input and multiple-output functions.

• Use of numerical methods and CAD is needed

• There methods can be applied to functions with an arbitrarily large number of

variables using a tabular method called the Quine-McCluskey algorithm.

• This algorithm is intended to be translated into a computer program.

• For more information, check the given bibliographic references in Unit 0.

Unit 1: Introduction to Digital Electronics 33

 1.7. Design of Combinational Systems

• Combinational System: The value of the outputs, at any

time, depends only on the value of the inputs at that time
(following the expression or truth table).
Digital Electronics

• Design Methodology
1. Create the truth table from the description / specifications
of the system
2. Deduce the canonical terms
3. Minimize the function
4. Implement the system using the minimum resources

Unit 1: Introduction to Digital Electronics 34

 1.7.1. Implementation of Combinational Logic
Design Methodology
1. Create the truth table from the description / specifications of the system.
2. Deduce the canonical terms.
3. Minimize the function.
Digital Electronics

4. Implement the system using the minimum resources,

Example:
𝑓 𝑎 · 𝑐̅ 𝑎·𝑏·𝑑 𝑑̅

c
c 1 &
aꞏc
a 1
a
&
aꞏbꞏd ≥1 aꞏc  aꞏbꞏd  d
b Circuit Level: the
maximum number of gates
d that an input signal goes
1 d
through to change any output.

Unit 1: Introduction to Digital Electronics

35
 1.7.1. Implementation of Combinational Logic

Example: Prime numbers detector circuit

Digital Electronics

Unit 1: Introduction to Digital Electronics 36

 1.7.2. Universal Logic Gates - NAND

NOT & 1
Digital Electronics

AND & & &

&

& ≥1
OR &

Unit 1: Introduction to Digital Electronics 37

 1.7.3. Universal Logic Gates - NOR

NOT ≥1 1
Digital Electronics

OR ≥1 ≥1 ≥1

≥1

≥1 &
AND ≥1

Unit 1: Introduction to Digital Electronics 38

 1.7.4. Implementing Functions with NAND
Section 3.5.1 of the book “Sistemas Electrónicos Digitales”.

Example: 1) Invert twice the whole function.

Digital Electronics

2) If the most external operation is a sum, De

𝑓 𝑎 · 𝑐̅ 𝑎·𝑏·𝑑 𝑑̅ 𝑑 · 𝑎 · 𝑐̅ · 𝑎 · 𝑏 · 𝑑 Morgan property is applied to first inversion.
3) If there are sum operations inside, a double
inversion is applied to each one, and De
Morgan to the first.

c 4) Keep going with the procedure until

c & &
aꞏc everything is a product.

a &
a
&
aꞏbꞏd
&
dꞏaꞏcꞏaꞏbꞏd  d  aꞏc  aꞏbꞏd
b

d d

Unit 1: Introduction to Digital Electronics 39

 1.7.5. Implementing Functions with NOR
Section 3.5.1 of the book “Sistemas Electrónicos Digitales”.

Example: 1) Invert twice the whole function.

2) If the most external operation is a product, De
Morgan property is applied to first inversion.
f1  d  aꞏc  aꞏbꞏd  d  a  c  a  b  d
Digital Electronics

3) If there are product operations inside, a

double inversion is applied to each one, and
De Morgan to the first.
4) Keep going with the procedure until
everything is a sum.

c ≥1 ac
a d acabd

≥1
≥1 abd ≥1
≥1 d acabd 
b
d  aꞏc  aꞏbꞏd
d
d ≥1

Unit 1: Introduction to Digital Electronics 40