Dr.

N Ditshego
Lecturer
Department of Electrical Engineering
University of Botswana

Office No: 248/213

Ext: 4229
Email: [email protected]

EEB 341
DIGITAL ELECTRONICS

CHAPTER 5
QUINE-McCLUSKEY (QM) TECHNIQUE 1
Quine-McCluskey Method
• Tabular Representations
• Prime Implicants
• Essential Prime Implicants

2
Tabular Representations
YZ
WX 00 01 11 10 !W & Y & !Z
0-10
!W & X 00 1
01--
01 1 1 1 1

11 1 1 1

X&Y
10 1
W & !Y & Z -11-
1-01

F = X & Y # !W & Y & !Z

# W & !Y & Z # !W & X

3
Prime Implicants

F = X & !Y & Z Each product term

is an implicant
# !X & !Z
# !X & Y

A product term that cannot have any of its

variables removed and still imply the logic
function is called a prime implicant.

4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
 YZ
X 00 01 11 10 -10

0 1

1 1 1 1 1

1--
F = Y & !Z
# X

13
 YZ -10
Minterm X Y Z F 00 01 11 10
X
0 O O O 0
1 0 0 1 0 0 1
2 0 1 0 1
3 1 1 1 0
4 1 O O 1 1 1 1 1 1
5 1 0 1 1
6 1 1 0 1
7 1 1 1 1 1--
F = Y & !Z
# X

14
Finding Prime Implicants
Step 1 Step 2 Step 3

(2,6) - 1 0 (4,5,6,7) 1 - -
2 0 1 0
(4,5) 1 0 - (4,6,5,7) 1 - -
4 1 O 0
5 1 0 1 (4,6) 1 - 0
6 1 1 0 (5,7) 1 - 1
7 1 1 1 (6,7) 1 1 -

All unchecked entries are Prime Implicants

-10 Y & !Z
1-- X

15
 YZ -10
Minterm X Y Z F
X 00 01 11 10
0 O O O 0
1 0 0 1 0
2 0 1 0 1 0 1
3 1 1 1 0
4 1 O O 1 1 1 1 1 1
5 1 0 1 1
6 1 1 0 1
7 1 1 1 1
1--
F = Y & !Z
# X

16
Essential Prime Implicants
YZ
WX 00 01 11 10

00 1 1 1 1 Find the essential

01 1 1
prime implicants
using the Q-M
11 1 1
method.
10 1 1

17
 minterms
YZ
WX 00 01 11 10 0 0000
1 0001
00 1 1 1 1 2 0010
8 1000
01 1 1 3 0011
5 0101
10 1010
11 1 1 7 0111
14 1110
10 15 1111
1 1

18
Finding Prime Implicants
Step 1 Step 2 Step 3

0 0000 (0,1) 000- (0,1,2,3) 00--

(0,2) 00-0
1 0001 (0,8) -000
(0,2,1,3) 00--
2 0010 (0,2,8,10) -0-0
(1,3) 00-1
8 1000
(1,5) 0-01 (0,8,2,10) -0-0
3 0011 (2,3) 001-
5 0101 (2,10) -010
(1,5,3,7) 0--1

10 1010 (8,10) 10-0

(1,3,5,7) 0--1
7 0111
(3,7) 0-11 6 Prime Implicants
14 1110
(5,7) 01-1
15 1111 1-10 00--
(10,14) 1-10 -111 -0-0
(7,15) -111 111- 0--1
(14,15) 111-

19
Prime Covered Minterms
Implicant minterms
0 1 2 3 5 7 8 10 14 15
1-10 10,14 X X

*
-111 7,15 X X

111- 14,15 X X

00-- 0,1,2,3 X X X X
-0-0 0,2,8,10 X X X X
0--1 1,3,5,7 X X X X

20
3 Prime Implicants
F = !W & Z # W & X & Y # !X & !Z

YZ
WX 00 01 11 10

00 1 1 1 1
0--1
01 1 1
!W & Z

11 1 1
111-
10 1 1
!X & !Z
W & X & Y
-0-0

21
Rules for Determination of a Minimum Cover

1. To find a minimum-cost cover, we construct a prime implicant cover table in

which there is a row for each prime implicant and a column for each minterm
that must be covered.

2. Place check marks to indicate the minterms covered by each prime implicant.

3. If there is a single check mark in some column of the cover table, then the
prime implicant that covers the minterm of this column is essential and it must
be included in the final cover. Remove the rows corresponding to the essential
prime implicants and the columns covered by them.

4. Now we use the concept of row dominance to reduce the cover table. Choose
rows that cover more terms.