Chapter One

Introduction to Digital Systems

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 Introduction to Digital Systems

Introduction
 In science, technology, business, and, in fact, most other fields of
endeavor, we are constantly dealing with quantities.

 Quantities are measured, monitored, recorded, manipulated

arithmetically, observed, or in some other way utilized in most
physical systems.

 It is important when dealing with various quantities that we be able

to represent their values efficiently and accurately.

 There are basically two ways of representing the numerical value of

quantities: analog and digital.
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 Digital versus Analog systems
Analog Representation: Analog voltage vs time
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 In analog representation a
quantity is represented by a 3
voltage, current, or meter
movement that is 1

Voltage(V)
proportional to the value of 20
-1 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
that quantity.
-3

-5
Time (s)
 Analog quantities such as
 Analog quantities have continuous
those cited above have an values
important characteristic:
they can vary over a
continuous range of values.
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Digital Representation:  Digital quantities have discrete
 In digital representation the quantities sets of values
are represented not by proportional Digital voltage vs time
quantities but by symbols called digits. 5

 As an example, consider the digital 3

watch, which provides the time of day

1

Voltage(V)
in the form of decimal digits which
represent hours and minutes (and -1 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
sometimes seconds).
-3
 As we know, the time of day changes
continuously, but the digital watch -5
Time (s)
reading does not change continuously;
rather, it changes in steps of one per The major difference between
minute (or per second).
analog and digital quantities is
 In other words, this digital
representation of the time of day
changes in discrete steps, as compared Analog  Continuous
with the representation of time
provided by an analog watch, where
the dial reading changes continuously.
Digital  Discrete
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 Advantages and Limitations of Digital Techniques
 Advantages

 Digital systems are easier to design. Limitation

There is really only
one major drawback
 Information storage is easy. when using digital
techniques:

 Accuracy and precision are greater. “ The real world is

mainly analog”

 Digital systems are more versatile.

 Digital circuits are less affected by noise.

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 To take advantage of digital techniques when dealing with
analog inputs and outputs, three steps must be followed:
 Convert the real-world analog inputs to digital form. (ADC)
 Process (operate on) the digital information.
 Convert the digital outputs back to real-world analog form. (DAC)
The following diagram shows a temperature control system that
requires analog/digital conversions in order to allow the use of
digital processing techniques.
(Analog) (Digital)
Temperature
(analog) Measuring Analog-to-Digital Digital
Device Converter (ADC) Processing

Digital-to- Analog Adjust

Controller
Converter (DAC) temperature
(Digital) (Analog)

Block diagram of a typical temperature control system. 6

 Draw back of conversion between analog and digital

 It adds complexity and expense.

 It adds extra time required to perform these conversions.
 Conversion between analog and digital quantities has become quite
commonplace in the current technology.

 There are situations, however, where using only analog techniques is

simpler and more economical.
 For example, the process of signal amplification is most easily
accomplished using analog circuitry.

 It is becoming more and more common to see both digital and analog
techniques employed within the same system in order to profit from
the advantages of each.

 In these hybrid systems, one of the most important parts of the

design phase involves determining what parts of the system are to be
analog and what parts are to be digital.
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 Binary logic Gates
 The general public as being magical sometimes looks upon
computers, calculators, and other digital devices.
 Actually, digital electronic devices are extremely logical in their
operation.
 The basic building block of any digital circuit is a logic gate.
 The logic gates we will use operate with binary numbers, hence
the term binary logic gates.
 Logic gates are the building blocks for even the most complex
computers.
 Logic gates can be constructed by using simple switches, relays,
transistors and diodes, or lCs.
 Because of their availability, wide use, and low cost, ICs will be
used to construct digital circuits.
 A variety of logic gates are available in all logic families including
TTL and CMOS.
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 Digital Signals
 Digital systems use the binary number system.
 Therefore, two-state devices are used to represent the two binary
digits 1 and 0 by two different voltage levels, called HIGH and LOW.
 If the HIGH voltage level is used to represent 1 and the LOW voltage level
to represent 0, the system is called the positive logic system.
HIGH

Leading Trailing
edge edge

LOW

a) Positive pulse

 On the other hand, if the HIGH voltage level represents 0 and the LOW
voltage level represents 1, the system is called the negative logic system.
HIGH
Leading
Trailing
edge
edge
LOW

b) Negative pulse

 The binary 0 and 1 are represented by the logic voltage levels 0V and
+5 V.
 Both positive and negative logics are used in digital systems, but 9the
positive logic is more common.
 Cont…
Major parts of a digital pulse
• Base line
• Amplitude
• Rise time (tr)
• Pulse width (tw)
• Fall time (tf)

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 In reality, because of circuit variations, the 0 and 1 would be
represented by voltage ranges instead of particular voltage levels.

 Example of Voltages Level in TTL family

5.0V HIGH
(Logic 1)

2.0 V Indeterminate
range

0.8V LOW
(Logic 0)

0V
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Waveform Characteristics 1 1
f T
Most waveforms encountered in digital T f
systems are composed of series of
pulses, sometimes called pulse trains, T1 T2 T3

and can be classified as either periodic Period = T1 = T2 =T3 =…=Tn

t 
or nonperiodic. Frequency=1/T Duty cycle   W 100%
 T 
A periodic pulse waveform is one that Periodic pulse-train
repeats itself at a fixed interval, called a
period (T). The frequency (f) is the
rate at which it repeats itself and is
measured in hertz (Hz).
A nonperiodic pulse waveform, of Non-Periodic pulse-train
course, does not repeat itself at fixed
intervals and may be composed of Tw

pulses of randomly differing pulse T

widths and/or randomly differing time
intervals between the pulses. Duty cycle = 50%

The frequency (f) of a pulse (digital)

Tw
waveform is the reciprocal of the
period. The relationship between
frequency and period is expressed as T
Duty cycle = 75%
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follows:
 Duty Cycle

• Example : a periodic digital waveform has a pulse width

1ms and period time 10ms, calculate duty cycle?

Duty cycle = 1ms/10ms * 100% = 10%

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 Timing Diagram
Is a graph of digital waveform showing the actual time
relationship of two or more waveform and how each waveform
changes in relation to the others.

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 Cont… Bit
time 7

Clock
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

A?B?C? A, B and C HIGH 15

A = 1, B = 1, C = 1
Data Transfer: Serial vs. Parallel
Serial: 8 clock time

Parallel: 1 clock time

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Serial vs. Parallel

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