Digital Design is an important subject in the Computer Engineering curriculum. Its main objective is to provide the digital knowledge necessary to understand the architecture, operation, and programming basics of a simple processor.  Students will learn the steps of engineering problem solving and gain independent problem-solving skills. The course introduces the basic elements of computer systems, the properties of digital abstraction, and direct hardware and low-level software (assembly) implementations of simpler tasks. By guiding students through the design of binary arithmetic units, functional units, controllers, and state machines, it introduces general purpose CPU architecture and the usage of elementary microcontrollers (peripheral interfacing and programming). In the exercises and laboratory sessions associated with the course, the emphasis is on learning modern computer-aided design methods and on mastering the direct, basic design/development steps.

1

Digital design introduction.
Boolean algebra.
Logic gates and their symbols, combinational circuits, Boolean functions and their representations.

2

Number representations, representing binary numbers. Two's complement representation. Arithmetic operations.
Hardware design with CAD system, hardware description languages: Verilog, Verilog module. Assignment operation.

3

Basic combinational building blocks: decoder, encoder, multiplexer, demultiplexer, comparator, full adder.
Verilog: always block, registers. Describing the behavior of functional components.

4

Sequential circuits: bits storage. Clock signal, timing requirements.
Finite state machine (FSM): specification -> state diagram -> implementation.
Verilog: edge sensitive always block, describing FSMs.

5

Datapath components: multifunction register, shift register, counter.

6

Datapath components: register fly, RAM, ROM, FIFO, LIFO

7

Designing complex circuits high level state machines. Separation of the datapath and controller, hierarchical construction of digital circuits using datapath components. .

8

Programmable processors: controller and datapath, addressing.
The MiniRISC processor:  instruction execution.

9

The MiniRISC instruction set.  Addressing modes. Describing programs with flowchart diagram. Assembly programming.
Loops and subroutines.

10

Peripherals and their programming interface (mode, command, state and data registers). Bus: data, address, Connecting peripherals to the processor.

11

Peripherals: GPIO, timer.
Processor - peripheral communication. Interrupts.

12

13

Interfaces for data transfer: UART, SPI.

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