Digital Electronics: cram pack

Formula sheets, the key method steps for every topic and 6 practice problems, with full solutions at the back.

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1Formulas and methods

Number systems

Place values: binary 2^k, octal 8^k, hex 16^k
To decimal: Σ d_k·b^k
From decimal: divide by the base, read the remainders bottom-up
Hex ↔ binary: one hex digit = 4 bits
Two’s complement: invert the bits and add 1

Digital logic: gates, K-maps & flip-flops

Basic gates: A·B, A + B, A′, (A·B)′, (A + B)′, A ⊕ B
Boolean rules: X + X′ = 1, X·X′ = 0, X + XY = X, XY + XY′ = X
De Morgan: (X·Y)′ = X′ + Y′, (X + Y)′ = X′·Y′
Karnaugh map order: 00, 01, 11, 10 (Gray code)
Group of 2ᵏ cells: loses k variables
4-to-1 multiplexer: F = A′B′I₀ + A′BI₁ + AB′I₂ + ABI₃
Flip-flops: D: Q⁺ = D, T: Q⁺ = T ⊕ Q, JK: Q⁺ = JQ′ + K′Q
Counters: n-bit: 2ⁿ states; mod-N: smallest n with 2ⁿ ≥ N; f_out = f_clk/N
Ripple counter: f_max = 1/(n·t_pd)
Ring and Johnson counters: n and 2n states

Method

For a circuit, work from the inputs to the output one gate at a time and write the value on every wire, or write its expression and fill in the truth table.
For simplification, put the 1s (and the don’t-cares as X) into a Karnaugh map with Gray-code rows and columns: 00, 01, 11, 10.
Cover the 1s with as few and as large groups of 1, 2, 4, 8 or 16 cells as possible, wrapping round the edges; each group is one product term made of the variables that stay constant. Group the 0s for the POS form.
For flip-flops and counters, read the inputs at each active clock edge, write the state after every edge, and remember that an n-bit counter wraps round after 2ⁿ states.

Data acquisition & sampling

Nyquist criterion: f_s > 2·f_max, f_N = f_s/2
Alias frequency: f_a = |f − k·f_s|, k = round(f/f_s)
Step size: 1 LSB = V_FSR/2ᴺ
Quantisation error (rounding): ±½ LSB
Truncating ADC code: D = ⌊V_in/LSB⌋
Bits for a resolution r: 2ᴺ ≥ span/r
Ideal SQNR, full-scale sine: SQNR = 6.02·N + 1.76 dB
Data rate: channels × f_s × N bit/s
Multiplexed ADC: f_s = 1/(n·(t_c + t_set))
UART: T_b = 1/baud; 8N1 = 10 bits per byte; bytes/s = baud/bits per frame
Baud rate divider: baud = f_clk/(16·D)

Method

Write down what is given: sampling rate, signal frequencies, number of bits, input range, baud rate.
For sampling questions, compare each frequency with f_s/2; a higher frequency appears at f_a = |f − k·f_s| with the nearest multiple of f_s.
For resolution questions, find 1 LSB = V_FSR/2ᴺ, or the smallest N with 2ᴺ ≥ span/resolution.
For data rates and UART links, count everything that is sent: channels, samples per second, bits or whole bytes per sample, and the start, parity and stop bits of every frame.

2Practice problems

1.Number systemsMedium

Write −31 as an 8-bit two's complement pattern. Read the pattern as an unsigned binary number: what is its value U in decimal?

N = −318 bit

U =

2.Number systemsHard

Set the bits to the 8-bit result of 1110 1000 << 2. What is the result's value R in decimal?

1110 1000<< 2

R =

3.Digital logic: gates, K-maps & flip-flopsMedium

In this Karnaugh map exactly one 1 has no neighbouring 1, so it stays a group of one cell (a full minterm of four literals) in the minimal SOP form. Neighbours across the map edges count. Click that cell.

F = Σm(3, 4, 5, 12, 14, 15)

1AB = 00, CD = 00
2AB = 00, CD = 01
3AB = 00, CD = 11
4AB = 00, CD = 10
5AB = 01, CD = 00
6AB = 01, CD = 01
7AB = 01, CD = 11
8AB = 01, CD = 10
9AB = 11, CD = 00
10AB = 11, CD = 01
11AB = 11, CD = 11
12AB = 11, CD = 10
13AB = 10, CD = 00
14AB = 10, CD = 01
15AB = 10, CD = 11
16AB = 10, CD = 10

4.Digital logic: gates, K-maps & flip-flopsHard

Find the minimal SOP form of F(A, B, C, D) = Σm(1, 2, 3, 9, 10, 13) + d(7, 11), where d marks the don't-care conditions. How many product terms N does it have?

F(A, B, C, D) = Σm(1, 2, 3, 9, 10, 13) + d(7, 11)

N =

5.Data acquisition & samplingMedium

A sensor measures distance over a span of 200 mm, and its output fills the whole input range of an ADC. The reading must resolve 0.5 mm. Find the smallest number of bits N the ADC needs.

span = 200 mmresolution = 0.5 mm

N =

6.Data acquisition & samplingHard

A microcontroller with a 2 MHz clock sets its UART baud rate as f_clk/(16·D), with D a whole number rounded to the nearest value. The target is 9600 baud. Find the percentage error of the real baud rate (positive when it is too fast).

f_clk = 2 MHztarget = 9600 Bd

e = %

3Solutions

1.Number systems

Answer: U = 225

Positional number systems: each digit is worth its value times a power of the base. In binary the places are worth 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, …; in hexadecimal 1, 16, 256, …, with A–F standing for 10–15. In 8-bit two's complement the leftmost bit is worth −128 instead of +128, which is how negative numbers are stored.

Invert and add one

31 = 0001 1111

inverted: 1110 0000

+1 → 1110 0001

Read it as unsigned

1110 0001₂ = 256 − 31 = 225

Answer

U = 225

2.Number systems

Answer: R = 160

Setting bits: each bit is worth a power of two (128, 64, …, 1). One hex digit is exactly four bits, and in 8-bit two's complement the leftmost bit is worth −128. Bitwise operations work on each bit position separately.

Bit by bit

Shifting left by 2 moves every bit 2 places to the left; bits that fall off the left end are lost and zeros come in on the right.

1110 1000 << 2

= 1010 0000

Value of the result

1010 0000₂ = 160

Answer

R = 160

3.Digital logic: gates, K-maps & flip-flops

Answer: AB = 00, CD = 11

Karnaugh maps: the cells are ordered in Gray code (00, 01, 11, 10), so neighbouring cells, including the ones across the edges, differ in exactly one variable. Group the 1s in rectangles of 1, 2, 4, 8 or 16 cells, as large as possible and as few as possible, until every 1 is covered. Each group is one product term: the variables that stay constant inside it. A group of 2ᵏ cells loses k variables. Don't-cares (X) may be used to make groups bigger but never have to be covered. Grouping the 0s instead gives the minimal POS form.

Neighbours of each 1

A 1 with a neighbouring 1 can join a group of two or more.

m3: m2, m1, m7, m11 → 0

The isolated 1

m3 = A′B′CD → AB = 00, CD = 11

Answer

AB = 00, CD = 11

4.Digital logic: gates, K-maps & flip-flops

Answer: N = 3

Prime implicants

The largest groups that can be formed from 1s and Xs.

B′D, B′C, A′CD, AC′D

Minimal cover

F = B′D + B′C + AC′D

N = 3

Answer

N = 3

5.Data acquisition & sampling

Answer: N = 9

ADC resolution: an N-bit converter divides its full-scale range V_FSR into 2ᴺ codes, from 0 to 2ᴺ − 1. One step is 1 LSB = V_FSR/2ᴺ: the smallest change the converter can show. A truncating ADC gives the code ⌊V_in/LSB⌋; a rounding ADC is never more than ½ LSB away from the true value, its quantisation error. Every extra bit halves the LSB and adds about 6 dB to the ideal signal-to-quantisation-noise ratio SQNR = 6.02·N + 1.76 dB for a full-scale sine. To reach a resolution r over a span, choose the smallest N with 2ᴺ ≥ span/r.

Steps needed

200/0.5 = 400

Bits

log₂(400) = 8.644

2⁸ = 256 < 400 ≤ 2⁹ = 512

N = 9

Answer

N = 9

6.Data acquisition & sampling

Answer: e = 0.1603 %

UART: an asynchronous serial link sends each byte as a frame: one start bit (low), the data bits, an optional parity bit and one or two stop bits (high). The baud rate is the number of bits per second, so one bit lasts T_b = 1/baud and a frame of n bits lasts n/baud. The common 8N1 format has 10 bits per byte. The baud generator divides the clock: baud = f_clk/(16·D) with a whole number D, so the real baud rate differs slightly from the target; an error below about 2 % is usually acceptable.

Divider

D = 2·10⁶/(16·9600) = 13.02 → 13

Real baud rate

2·10⁶/(16·13) = 9615 Bd

Error

(9615 − 9600)/9600·100 = 0.1603 %

Answer

e = 0.1603 %

An error below about 2 % is usually acceptable.

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