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Digital electronics is the invisible infrastructure of modern civilization, and it's all based on just two numbers:  0 and 1.

Course Objectives

You will learn how to design, analyze, and simulate digital circuits, including a simple computer, starting from the smallest building blocks:  transistors and logic gates.

Course Competencies

After completing this course, you will be able to:

Zoom (Links to an external site.) Schedule

Thursday 1-2:15 is office hours.  

Tuesday 1-2:15 is synchronous lab (circuit simulation).

Instructor Contact Info

Useful Links 

Textbook

Harris and Harris, Digital Design and Computer Architecture, 2nd edition, 2012 (2013 for ebook)Links to an external site. The Emory library has unlimited copies!  

Technology Requirements

We will use Canvas, Zoom, and a free circuit simulator during the synchronous sessions:  https://www.edaplayground.com/ (Links to an external site.).  To use this website, I think your screen needs to be laptop-size or larger.

Learning Community Overview

You will work with a randomly assigned lab partner during synchronous sessions.  This is an opportunity to discuss the course material with a peer.  Whether you find the material difficult or easy, your understanding will be bolstered through peer discussion.  If you’re unavailable for a synchronous session, it’s okay; you can do the lab another time.

Recorded lectures are posted to Canvas.  In these lectures, I frequently invite you to pause the video and complete the exercises.  Watching someone do exercises doesn’t make you strong; you have to do the exercises yourself!

Grading

Lab reports: 22% (2% for each of 11 lab reports)

Projects:  38% (19% for each of 2 projects)

Tests: 40% (20% for each of 2 tests)  

Late Assignment Policy

There’s no penalty for late lab reports and projects, though they must all be submitted by Dec. 3.  However, lab reports help prepare you for the tests, so I hope you’ll submit them on time.

Academic Honesty

Some of the test questions and project details will be unique to you, based on your student ID.  You may get help from any source on lab reports and projects, but the tests are solo activities.

DatesTopicsRecommended Readings (skip VHDL in Ch. 4)Recommended Exercises or Questions (Q)Labs
Aug. 19-25Binary arithmetic and logic gates1.4-1.5, 4.1.1, 4.2.71.53, 1.55, 1.57, 1.59. 1.61Lab 1
Aug. 26-Sept. 1Transistors and Boolean algebra1.6-1.8, 2.1-2.6, 4.2.11.85, 1.87, 2.1, 2.3, 2.27Lab 2
Sept. 2-8K maps and always blocks2.7-2.8, 4.2.5, 4.5.1, 4.5.22.25, 2.29, 2.31, 2.39, 2.41Lab 3
Sept. 9-15Sequential logic2.9, 3.1-3.3, 4.42.45, 3.1, 3.3, 3.5, 3.9Lab 4
Sept. 16-22Finite state machines3.4, 4.63.23, 3.25, 3.27, 3.31Lab 5
Sept. 23-29Timing diagrams3.5.1-3.5.3, 3.63.33, 3.35, Q2.1, Q3.1Project 1
Oct. 1Test 1
Oct. 2-6Adders5.2.1Project 1
Oct. 7-13Arithmetic operations4.3, 5.2.2-5.4.15.29, 5.35, 5.37, 5.43, 5.45Lab 6
Oct. 14-20Memory and MIPS assembly language4.8, 5.5, 5.6.1, 6.1-6.25.51, 6.3, 6.5, 6.9, Q6.1Lab 7
Oct. 21-27Machine language6.3, 6.4.1-6.4.26.11, 6.13, 6.29Lab 8
Oct. 28-Nov. 3High-level code constructs6.4.3-6.4.6, 6.56.17, 6.25, Q6.5Lab 9
Nov. 4-10MIPS microarchitecture7.1-7.37.1, 7.3, 7.5Lab 10
Nov. 12Test 2
Nov. 13-17Serial communicationLab 11
Nov. 18-24Quantum computing