Course Description
The Digital Design course covers the design of digital systems using VHSIC Hardware Description Language (VHDL) and their implementation in Field Programmable Gate Array technology (FPGA).
It is a lab-oriented course that covers the complete digital design flow and explains the concepts of MOS transistors, logic gates, flip-flops, memories, finite state machines, metastability, glitches, power estimation in digital circuits, etc. It trains you extensively on VHDL programming. You will learn what an FPGA is, how to use state-of-the-art software tools for FPGA development, and solve critical digital design problems. During lectures and labs, you will complete several example designs, like VGA controller, PS2 controller, custom processor, etc.
A significant component of this course is project work, where students will implement a design of their choice. As part of the learning experience, students will discuss ideas, devise a plan, and divide the work as a team of 2-3 members. At the end of the semester, each team will present their result in front of the class.
Prerequisites
The courses that you must have completed before enrolling in Digital Design course:- a course on Digital logic circuits
- a course on Computer systems
Literature
- John F. Wakerly: Digital Design: Principles and Practices. 3rd ed., Prentice Hall, 2001.
- Peter J. Ashenden: The Designer’s Guide to VHDL. 3rd ed., Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, 2008.
- Bryan Mealy, Fabrizio Tappero: Free Range VHDL.