Lecture 1
Digital Design
Laboratory
T. Collins / K. Johnson
Copyright © 2014 Thomas R. Collins
Course introduction
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Overview of content
Lab procedures
Schedule
Grading
Writing and lab results
Communication
Digital Design Lab Overview
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Subject matter – practical digital logic
Lecture (here)
 Tells
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you what to expect the following week
Lab background, quizzes, in-class exam, final
 Generally
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follows slides in lab manual
Laboratory (Room E283 Van Leer)
 Prelab
exercises (before you come to lab)
 Prelab quizzes (usually in lab, before you start)
 Lab exercises
 Lab results and other writing assignments
Technical Background
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Prerequisites
 ECE
2020 (or CS 2110, for CS majors)
 Introductory programming course
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The lectures here are designed to
 level
the playing field
 provide essential information
Laboratory Facilities
Teaching assistants
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Each section has
A
Graduate TA
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A
Coordinates the writing aspect of the lab session &
grades work
Lead Undergraduate TA
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Coordinates the technical aspect of the lab session
 Additional
UTAs
Maintains less than 5:1 student-teacher ratio
 Some UTAs were in this course a few weeks ago
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UTAs or an LTA run the lab during open
hours
ECE 2031 Supplies Needed
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Rapid Prototyping of Digital Systems, SOPC Edition
by J. O. Hamblen, T. S. Hall & M. D. Furman
Digital Design Laboratory Manual, Second Edition
by Thomas R. Collins/Christopher M. Twigg
(Purchase a new copy or eBook)
The Mayfield Handbook of Technical and Scientific Writing
by Leslie C. Perelman, James Paradis, and Edward Barrett
ECE2031 Laboratory Workbook, by Thomas Collins and
Kevin Johnson (Download from class web site)
A GT Computer Account – If you don´t have one, get one by
the first lab (i.e., one that allows you to log in to a GT
Windows machine using a GT Active Directory password)
The ECE 2031 Chipset (which you can get from Eta Kappa
Nu)
A protoboard (also with the Eta Kappa Nu option)
A wire kit (also with the Eta Kappa Nu option)
USB storage media as needed
Primary sources of info
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The lab manual chapter for each week is THE source of
information
The web page at
http://powersof2.gatech.edu/2031/labs.html has all
important updates, semester-specific assignments, etc.
Another site, the “UPCP site,” provides some “writing”specific details
Lecture slides
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These slides, for this week only, are on the
web site (see section for Lab 1).
All other lecture slides are NOT on the
web site – they are in the lab manual.
Exception: Semester-specific assignments
and other supplemental slides (Lab 6 and
final project). Those will be posted at the
relevant lab download page.
Grades
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Final grade based on
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30% - Prepared work (Results, reports, presentations,
demos – everything that is not a quiz or an exam)
25% - Prelab quizzes
20% - In-class exam
25% - Practical exam (in lab)
“TA Perspective” – It can only help you!
Exams may be curved
There may be an overall curve, too
No Final Exam
First part of schedule
You are here.
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The complete schedule is on the web site
Make sure that you understand it
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All due dates and exam dates are there
Recipe for success in 2031
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Before the lecture, read the next section of the lab manual,
along with any assigned reading
Attend lecture
Do prelab exercises & bring required items to lab (including
lab results that are due)
TURN IN lab results, take prelab quiz in lab, and get prelab
exercises checked off
Do lab exercises and get checked off in lab
Understand what you are doing and why.
Attend open hours to finish lab exercises (when necessary)
Complete lab results and turn in on schedule
Complete other communication-related assignments (Writing
Assignment 1, Project Proposal, etc.)
General Procedures
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No lab results will be accepted without checkoff sheet
from the lab manual
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No late assignments without extenuating circumstances
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Kevin Johnson can determine if your circumstances are
extenuating, if you visit him at least 24 hours before the due date
We require your ability to produce documented excuses for the
last-minute reasons (illness, death in the family, etc.)
Lowest quiz can be dropped
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And you only get credit for portions accompanied by on-time
checkoffs from Lab TAs
But your first absence (excused or not) counts as the drop
One or more easy prelab quizzes could be given in lecture
instead
Use your network (Z) drive for backup, transfer to home
Keep electronic copies of all writing assignments
Communications
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Your Lead UTAs and your GTA are your
personal link to the lab
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When you are unable to resolve problems,
faculty and staff are available
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Assigned to YOUR section, available by email
Collins – Office hours Th 5-6, F 4:30-6
Kevin Johnson – Van Leer E276
And by appointment
The websites and Piazza are the ultimate
sources of the latest information
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Email gets lost or bounced
You are responsible for checking these sources!
Technical Communication
In ECE 2031
Writing Resources for Students
http://upcp.ece.gatech.edu
The Mayfield Handbook of Technical
& Scientific Writing
Introduction - Kevin
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BS & MS EE; took ECE2031 Spring 2005
Been involved with it in some way ever since
Now manage UPCP component, TAs, and lab
Available for both
writing and technical
questions
Office right across
from the lab – E276
KJohnson@gatech.edu
2031 Communication Curriculum
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Lab Results
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First Writing Assignment
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Learn proposal content and practice technical writing
Oral Presentation
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Learn and practice technical writing style
Proposal
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No extended writing – just figure titles
Practicing formatting, and concise explanation of figures
Convey your design project approach and results
Design Report
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Use everything learned to document design project
Engineers are Writers
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Your value as an engineer is your knowledge,
and knowledge is only useful when shared
Industry recognizes a need for communication
experience in engineering education
ABET requires a certain amount of
communication experience for accreditation:
“Professional engineers will spend 40-60% of their
working time writing and giving presentations.”
“Ironically, most engineering programs devote less than
5% of their curriculum to communication skills.”
--David Beer, A Guide to Writing as an Engineer, 1996, 2006
Technical vs. Non-Technical Writing
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You still need what you learned in primary
school
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Spelling, grammar, punctuation
Making sentences and paragraphs coherent
But, this isn’t creative writing anymore
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Fact-based
Writing to inform, not to impress or entertain
Focus is on efficient and clear information transfer
Different style – passive voice, no personal pronouns,
specific formatting, and other concerns.
IEEE Formatting Guidelines
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Every document you ever create will likely have
formatting and style requirements.
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We follow IEEE guidelines in ECE because
there’s a good chance that you will use it in the
future:
IEEE publishes nearly a third of the world’s
technical literature in electrical engineering,
computer science and electronics.
https://www.ieee.org/about/today/at_a_glance.html
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See the UPCP site for specific style guidelines.
Writing Your Way to Success in ECE
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Follow the guidelines we provide you
upcp.ece.gatech.edu
Pay attention to the details
Work with the GTA Writing Consultants
Visit the ECE Communication Studio
KJohnson@gatech.edu
VL E276
Go To Lab Manual
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All remaining slides for Lecture 1 are in the
back of the Lab Manual (starting on
p. 245)
Those up to here are posted on the web
site
Early laboratory exercises
24ns
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The goal is to get
from here (theory)
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1
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2
3
inst
74H
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30ns
4
5
74H
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A
IN
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74H
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3
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4
inst3
24ns
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To here (real circuits)
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And we will do it with both discrete
logic and programmable logic
1
2
4
5
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A
N
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4
BO
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2
6
inst2
6
inst1
41ns
30ns
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Y
Discrete logic implementation
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Labs 2, 3, 4, and 5 provide experience in
building prototype circuits
DIPs (Dual Inline Packages) contain individual
gates and inverters
Used on protoboards with wires for connections
Designs generally start with schematics
Programmable logic implementation
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Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) contain many gates and
other devices (e.g., memory)
Connections are made internally by programming, not with wires
DE2 development board in lab uses Altera Cyclone II FPGA
Labs 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, and 8 use DE2 board for FPGA implementations
Designs start with schematics or textual circuit descriptions (VHDL),
and Computer-Aided Design tools (CAD) are essential
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Lab 1 gets you started with those tools
Steps of logic design
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Design Entry (schematics or “hardware
description languages” – HDLs)
Design Synthesis (mapping functions onto
available parts)
Functional Simulation (making sure logic is
correct)
Timing Analysis and Simulation (confirming that
timing constraints are met)
Production (including prototyping)
Test (including final test and product support)
Quartus II
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Quartus II is one of many competing CAD
products for FPGAs
 Xilinx
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Foundation product is another
Every one of the design phases is
supported
It includes options for entering designs as
schematics or in HDLs
 This
week’s lab acquaints students with
schematic, or “block,” entry
 First implementations are FPGAs, not discrete
logic
Laboratory 1
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Each week, start with the lab manual
Do the reading assignments and other prelab steps
All material in Lab 1 is centered around a tutorial design
project in Quartus II
Do part of design as prelab steps (at home), and
continue in lab with lab steps
If you successfully install Quartus, you can do all prelab
steps at home this week.
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If NOT, you can continue with the prelab after your
introductory lecture with your GTA on Monday or Tuesday.
There WILL be a prelab quiz, but this week only it will not
assume that you have completed the prelab steps.
Online resources
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http://powersof2.gatech.edu/2031/ece2031.html
http://upcp.ece.gatech.edu