Circuit Design Process

© 2014 Project Lead The Way, Inc.Digital Electronics

Circuit Design Process

1. Word Problem - Identify and define the requirement specifications. What are the inputs? What are the outputs? Sometimes it is helpful to create a table that defines what is means for a specification to be “high” or “low”.

2. Identify Circuit Types Required - What ICs are required and available for the design? Will any part of the circuit require an analog design? Is there combinational logic required? Is there sequential logic required? Is a clock signal needed? Do I have the necessary Datasheets? Pin diagrams?

3. Truth Table for Combinational Logic Section

4. Hand Calculations and Sketches of Initial Circuit

5. Simulation

6. Breadboard and Test 2

Circuit Design – Best Practices

• Prototype and test the circuit incrementally. Don’t design and build the entire circuit only to find is does not work properly. It is easier to trouble shoot the circuit in sections rather than try and troubleshoot the complete circuit in its entirety.

• As you progress through this course, you will be introduced to advancements in technology and in the circuit design process itself.

• As you learn about these advancements you will be able to make even more choices that will help you design efficient circuits in shorter amounts of time.

• In this lesson we will learn about the circuit design process by exploring simple designs in combinational and sequential logic.

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Combinational Logic

Design ProcessVersion #1

Word Problem

Write Logic Expression

Boolean Simplification

AOI Logic Implementation

Create Truth-Table

NOSimplification

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Combinational Logic

Design ProcessVersion #2

K-Mapping

NOR Only LogicImplementation

NAND Only Logic Implementation

Word Problem

Write Logic Expression

Boolean Simplification

AOI Logic Implementation

Create Truth-Table

NOSimplification

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