Digital electronic systems

Teacher(s)

Andraud Martin;

Language

English
> French-friendly

Main themes

Combinational logic circuits and sequential logic design. Digital building blocks (ALU, registers, ...).Hardware description language (SystemVerilog). Microarchitecture of a 32-bit RISC processor (single-cycle processor, multicyle processor and pipelined processor). Embedded processor architecture and I/O systems.

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :

In consideration of the reference table AA of the program "master in electrical engineering ", this course contributes to the development, to the acquisition and to the evaluation of the following experiences of learning: AA1.1, AA1.2 AA2.1, AA2.2, AA2.3, AA2.4 AA5.3 AA6.1 At the end of this course, the students will be able to: understand how the digital circuits (combinational circuits, sequential circuits) work; understand the architecture of programmable circuits (FPGA); synthesize and simulate digital circuits in a language such as Verilog or VHDL; understand the architecture of a RISC processor; use and program a microcontroller; understand and implement a digital electronic system.

Content

• Combinational logic
• Sequential logic
• Design of digital circuits
• Simulation language and Verilog synthesis
• Main logic circuits: arithmetic circuits, memories, programmable circuits
• Architecture and microarchitecture of the ARM processor
• Memories (caches, ...)
• Peripherals and main communication systems
• Integration of digital systems (processor + dedicated hardware accelerator)

Teaching methods

The complete course is divided into 4 main parts, including a course-long project: 

• PART 1: concepts of digital design and introduction to design tools. Project choice. 
• PART 2: basic processor architectures. Design of your first hardware accelerator for the project.
• PART 3: advanced processor architectures. Design and simulation of hardware processors. 
• PART 4: Outlook (sustainability in processor design) and final project work (integration of s aystem with a processor and associated task-specific accelerator)

For each part, we have physical lectures introducing the main concepts (discussion sessions). They should be completed by personal work using the coursebook syllabus and the reference book. To complement the theoretical knowledge, several lab sessions are organized to get familiar with the design tools, materials, design methodologies, and processor simulation. In parralel, students in groups of two must complete a project where you ned to design and optimize a digital electronic system, that spans across the whole course duration. The steps of the project are designed to be done in parallel to the related course concepts, so that you can organize your time. Along the course, individual consultancy sessions are organized to help you with specific problems related to your project. 

Evaluation methods

The evaluation is based on three complementary assignments, worth 60 points in total: 

• A midterm evaluation (30 points), carried out mid-semester, containing:
  • A theoretical part (on paper) - 15 points
  • A practical part (on computers) - 15 points
• The project evaluation (30 points), composed of:
  • A small intermediate project report (to be given before the smart week) - 5 points
  • A final project report (to be given the last week of the course) - 10 points
  • A final project presentation (organized during the January exam session) - 15 points

If the course is not fully validated in January, a second session is organized in August. In the seond session, students can redo only the activities they have failed during the initial course (the others are considered validated). For instance, if a student gets 8/15 on the theoretical part, 15/30 on the project and 2/15 on the practical part in January, overall failing the course, then the theory and project are considered validated, and they can only increase the course grade by improving their score on the practical part. 
It should be noted that, if the student and the teacher agree beforehand via Email, the examination of the second session can be done as an oral exam instead of a written one. 

Other information

None

Online resources

Moodle
http://moodleucl.uclouvain.be/enrol/index.php?id=4

Bibliography

Digital Design and Computer Architecture - David Money Harris @ Sarah L. Harris - 2007, Elsevier

Faculty or entity

> ELEC