Top-Down Digital VLSI Design

Appendix A

Elementary Digital Electronics

Abstract

Operating automatic synthesis tools without a background in digital electronics is just not possible, and this appendix collects the most essential facts and concepts. This begins with common number representation schemes (1’s complement, 2’s complement, sign-and-magnitude, floating point), continues with logic minimization (two-level versus multi-level, multi-output versus single-output) before extending to bistable memory devices (flip-flop, latch, unclocked). Transient phenomena observed in digital circuits, such as glitches and hazards, are also being discussed along with the numerous timing quantities required to adequately model them. The appendix concludes with a brief summary of the ...