Physics 116B, Winter, 2005

Lecture: MWF 1:10-2:00 PM, Rm. 158 Roessler.

Lab: Wed. 3:10-6 PM Rm. 152 Roessler. (Note: lab on Wednesday only)

Instructor: Prof. David E. Pellett, 337 Physics, (530) 752-1783,

Office hours: 11:30-12:30 W in 152 Roessler, or by appointment.

E-mail: pellett@physics.ucdavis.edu.

TA: Andrew Baldwin, 113 Physics.

Office hours: TBA

E-mail: baldwin@physics.ucdavis.edu.

Physics 116B is an introduction to pulse response of circuits, digital electronics and computer fundamentals. It is valuable for students who want to do experimental work, who want to understand the basis of our increasingly electronic environment or who want to develop new instrumentation or technology.

The prerequisite is Physics 116A (or consent of instructor), which covers DC and steady-state AC circuit theory, semiconductor device fundamentals and analog circuits. Here is the web page for Physics 116A from last quarter.

Physics 116C information: Here is the preliminary class outline for Physics 116C from last year.

Text:

Bobrow, Fundamentals of Electrical Engineering, 2nd ed.

References:

Ford and Topp, Macintosh Assembly System (lab copies to loan)
Motorola, M68000 Family Microprocessor User’s Manual (see links below)
Motorola, M68000 Family Programmer's Reference Manual (see links below)
plus library references and supplementary handouts


The following books have been placed on 2-hour reserve in Shields Library:

• The Art of Electronics, 2nd Ed. by Horowitz and Hill. This is an excellent laboratory reference on electronics techniques, widely used in physics labs. Chapter 11 gives a quick overview of the M68000. It concludes with the design of a 68008-based signal averager.
• Assembly Language and Systems Programming for the M68000 Family, 2nd Ed. by Ford and Topp. This covers all aspects of M68000 assembly language. The introduction gives perspective on why learning about M68000 assembly language is a good place to start understanding how computers work. Note: send Department copy to Library.
• Digital Design: Principles and Practices, 3rd Ed. by John Wakerly. Although it is meant as an introductory text, it includes additional material to provide a self-study reference for practical digital design applications. It emphasizes the use of hardware description languages (ABEL and VHDL) to implement digital systems using programmable logic devices (PLD) such as the field-programmable gate array (FPGA).
• Digital System Design, 2nd Ed. by Wilkinson. This is a good introduction to the subject as applied to microprocessor systems. It includes an introduction to the use of PLDs and VLSI layout. Note: send Department copy to Library.
• Integrated Circuits in Digital Electronics, 2nd Ed. by Barna and Porat. A good overview of digital electonics.

Class fact Sheet & Schedule (.pdf format).

The .pdf files require Adobe Acrobat 5.0 reader (or later).

• PDF reader download site (Adobe Systems).

Assignment 1: Read Bobrow, Ch. 10: Sec. 10.5; Ch. 3 (response of circuits to pulses: particularly secs 3.3 and 3.4); Ch. 5: 5.5-5.7 (Laplace transform circuit analysis). Ch. 7: 7.3 (BJT cutoff and saturation; emitter-coupled Schmitt trigger; switching time–here are Notes on SPICE analysis of a BJT Schmitt trigger.)
Problems due Wednesday, 1/12/04 (at beginning of lab): Ch. 10: 10.70, 10.71, 10.78(a), 3.29 (assume the voltages and currents have reached their steady-state values before the switch is opened), 3.42 (assume the voltage across the capacitor and the current through it are zero just before the pulse arrives; you can use Thevenin's theorem here for the voltage source and two resistors).
For Lab: A new version of the Schmitt Trigger lab writeup has been posted with the following problem to work in your lab notebook before you come to lab. Prove the equation for V_th in terms of V_bb and V_out. Hint: use the Thevenin equiv. of the voltage divider formed by V_bb , R₁ and R₂.
Solutions to Assignment 1 are here.

Assignment 2: Start reading material (needed for Lab 12) on binary numbers, Boolean algebra and combinational logic circuits, namely Ch. 11 and Sec's 1 and 2 of Ch. 12 plus these notes on logic gates and Boolean algebra. Problems due Fri. 1/21/04: pulse problems (4) here, plus Ch. 7: 7.30(b), 7.34.
Solutions to Assignment 2 are here: pulse, Ch. 7.

Assignment 3: Continue reading the material from the last assignment for lectures and lab this week
Problems due Fri. 1/28/04: Ch. 5: 5.67, 5.69, 5.110(a,b). Use Laplace transform techniques to solve these problems from Ch. 5. Assume currents and voltages in circuits are 0 for t < 0. Ch. 10: 10.75. Ch. 11: 11.19, 11.23, 11.27
Solutions to Assignment 3 are here.

Assignment 4: Read 7.4, 7.5.
Problems due Wed. 2/2/05: Ch. 11: 11.33, 11.37, 11.46, 11.51(a), 11.53(c), 11.57(b), Implement 11.53(c) and 11.57(b) efficiently with two stage logic using only (multiple-input) NAND gates and inverters; Ch. 12: 12.3, 12.17, 12.22.
Solutions to Assignment 4 are here.

An exam is coming Friday, Feb. 4. It will cover all the material assigned up to now through Sec. 12.2 in the text (including simple Schmitt triggers and logic circuits made with BJT's, resistors and diodes plus additional material discussed on 555 timer internals). Problems like the ones assigned for Wednesday 2/2 are also "fair game." Solutions will be posted Wednesday. You may bring one 8.5 in x 11 in sheet of paper with information. The table of Laplace transforms handed out in class will be provided. A previous exam with solutions is available here.

Assignment 5: Monday's lecture will give an overview of logic circuits using the notes from Week 4 of the course outline (above) including the RTL Pulse Demo notes. The description of logic circuits is covered in the text in Sec's 7.4-7.7 (BJT circuits) and Sec. 8.4 (CMOS). The BJT material is presented in much more detail than we need. I will emphasize the highlights of TTL (and Schottky TTL) and CMOS with a brief mention of ECL. The main things to concentrate on are how the transistors are used as switches, the circuit mechanisms, the logic voltage levels and the circuit "fanout."
On Wednesday, I should conclude this and give an introduction to Wednesday's lab on sequential logic and counters.Read Sections 12.3, 13.1 and 13.2 and the notes on Sequential Circuit Design from Week 6 of the course outline (above).
Problems due Wed. 2/9/05: Ch. 12: 12.23, 12.27 plus the problems on this logic circuit handout.
Solutions to Assignment 5: Bobrow problems and logic circuit problems. I have worked out the Bobrow problems this time and include a simulation of the flip-flop of 12.27 for the case R=S=1 using the chipmunk "log" tools (see link below for software if you want to try it yourself).

• Exam 1 with solutions

Assignment 6:

• Reading: the Friday lecture will be on sequential circuit design (see notes under Week 6 in the class outline, above). Also read the remainder of Ch. 13. The section on DACs and ADCs in Sec. 13.4 is needed for lab next week.
• Problems due Wed. 2/16/05: text, 12.35, 12.39 (also draw state diagram), 12.44; plus: (a) implement the 3-bit synchronous counter using edge-triggered D flip-flops described in Part 6 of Lab 14; (b) implement the problem on the Synchronous Sequential Circuit Design handout using T flip-flops; and (c) work the problem here.
  Solutions for Assignment 6 are here.

Assignment 7:

• Reading: some material on ADC's will be provided.
• Problems due Wednesday, Feb. 23: two handout problems here plus 13.6, 13.35(d,e) and 13.15, modified as follows: make the circuit produce the sequence of states given in Table P12.17 (Gray code: Q₁=D, Q₂=E, Q₃=F). Note that with D flip-flops, you can make the Karnaugh maps for each D input directly from the state table. The numbering is convenient in this case.You may find exclusive-or circuits useful.
• Notes:
  • (a) The maximum clock frequency (Prob. 1) for a synchronous sequential circuit was discussed in class. In short, the minimum clock period is determined by the sum of the flip-flop delay plus the sum of the gate delays in the longest path plus the flip-flop setup time (use worst case values).

• Gray code counters may be used to prevent decoding glitches since only one bit changes at a time in the counting sequence.
• Solutions for Assignment 7 are here. (Note that was some difficulty with the last problem as stated. See solution for details.)

Assignment 8:

• Exam 2 is on Wednesday, March 2.
  • Scope of exam: material in text, Ch. 12 and 13, plus assigned text and material from Ch. 7 and 8 (plus notes). Covers logic circuit internals, MSI multiplexers and counters, sequential circuit design, ADC's, data busses and memory, with emphasis on material since Exam 1.
  • You may bring two 8.5 in by 11 in pages of notes. Otherwise, closed book and notes.
  • For practice, here is a copy of Exam 2 from last year and its solution.

• Reading:
  • Begin reading the material on the Motorola 68000 processor and instruction set for the lab next Wednesday. The material consists of the writeups and notes for the last two labs plus additional material which will be made available in class Friday, in the lab and on reserve in the library.
  • Excerpts from the M68000 manuals, the complete manual and other M68000 information are available as pdf files in the links below. We will start discussing this in class Monday.
  • The M68000 processor architecture and instruction set provide a good basis for an introduction to these ideas. It was used for early graphical user interface (GUI) computer systems from Sun, Apple, HP, Commodore Amiga and Atari as well as for data acquisition and process control applications (e.g., VME bus systems). It has been used in Palm PDAs and TI calculators as well. "Classic" Macintosh computers can be used effectively, in my humble opinion (IMHO), as M68000 demonstration units (including input/output operations) when provided with the appropriate assembly language control and debugging environment (e.g., MAS, used in lab).

Assignment 9:

• Reading:
  • Finish reading the notes to accompany the last two labs (two lab writeups plus notes on M68000 programming) while referring to the excerpts from the Motorola M68000 Programmer's Reference Manual and Ch. 12 of the MAS Manual.
  • Read Horowitz and Hill, The Art of Electronics, 2nd. Ed., Ch. 11: pp. 743-760 (on reserve in Shields Library). This is a concise overview of the M68000 including hardware connections to the MC68008. The rest of the chapter is also worthwhile, presenting the design of a M68008-based signal averager. It also includes information on interfacing memory, ADC and DAC chips to the processor. Some of this will be touched on in class. More information on hardware connections and interrupts is in the M68000 Microprocessor User's Manual, particularly p. 4-2 and following on I/O signals and p. 6-12 on interrupts.
  • Read Horowitz and Hill, Sec. 9.15-9.23 on DAC and ADC lore beyond what is in Bobrow.
  • Brief note on sampling theorem and aliasing. Reference: Ch. 12 of Numerical Recipes by Press, et al., which is available on-line.
• Problems due Monday, March 14:
  • Here is a set of four problems due next Monday, March 14. The first is the one assigned already (formerly in this space). The last two are based on the Horowitz and Hill reading assignment. I will discuss those topics Friday. Three of the problems are essentially from last year's final, so this should be good practice.
  • Solutions for above problem set.
• Exam 2 with solutions here

Final Exam: The final exam will be on Fri., March 18, 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM. You may use three 8.5 in by 11 in sheets plus the excerpts from the M68000 Programmer's Manual and MAS Manual (bring them and turn them in at the end of the exam, please). The exam will cover the entire course with some emphasis on recent material.
Sample (old) final here.
Review topics, including labs: (see also the course outline table above)

• Comparator, Schmitt trigger, relaxation oscillator, 555 timer
• Pulse circuit analysis and Laplace transform
  • Bandwidth and risetime
• Logic gates, Boolean algebra, Karnaugh maps, minterms
• MSI multiplexers, encoders, decoders, adders, etc.
• Flip-flops and sequential circuit design: state tables, state diagrams, etc.
  • Max. clock frequency
• MSI shift registers, counters; VLSI memory chips, ROM etc.
• BJTs and MOSFETs as switches. Logic families, logic circuits, pulse response speed, Schottky transistors
• PLA, FPGA concepts
• DACs, ADCs
• Data/Address/Control bus and tristate outputs
• Basic microcomputer concepts:
  • ASCII code, hexadecimal numbers, twos complement integers
  • M68000 registers and instructions
  • M68000 assembly language. MAS system
  • Interconnection and I/O signals
• Sampled waveforms, critical frequency, aliasing, dynamic range

1/5/05: Welcome back from the holidays!

1/7/05: The homework assignments will be due at the beginning of lab each week. Also for the lab, a new version of the Schmitt Trigger lab writeup has been posted with a problem to work in your lab notebook before you come to lab: prove the result given for V_th in terms of V_bb and V_out.

1/14/05: Assignment 1 solutions have been posted above. Note change: Assignment 2 problems will be due at the beginning of class Friday, 1/21 (instead of Wednesday).

1/18/05: I will hold office hours on Friday, 1/21 instead of Wednesday this week (to match the problem due date).

1/25/05: I will hold office hours on Friday, 1/28 instead of Wednesday this week (to match the problem due date). Solutions to Assignment 2 have been posted above.

2/3/05: Due to the impending exam, I will hold extra office hours this week on Friday, 2/4 between 11:30-12:30 in the lab.

2/16/05: The chipmunk "log" programs are available on the Physics computers in Room 106 Physics now. To run diglog, go to your own directory (so you can save files) and enter the following in an xterm window:
/usr/local/chipmunk/bin/diglog &
Clicking on 'help' in the layout window will bring up a text file window with information on using the program.

2/18/05: A revision has been made to p. 5 of the notes on logic circuits from Week 4 (above). As we discovered in class, there was an inverter left out of the OE' input circuit, resulting in an error in the truth table and confusion in the discussion on that page. This has been corrected.

2/23/05: Here is a link to the 340-page Texas Instruments Logic Selection Guide (a very small part of which) I showed in class today (comparison of recent logic families). See in particular pages 17, 23 and 26.

3/7/04: The first problem due next Monday was handed out in class and is also posted above under Assignment 9. I changed the number of characters to check to 40 (from 100) to make defining the characters less tedious.

3/11/04:

• Exam 2 and its solutions have been posted above under Assignment 9.
• A practice final has also been posted, along with information about the upcoming final exam.
• I will hold office hours in the 116 lab Monday 3/14 from 11:30-12:30.

3/14/04:

• The solutions for the last problem set have been posted above under Assignment 9.
• I will hold special office hours + review session from 4:30 - 6 PM on Thursday, 3/17/05 in the 116 lab.

• Texas Instruments web site with IC specifications and data sheets:
  • Main site
  • Logic "product tree"
  • Logic Selection Guide (pdf)
• Specifications for Texas Instruments TLC555 timer circuit (Lab 11)
• Some tools for logic simulation (and more):
  • a small logic simulator written in Java (some care is needed to get good results since FF's don't seem to include built-in delays, although you can add them in custom modules); here is an example of making a D flip-flop module with delays
  • Chipmunk tools (use a package called "log" -- compilation required but not too bad; works with various systems)
  • Chipmunk "diglog" package ported to Windows
  • another link on chipmunk usage (Prof. Matloff at UC Davis)
    • chipmunk can be used to design your own VLSI chips
• Specifications for Harris HI5812 ADC
• Texas Instruments technical note: Understanding Data Converters
• Motorola M68000 Family Programmer's Reference Manual: Excerpts for 116B (224KB)
• Motorola M68000 Family Programmer's Reference Manual: Complete text (1.7 MB)
• Motorola M68000 8-/ 16-/ 32- Bit Microprocessors User's Manual: Complete text (1 MB)
• Motorola M68060-series Product Description
• Here is a link to various M68000 resources including assembler/emulator systems which work on PC's, etc.
  • I have tried the Easy68K system for Windows briefly and it worked for me.
• Link to an early article in BYTE Magazine describing the M68000-based Mac Plus
• Link to a review of the beta release of LabVIEW (graphical data acquisition and analysis system)
• Origins of GUI-based computing: the Alto computer from Xerox-PARC. (note the machine was actually built from SSI and MSI chips)
• Operating systems: the origins of UNIX
• BYTE Magazine's historical survey of small computers.
• Silicon optical switching technology.
• Byte Magazine's historical survey of influential microchips (M68000 credited with popularizing GUI computers)
• Notes on poles of the transfer function, H(s), and Laplace transforms with figures.
• The physics of computation group home page at Caltech.
• The connection of neuron cells to an electronic interface.
• Information on SPICE and personal computer versions:
  • SPICE documentation in .pdf form: copyright notice, table of contents, document body
  • General SPICE distribution from Berkeley (various systems: UNIX, MS-DOS, ...)
  • SPICE Linux rpm for i386 (This is 3f4. Rpmfind or Google can also help you find Spice 3f5 for Linux)
  • PSPICE 9.1 Student Version (Windows) file still seems to be available here.
  • WinSPICE: Spice3 for Windows (including XP) from S.C. Wong of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
  • MacSpice 3f5 at University of Exeter School of Physics. Now for Mac OS X!
• The 50th anniversary of the transistor (check out the "inventors" link, too).
• Some physicists who made inventions or advances in electronics (note that these advanced physics in most cases):
  • John Bardeen with Nobel prizes for the transistor and superconductivity theory;
  • Robert Noyce, inventor of the integrated circuit and co-founder of Intel;
  • Bruno Rossi, cosmic ray pioneer and inventor of the Rossi coincidence circuit;
  • Luis Alvarez, member of inventor hall of fame and Nobel physics laureate.
• Article from IEEE Spectrum on the Crusoe VLIW processor from Transmeta.

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