ELEC ENG 3028 - Digital Systems

North Terrace Campus - Semester 1 - 2017

This course develops engineering capabilities pertaining to the design of digital electronic systems. Designs for contemporary implementation technologies are expressed using circuit schematics and a hardware description language. System architecture, microarchitecture and interfacing concepts are developed through an extended case study of a commercial microprocessor. Students undertake an independent research exercise on a question related to the future of digital electronics technology.

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Course Details

Course Code	ELEC ENG 3028
Course	Digital Systems
Coordinating Unit	School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering
Term	Semester 1
Level	Undergraduate
Location/s	North Terrace Campus
Units	3
Contact	Up to 2 hours per week
Available for Study Abroad and Exchange	Y
Assumed Knowledge	ELEC ENG 1009, ELEC ENG 1010, ELEC ENG 2008
Assessment	tutorials, quiz, final exam

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Associate Professor Braden Phillips

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

Course Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this course students will be able to:

1	design, build and test digital logic for systems of moderate complexity using common digital components, schematic diagrams, and hardware description language
2	use and explain engineering practices to manage the complexity of digital systems
3	write short assembly language programs
4	select, justify and use appropriate implementation technologies for digital systems
5	explain the operation of a single-cycle microarchitecture for a RISC microprocessor
6	work effectively and ethically in teams to undertake the design of digital systems
7	prepare and present a written answer to a research question relating to future electronic technologies

The above course learning outcomes are aligned with the Engineers Australia Stage 1 Competency Standard for the Professional Engineer.
The course is designed to develop the following Elements of Competency: 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 3.2 3.4 3.5 3.6

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

University Graduate Attribute	Course Learning Outcome(s)
Deep discipline knowledge informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1 accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)	1-7
Critical thinking and problem solving steeped in research methods and rigor based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment	1-7
Teamwork and communication skills developed from, with, and via the SGDE honed through assessment and practice throughout the program of studies encouraged and valued in all aspects of learning	2,6,7
Career and leadership readiness technology savvy professional and, where relevant, fully accredited forward thinking and well informed tested and validated by work based experiences	1-7
Intercultural and ethical competency adept at operating in other cultures comfortable with different nationalities and social contexts able to determine and contribute to desirable social outcomes demonstrated by study abroad or with an understanding of indigenous knowledges	6
Self-awareness and emotional intelligence a capacity for self-reflection and a willingness to engage in self-appraisal open to objective and constructive feedback from supervisors and peers able to negotiate difficult social situations, defuse conflict and engage positively in purposeful debate	6,7

Learning Resources

Required Resources

Textbook: David Harris and Sarah Harris, Digital Design and Computer Architecture, Elsevier. Either the First Edition (2008) or the Second Edition (2013) may be used. The full text of the First Edition of this book is available electronically from the University of Adelaide Library.

A set of lecture slides, pre-recorded lectures, practice questions, worked solutions, and other supporting materials are available on the course web site. An FPGA development board is loaned to students for the duration of the course. This is required for tutorials but may also be used in a student’s own time, in the computer aided teaching suites for example.

Online Learning

This course uses the MyUni web site. All announcements are posted on MyUni. Pre-recorded lectures, practice and tutorial questions, and other resources are available on MyUni. The gradebook is used to communicate marks. The research assignment is submitted using MyUni. A discussion board is available for course-related discussion.

Learning & Teaching Modes

Tutorials: the course uses a flipped classroom with an emphasis on weekly 2-hour face-to-face tutorials. Students prepare for tutorials by reading sections of the textbook, watching pre-recorded lectures, and attempting preparation exercises. During tutorials, teaching staff spend time with each student individually to help explain difficult concepts. Tutorial time is also spent working as individuals on exercise problems and in small groups on design problems.

Pre-Recorded Lectures: wherever possible the lectures follow the structure, terminology and notation of the course textbook. Slides and pre-recoded lectures are available prior to tutorials and, where material outside of the scope of the textbook is presented, detailed notes are provided. Students are expected to read sections of the textbook, watch the pre-recorded lectures and attempt some exercise problems in preparation for tutorials.

Q&A Lectures: a 1-hour face-to-face lecture is held in odd numbered weeks. Students are encouraged to attend with questions related to the current topic (but not the tutorial exercises as these are discussed at the tutorials). In week 1 this time is used for the introductory lecture. In week 9 it is used for the test.

Workload

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

The information below is provided as a guide to help students engage appropriately with the course requirements.

Activity	Contact Hours	Workload Hours
Pre-tutorial Reading		36
Pre-recorded Lectures		36
Q & A Lectures (incl. Test)	6	6
Tutorials	24	36
Research Assignment	1	4
Practice Questions and Revision		32
Total	31	150

Learning Activities Summary

TOPIC 1: Building Digital Systems
Managing complexity: abstraction, discipline, hierarchy, regularity and modularity
The digital abstraction: digital signals, number systems, logic gates
Implementation technologies: discrete logic chips, microprocessors, gate arrays, programmable logic controllers and custom VLSI
Introduction to Verilog: signals, operators, continuous assignments, structural
models, testbenches

TOPIC 2: Combinational Logic Design
Review: Boolean equations, Boolean algebra, simplification, Karnaugh maps
Logic synthesis: manual techniques, combinational logic in Verilog
High impedance & illegal logic states
Combinational blocks: multiplexers, decoders, tristates
Timing: propagation delay, contamination delay, glitches

TOPIC 3: Sequential Logic Design
Synchronous elements: latches, flip-flops, Verilog
Synchronous circuits: asynchronous logic, synchronous architectures
Synthesis of synchronous logic: systematic synthesis, ad-hoc synthesis,
state encoding, Mealy and Moore machines, factoring, Verilog
Advanced Verilog: finite state machines, parameterised models, test benches
Parallelism: latency & throughput, pipelines
Timing: constraints, clock skew, synchronisation

TOPIC 4: CMOS Logic
CMOS logic gates: MOSFETs, static CMOS, transmission gates, pseudo-nMOS
Delay: transistor sizing, RC model, rise and fall time, linear delay model,
noise margin
Power: dynamic power, static power, low power design
Building blocks: tristates, multiplexers, adders, latches, flip-flops,
memory cells

TOPIC 5: Digital Subsystems and Interfaces
Arithmetic subsystems: adders, subtractors, comparators, shifts and rotates
Sequential subsystems: counters, shift registers, scan chains
Memory subsystems: organisation, memory types, memory applications
Logic array subsystems: PLAs, FPGAs
Parallel interfaces: bidirectional signals, memory mapping, memory
organisation,memory addressing
Serial interfaces: asynchronous serial, RS232, synchronous serial, I2C

TOPIC 6: Digital Systems Architecture
Assembly language: instructions, operands, machine language
Programming: the MIPS instruction set, loops, arrays and procedure calls, exceptions
Microarchitecture: single-cycle MIPS microarchitecture

Small Group Discovery Experience

The Research Assignment is a small group discovery experience. Students form small groups and choose a topic of interest related to future electronic technology. Groups meet twice with an academic mentor who helps them refine their research question and find relevant resources. Each group prepares a short report that includes a survey of published results from high-quality academic sources. The reports should focus on a recent development in a technology and show how this relates to the evolution of that technology.

The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
Assessment must maintain academic standards.

Assessment Summary

Assessment Task	Weighting (%)	Individual/ Group	Formative/ Summative	Due (week)*	Hurdle criteria	Learning outcomes
Tutorials (1-12)	15	Individual	Formative	Weeks 1-12		1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Test	10	Individual	Formative	Week 9		1. 2. 4.
Research Assignment	5	Group	Formative	Week 11		6. 7.
Exam	70	Individual	Summative		Min 40%	1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Total	100

* The specific due date for each assessment task will be available on MyUni.

This assessment breakdown is registered as an exemption to the University's Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy. The exemption is related to the Procedures clause(s): 1. b. 3.

This course has a hurdle requirement. Meeting the specified hurdle criteria is a requirement for passing the course.

Assessment Related Requirements

The examination is a hurdle requirement. It is necessary to achieve at least 40% in the exam. If this is not achieved, the total course mark will be limited to a maximum of 49. Further details of hurdle requirements are explained in the University's Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy.

Assessment Detail

Tutorials: students maintain an exercise book in which they record tutorial preparation and the work completed during tutorials. This is assessed during tutorials on the basis of the student having attempted and then corrected prescribed exercises.

Test: a 40 minute test is held in week 9. Test questions are representative of typical exam questions.

Research Assignment: students work in a small group to write short report on an emerging electronic technology. Groups are assigned a member of staff to advise them on their topic. The report should draw upon research published in high-quality sources. It is due in week 11.

Exam: a 2-hour examination is held at the end of the semester.

Submission

Tutorial preparation and tutorial exercises are marked during the tutorial sessions with verbal feedback given immediately. In Tutorial 3, for example, the exercises for Tutorial 2 and the preparation for Tutorial 3 are marked.

Students can expect the marks from their continuous assessment activities to be available on MyUni within two weeks of the activity.

The report for the research assignment is due in week 11 and will be submitted on MyUni (and may use TurnItIn).

In keeping with the University’s policy on Modified Arrangements for Coursework Assessment, students whose capacity to demonstrate their true level of competence in a continuous assessment task was seriously impaired because of approved medical, compassionate or extenuating circumstances will be offered the following modified arrangements.

For tutorials: an extension of the deadline.
For the test: by calculating a mark according to the formula in the School’s policy on Supplementary Exercises for Continuous Assessment Components (https://www.eleceng.adelaide.edu.au/policies/continuous-assessment-exercises.pdf).
For the research assignment: an extension of the deadline.

Course Grading

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
Grade	Mark	Description
FNS		Fail No Submission
F	1-49	Fail
P	50-64	Pass
C	65-74	Credit
D	75-84	Distinction
HD	85-100	High Distinction
CN		Continuing
NFE		No Formal Examination
RP		Result Pending

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

Student Feedback

The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.
Student Support
Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
Fraud Awareness

Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.

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Authorised by:	Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic)
Maintained by:	Course Outlines Administrator