Module overview
Digital electronics under-pins all current computation and networked systems. This module introduces some of the fundamental analogue electronic principles and ideas that digital logic is built on, then moves on to digital abstractions for designing circuits. This includes aspects of digital performance, styles of circuit, functional and non-functional correctness, and includes hands-one experience in the design and deployment of digital circuits in FPGAs.
Aims and Objectives
Learning Outcomes
Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- Identify boundaries between analogue and digital domains in a system
- Design a circuit with a given frequency response
- Explore performance vs power tradeoffs in the context of battery powered and sustainable solutions
Knowledge and Understanding
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
- Explain how active analogue circuits can be used to construct digital building blocks
- Analyse the DC and AC characteristics of LCR circuits
- Relate analogue circuit characteristics to digital timing characteristics
Transferable and Generic Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- Perform laboratory measurements in a small team
Subject Specific Practical Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- Measure and test a circuit containing a mix of analogue and digital components
- Design a PCB that contains a mix of analogue and digital components
Syllabus
Principles of passive analogue circuits:
- Voltage/current
- Nodal analysis etc.
- Passive components (LCR)
- Frequency dependent circuits
- Circuit board design
Active and digital components:
- Transistors and diodes (operation only)
- DACs and ADCs
- Sampling and quantisation
- Sequential components (latches, FFs)
- RAMs and ROMs
Circuit performance:
- Propagation delay
- Setup and hold
- Timing analysis and closure
- Area vs delay tradeoffs
System design:
- Specification
- Compositional design
- Testing
Learning and Teaching
Teaching and learning methods
Lectures, labs and guided self-study
Type | Hours |
---|---|
Independent Study | 78 |
Preparation for scheduled sessions | 20 |
Lecture | 32 |
Specialist Laboratory | 20 |
Total study time | 150 |
Assessment
Summative
This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.
Method | Percentage contribution |
---|---|
Specialist Laboratory | 20% |
Specialist Laboratory | 20% |
Class Test | 10% |
Exam | 50% |
Referral
This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.
Method | Percentage contribution |
---|---|
CAA Exam | 100% |
Repeat
An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.
Method | Percentage contribution |
---|---|
CAA Exam | 100% |