Title of the Paper.doc.docVIP

ASEE Southeast Section Conference page 7 A Second Undergraduate Course in Digital Logic Design: The Datapath+Controller-Based Approach Mitchell A. Thornton Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, mitch@. and Aaron S. Collins Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mercer University, Macon, GA, collins_as@. Abstract A second undergraduate course in digital logic design is described based on the philosophy of separating a design into a synchronous sequential controller and a datapath circuit. The datapath portion of the circuit is the portion that transforms the input signals into the corresponding output signals. The controller is the portion that governs the flow of the input signals through the various components comprising the datapath. We believe that this is a very effective way of teaching advanced digital systems design since it is an easy mechanism for allowing concepts to be described that are not commonly included in introductory digital design courses and is also a very good preparatory course for computer organization. Some of these topics include introductions to: design specification/synthesis using a Hardware Description Language (HDL), the role and pitfalls of asynchronous circuitry, state assignment, and behavioral synthesis issues such as resource estimation and scheduling. The use of Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) and the corresponding Computer Aided Design (CAD) tools provided by FPGA vendors allow for an “easy-to-learn” and effective laboratory environment for such course. In addition, many of these tools are freely available in student editions to support this type of course. This means the professional design tools may be used in a standard course at nominal or zero direct cost. The remainder of the paper will focus on experiences the authors have had and descriptions of currently offered courses. Introduction The rapid increase in device coun