Entry requirements

120 credits in science/engineering including a basic course in digital electronics (especially state machines), e.g. Electronics I, and programming. Proficiency in English equivalent to the Swedish upper secondary course English 6.

Learning outcomes

On completion of the course, the student should be able to:

• account for the syntax and behaviour of the VHDL language
• use modern development tools to design complex digital circuits
• simulate and make a synthesis of extensive designs in so called "Field Programmable Gate Array" (FPGA:er).

Content

Introduction: Overview of different design styles and abstraction methods.

VHDL: The program language aspects for modelling and specification. The abstraction levels of the VHDL language. Components. Instantiation. Parallel expressions (if, case wait and loops). Functions and Procedures.

Design tools: From simple VHDL editors to graphical editors, simulators and tools for synthesis of VHDL descriptions for FPGA circuits.

Laboratory work: Related to basic components that are used for example in so called embedded systems.

Projects: A relatively extensive project in simulation and synthesis to achieve a non-trivial (industry relevant) design in a FPGA.

How completed design blocks (so called IPs) can be used to achieve extensive circuit solutions in FPGAs and how to put together a so-called System On a Programmable Chip where an advanced processor is put together and is tested using the C programming language.

Instruction

Lectures, lab-exercises and a project.

Assessment

Laboratory exercises with written report (3 credits). Project Work with written report and oral examination (7 credits). 

If there are special reasons for doing so, an examiner may make an exception from the method of assessment indicated and allow a student to be assessed by another method. An example of special reasons might be a certificate regarding special pedagogical support from the disability coordinator of the university.