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ElectroTech007
04-01-10
HNC EEE A Short History of Digital Electronics ElectroTech007
Digital Electronics
Fig.1 Example of digital waveform, 1 = (low level/false), 2 = (high level/true), 3 = (rising edge), 4 = (falling edge)
Boolean algebra is the algebra of two values namely 1 and 0, or as also termed true
and false; which represent logical operations and relationships. This gave birth to the
term binary logic (1‟s & 0‟s).
HNC EEE A Short History of Digital Electronics ElectroTech007
In 1936 a German engineer Konrad Zuse (Fig.3) used Boolean algebra to create a
mechanical arithmetic unit based on the binary system which he called the Z1
calculating machine (Fig.4). This machine was mainly mechanical in nature except
for a small electrical engine used to create a clock signal of 1 Hz.
Fig.5 Claude Elwood Shannon responsible for the first electrical representation of a computer using binary arithmetic
Fig.6 Cover page of Claude’s master’s thesis entitled “A Symbolic Analysis of Relay and Switching Circuits”
HNC EEE A Short History of Digital Electronics ElectroTech007
Later in 1937 George Stibitz (Fig.7) a researcher at Bell Labs created a relay based
computer which he named „Model K‟ (Fig.8) which implemented Boolean logic and
could be used for binary addition; this was the forerunner to the bell labs complex
number calculator (Fig.9) in 1939.
Fig.8 ‘Model K’
On January the 15th 1941 the first digital computer was announced which made use
of binary arithmetic and Boolean logic; it was called the ABC (Fig.10) and was the
brainchild of John Vincent Atanasoff (electrical engineer and school teacher) (Fig.11)
and his graduate assistant Clifford Berry. This was the first truly digital electronic
computer; it consisted of over 300 vacuum tubes and was capable of computing
complicated algebraic equations.
Logic Gates
History
The first logic gate named the „analytical engine‟ (Fig.12) was a mechanical device
designed by Charles Babbage (Fig.13) around 1837; it made use of mechanical
gearing to perform operations.
The development of the first integrated circuit by Jack Kilby (Fig.15) of Texas
Instruments in 1958 opened the doors for the new generation of digital logic
integrated circuit.
In 1962 Orville Baker (Fig.14) from Signetics developed a class of digital logic IC
built using bipolar transistors, diodes and resistors called diode transistor logic
(DTL). Fig.15 shows an example of a DTL NAND gate. The signetics SE100 series
proved popular until it was overtaken in 1964 by Fairchild‟s 930 series which had
better noise immunity and lower cost.
Around the same time as the DTL series of logic had been created James Buie of
Pacific Semiconductor had created what was to become one of the most popular
logic families; transistor transistor logic (TTL) by using transistors and resistors.
In 1963 Thomas Longo (Fig.16) who worked for Sylvania developed the first TTL
family called the „Sylvania Universal High Level Logic‟ (SUHL) (Fig.18), this was a
high profile design taken by the military to be used in the phoenix AIM missile
(Fig.17); the United States only long range air to air radar guided missile capable of
multiple launch against more than one target.
Around 1964 Texas Instruments who were impressed by the success of Sylvanias
SUHL TTL family decided to strike back with the creation of a TTL family aimed at
the high specification military/space market; the SN5400 series was born. The SN
series was designed with a wide temperature tolerance for extreme conditions. An
example of the flat pack packaging of the device can be seen in Fig.19 below.
Texas instruments then introduced a low cost plastic packaged industrial version
called the SN7400 series (Fig.20) which was aimed at the electronics industry, the
success of which gave Texas Instruments more than a 50% share of the logic
market.
By 1968 technological advances meant that even more bipolar transistors could be
integrated onto a chip, eager to win a greater percentage of TTL market share a host
of semiconductor manufacturers started producing variations on the original designs.
For example the Fairchild 9300 series and Signetics 8200 series were pioneering the
design of TTL-MSI, where hundreds of logic gates per chip where possible.
HNC EEE A Short History of Digital Electronics ElectroTech007
At the same time as the fledgling TTL was being developed; a contender that was to
become one of the most popular logic types of the 21st century was being created.
The word „complementary‟ refers to the fact that it uses a pair of transistors for logic
functions, only one of which is switched on at any time.
The first CMOS integrated circuits known as COSMOS 4000 series were
manufactured by RCA around 1968 (Fig.23).
These first CMOS logic ICs by definition drew much less power than TTL but were
not as fast; and therefore were suited to items that required longer battery life e.g.
digital watches.
Modern CMOS logic circuits have become the predominant technology for integrated
digital circuits due to their low power dissipation, energy efficiency, increasing
operating speeds, and simplicity which allows ever increasing chip densities
compared with bipolar transistors used in TTL chips.