LOGIC GATES AND INTEGRATED CIRCUITS

Logic Gates
INTRODUCTION
A logic gate is an elementary building block of a digital circuit. It
makes “logical decisions” based on the different combinations of
digital signals present on its inputs. Digital logic gates may have
more than one input but generally only have one digital output. Most
logic gates have two inputs and one output.

Knowledge Cloud
A gate is a digital circuit that is designed for performance a
particular logical operation. As it works according to some
logical relationship between input and output voltages, so it is
generally known as “LOGIC GATES”

At any given moment, every terminal is in one of the two binary

conditions low (0) or high (1), represented by different voltage
levels. The logic state of a terminal can, and generally does, change
often, as the circuit processes data. In most logic gates, the low
state is approximately zero volts (0 V), while the high state is
approximately five volts positive (+5 V).

Individual logic gates can be connected together to form

combinational or sequential circuits or larger logic gate functions.
Different types of logic gate implements different Boolean function,
that is, it performs a logical operation on one or more logic inputs
and produces a single logic output. Depending on the context, the
term may refer to an ideal logic gate, one that has for instance zero
rise time and unlimited fan-out, or it may refer to a non-ideal
physical device.
 LOGIC GATES AND INTEGRATED CIRCUITS

Logic gates are primarily implemented electronically using diodes or

transistors, but can also be constructed using electromagnetic
relays (relay logic), fluidic logic, pneumatic logic, optics, molecules,
or even mechanical elements. With amplification, logic gates can be
cascaded in the same way that Boolean functions can be composed,
allowing the construction of a physical model of all of Boolean logic,
and therefore, all of the algorithms and mathematics that can be
described with Boolean logic.

A large number of electronic circuits (in computers, control units,

and so on) are made up of logic gates. These process signals
represent either true or false. The most common symbols used to
represent logic gates are shown below.
 LOGIC GATES AND INTEGRATED CIRCUITS

TYPES OF LOGIC GATES:

1. AND gate:
The AND gate is a basic digital logic gate that implements logical
conjunction - it behaves according to the truth table. A HIGH
output (1) results only if both the inputs to the AND gate are
HIGH (1). If neither or only one input to the AND gate is HIGH, a
LOW output results. In another sense, the function of AND
effectively finds the minimum between two binary digits, just as
the OR function finds the maximum. Therefore, the output is
always 0 except when all the inputs are 1.
We will start with a 2 input AND gate. The symbol for a 2 input
AND gate is as follows.

A
Q
B

The truth table for the 2 input AND gate is shown below.

Inputs Output
B A Q
0 0 0
0 1 0
1 0 0
1 1 1

The Boolean expression for a 2 input AND gate is

Q  A.B
 LOGIC GATES AND INTEGRATED CIRCUITS

2. OR gate:
The OR gate is a digital logic gate that implements logical
disjunction - it behaves according to the truth table. A HIGH
output (1) results if one or both the inputs to the gate are
HIGH (1). If neither input is high, a LOW output (0) results. In
another sense, the function of OR effectively finds the
maximum between two binary digits, just as the complementary
AND function finds the minimum. We will start with a 2 input
OR gate. The symbol for a 2 input OR gate is as follows.

A
Q
B

The truth table for the 2 input OR gate is shown below.

Inputs Output
B A Q
0 0 0
0 1 1
1 0 1
1 1 1

The Boolean expression for a 2 input OR gate is

Q = A+B

3. NOT gate (or inverter):

This is the simplest form of logic gate and has only 1 input and
1 output. Simply the purpose of this gate is to invert the input
signal so if a Logic 0 is at the input, the output will be at
 LOGIC GATES AND INTEGRATED CIRCUITS

Logic 1 and vice versa. The symbol for a NOT gate is as

follows. (Next page)

A Q

The truth table for a NOT gate is the simplest of all

Truth Tables and is shown below.

Input Output
A Q
0 1
1 0

The Boolean expression for a NOT gate is

QA
4. NAND gate:
In digital electronics, a NAND gate (negative-AND) is a logic
gate which produces an output that is false only if all its inputs
are true; thus its output is complement to that of the AND
gate. A LOW (0) output results only if both the inputs to the
gate are HIGH (1); if one or both inputs are LOW (0), a HIGH
(1) output results. It is made using transistors. By De Morgan's
theorem, AB=A+B, a NAND gate is equivalent to inverters
followed by an OR gate. The NAND gate is significant because
any Boolean function can be implemented by using a
 LOGIC GATES AND INTEGRATED CIRCUITS

combination of NAND gates. This property is called functional

completeness.

We will start with a 2 input NAND gate. The symbol for a 2

input NAND gate is as follows. (Next page)

A
Q
B

The truth table for the 2 input NAND gate is shown below.

Inputs Output
B A Q
0 0 1
0 1 1
1 0 1
1 1 0

The Boolean expression for a 2 input NAND gate is

Q  A.B

5. NOR gate:
The NOR gate is a digital logic gate which behaves according to
the truth table. A HIGH output (1) results if both the inputs
to the gate are LOW (0); if one or both input is HIGH (1), a
LOW output (0) results. NOR is the result of the negation of
 LOGIC GATES AND INTEGRATED CIRCUITS

the OR operator. It can also be seen as an AND gate with all

the inputs inverted. NOR is a functionally complete operation—
NOR gates can be combined to generate any other logical
function. By contrast, the OR operator is monotonic as it can
only change LOW to HIGH but not vice versa.

We will start with a 2 input NOR gate. The symbol for a 2

input NOR gate is as follows. (Next page)

A
Q
B

The truth table for the 2 input NOR gate is shown below.

Inputs Output
B A Q
0 0 1
0 1 0
1 0 0
1 1 0

The Boolean expression for a 2 input NOR gate is

Q = A+B
 LOGIC GATES AND INTEGRATED CIRCUITS

6. XNOR gate:
The XNOR gate has 2 inputs and is the inverted form of the
EXOR gate. The XNOR gate (sometimes spelled "exnor" or
"enor" and rarely written NXOR) is a digital logic gate whose
function is the logical complement of the exclusive OR (XOR)
gate. A HIGH output (1) results if both of the inputs to the
gate are the same. If one but not both inputs are HIGH (1), a
LOW output (0) results. The symbol for a 2 input XNOR gate is
as follows.
A
Q
B

The truth table for the 2 input XNOR gate is shown below.

Inputs Output
B A Q
0 0 1
0 1 0
1 0 0
1 1 1

The Boolean expression for a 2 input XNOR gate is

Q  A B

alternativ ely Q  A.B  A.B

 LOGIC GATES AND INTEGRATED CIRCUITS

7. EXOR gate.
The EXOR gate has 2 inputs and is a specialised version of the
OR gate. The XOR gate (sometimes EOR gate, or EXOR gate
and pronounced as Exclusive OR gate) is a digital logic gate that
implements an exclusive or; that is, a true output (1/HIGH)
results if one, and only one, of the inputs to the gate is true. If
both inputs are false (0/LOW) or both are true, a false output
results. XOR represents the inequality function, i.e., the output
is true if the inputs are not alike otherwise the output is false.
A way to remember XOR is "one or the other but not both".
The symbol for a 2 input EXOR gate is as follows.
A
Q
B

The truth table for the 2 input EXOR gate is shown below.

Inputs Output
B A Q
0 0 0
0 1 1
1 0 1
1 1 0

The Boolean expression for a 2 input EXOR gate is

 LOGIC GATES AND INTEGRATED CIRCUITS

Q  A B

alternativ ely Q  A.B  A.B

Using combinations of logic gates, complex operations can be

performed. In theory, there is no limit to the number of gates that
can be arrayed together in a single device. But in practice, there is a
limit to the number of gates that can be packed into a given physical
space. Arrays of logic gates are found in digital integrated circuits
(ICs).

As IC technology advances, the required physical volume for each

individual logic gate decreases and digital devices of the same or
smaller size become capable of performing ever-more-complicated
operations at ever-increasing speeds.

Summary of 2-input Logic Gates

The following Truth Table compares the logical functions of the 2-
input logic gates above.

Inputs Truth Table Outputs For Each Gate

A B AND NAND OR NOR EX-OR EX-NOR

0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1

0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0

1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0

1 1 1 0 1 0 0 1
 LOGIC GATES AND INTEGRATED CIRCUITS

The following table gives a list of the common logic functions and their
equivalent Boolean notation.

Logic Function Boolean Notation

AND A.B

OR A+B

NOT A

NAND A .B

NOR A+B

EX-OR (A.B) + (A.B) or A B

EX-NOR (A.B) + or A B

Universal logic gates

NAND and NOR gates as digital building blocks.

The repeated use of the OR, the AND or the NOT gates alone cannot
give a different gate. But the repeated use of the NAND or the NOR
gates alone can give all basic gates like OR, AND and NOT gate. Hence
the NAND and the NOR gates are also called Universal Logic Gates.
In digital circuits, these gates serve as digital building blocks.
 LOGIC GATES AND INTEGRATED CIRCUITS

Knowledge Cloud

Charles Sanders Peirce (winter of 1880–81) showed that NOR

gates alone (or alternatively NAND gates alone) can be used to
reproduce the functions of all the other logic gates, but his
work on it was unpublished until 1933.The first published proof
was by Henry M.Sheffer in 1913, so the NAND logical
operation is sometimes called Sheffer stroke; the logical NOR
is sometimes called Peirce's arrow.

Integrated Circuits
INTRODUCTION
An integrated circuit (IC), sometimes called a chip or microchip, is
a semiconductor wafer on which thousands or millions of tiny
resistors, capacitors, and transistors are fabricated. An IC can
function as an amplifier, oscillator, timer, counter, computer memory,
or microprocessor.

Integrated Circuits or IC’s as they are more commonly called, can be

grouped together into families according to the number of transistors
or “gates” that they contain. For example, a simple AND gate my
 LOGIC GATES AND INTEGRATED CIRCUITS

contain only a few individual transistors, were as a more complex

microprocessor may contain many thousands of individual transistor
gates. A particular IC is categorized as either linear (analog)
or digital, depending on its intended application.

Classification of Integrated Circuits

Small Scale Integration or (SSI) – Contain up to 10 transistors or
a few gates within a single package such as AND, OR, NOT gates.

Medium Scale Integration or (MSI) – between 10 and 100

transistors or tens of gates within a single package and perform
digital operations such as adders, decoders, counters, flip-flops and
multiplexers.

Large Scale Integration or (LSI) – between 100 and 1,000

transistors or hundreds of gates and perform specific digital
operations such as I/O chips, memory, arithmetic and logic units.

Very-Large Scale Integration or (VLSI) – between 1,000 and

10,000 transistors or thousands of gates and perform computational
operations such as processors, large memory arrays and
programmable logic devices.

Super-Large Scale Integration or (SLSI) – between 10,000 and

100,000 transistors within a single package and perform
computational operations such as microprocessor chips, micro-
controllers, basic PICs and calculators.
 LOGIC GATES AND INTEGRATED CIRCUITS

Ultra-Large Scale Integration or (ULSI) – more than 1 million

transistors –used in computers CPUs, GPUs, video processors, micro-
controllers, FPGAs and complex PICs.

While the “ultra large scale” ULSI classification is less well used,
another level of integration which represents the complexity of the
Integrated Circuit is known as the System-on-Chip or (SOC) for
short. Here the individual components such as the microprocessor,
memory, peripherals, I/O logic etc., are all produced on a single piece
of silicon and which represents a whole electronic system within one
single chip, literally putting the word “integrated” into integrated
circuit.
These complete integrated chips which can contain up to 100 million
individual silicon-CMOS transistor gates within one single package are
generally used in mobile phones, digital cameras, micro-controllers,
PIC’s and robotic type applications.

Merits and Demerits

Merits of Integrated Circuits

1. Miniature in size. As fabrication process is used for the

integration of active and passive components on to a silicon
chip, the IC becomes a lot smaller. When compared to
a discrete circuit, it may be at least a thousand times smaller.
 LOGIC GATES AND INTEGRATED CIRCUITS

2. Due to small size, the weight of the IC also reduces, when

compared to the discrete circuit.
3. To produce hundreds of discrete circuits on a PCB (Printed
circuit board) for the same logic takes more time and increase
the cost factor. But for the production of hundreds of ICs the
cost of production will be very low and less time consuming.
4. The PCB (Printed circuit board) consisting soldered joints will
be less reliable. This problem is omitted in IC’s because of no
soldered joints, with fewer interconnections, and thus highly
reliable.
5. The small size of ICs causes lesser power consumption and
lesser power loss.
6. In a discrete circuitry, if a single transistor becomes faulty,
the whole circuit may fail to work. This transistor has to be
desoldered and replaced. It is difficult to find out which
component has failed. This problem can be omitted in an IC by
replacing an entire IC as it is low in cost.
7. Increased operating speed because of absence of parasitic
capacitance (is an unavoidable and usually
unwanted capacitance that exists between the parts of an
electronic component or circuit simply because of their
proximity to each other) effect.
8. As the IC’s are produced in bulk the temperature coefficients
and other parameters will be closely matching.
9. Improved functional performance as more complex circuits can
be fabricated for achieving better characteristics.
10. All IC’s are tested for operating ranges in very low and
very high temperatures.
11. As all the components are fabricated very close to each other
in an IC, they are highly suitable for small signal operation, as
there won’t be any stray electrical pickup.
12. As all the components are fabricated inside the chip, there
will not be any external projections.
 LOGIC GATES AND INTEGRATED CIRCUITS

Demerits of Integrated Circuits

1. The power rating for most of the IC’s does not exceed more
than 10 watts. Thus it is not possible to manufacture high
power IC’s.
2. Some components like transformers and inductors cannot be
integrated into an IC. They have to be connected externally to
the semiconductor pins.
3. There is a large value of saturation resistance of transistors.
4. The IC will not work properly if wrongly handled or exposed to
excessive heat.
5. It is difficult to achieve low temperature coefficient and
fabricate an IC with low noise.
6. It is not possible to fabricate capacitors that exceed a value
of 30pF. Thus, high value capacitors are to be connected
externally to the IC.
7. There is a large value of saturation resistance of transistors
8. Some complex IC’s maybe costly. If such integrated circuits
are used roughly and become faulty, they have to be replaced
by a new one. They cannot be repaired as the individual
components inside the IC are too small.

Application of Integrated Circuits

Because of the above mentioned advantages IC's found numerous
applications from cars (automotive controls), televisions, computers,
microwaves, portable devices like laptops, MP3, play stations,
 LOGIC GATES AND INTEGRATED CIRCUITS

cameras, cellular phones to ship equipment’s, aero planes, space

craft’s. These are also used in switching telephone circuits and data
processing. They also found applications in military equipment’s. The
most common application of IC is digital watch which tells hour,
second, minute, day and month. Another common but important
application is scientific calculator which can perform basic functions
like addition, subtraction, multiplication and division as well as
complex functions like square root, cube, permutations, combinations
, trigonometric functions, etc.

IC's are of Linear, digital and mixed types. Linear IC's also known as
analog Integrated circuits are used in:

1. Power amplifiers
2. Small-signal amplifiers
3. Operational amplifiers
4. Microwave amplifiers
5. RF and IF amplifiers
6. Voltage comparators
7. Multipliers
8. Radio receivers
9. Voltage regulators

Moore’s Law
In 1965, Gordon Moore co-founder of the Intel corporation
predicted that “The number of transistors and resistors on a single
chip will double every 18 months” regarding the development of
 LOGIC GATES AND INTEGRATED CIRCUITS

semiconductor gate technology. This is popularly known as Moore’s

law. When Gordon Moore made his famous comment way back in 1965
there were approximately only 60 individual transistor gates on a
single silicon chip or die.

The world’s first microprocessor in 1971 was the Intel 4004 that
had a 4-bit data bus and contained about 2,300 transistors on a
single chip, operating at about 600 kHz. Today, the Intel
Corporation have placed a staggering 1.2 Billion individual transistor
gates onto its new Quad-core i7-2700K Sandy Bridge 64-bit
microprocessor chip operating at nearly 4GHz, and the on-chip
transistor count is still rising, as newer faster microprocessors and
micro-controllers are developed. The number of transistors per chip
has risen exponentially and each year computers are becoming more
powerful, yet cheaper than the year before.

It is intimated from current trends that the computers available in

2020 will operate at 40 GHz (40,000 MHz) and would be much
smaller, more efficient and less expensive than present day
computers.

Knowledge Cloud
The explosive growth in the semiconductor industry and
computer technology is best expressed by a famous quote from
Gordon Moore: “If the auto industry advanced as rapidly as
the semiconductor industry, a Rolls Royce would get half a
million miles per gallon, and it would be cheaper to throw it
away than to park it”.

Result
We had mainly discussed about the design, property and operation
of various logic gates
 LOGIC GATES AND INTEGRATED CIRCUITS

Using combinations of logic gates, complex operations can be

performed. In theory, there is no limit to the number of gates that
can be arranged together in a single device. But in practice, there is
a limit to the number of gates that can be packed into a given
physical space.

Arrays of logic gates are found in digital integrated circuits (ICs).

As IC technology advances, the required physical volume for each
individual logic gate decreases and digital devices of the same or
smaller size become capable of performing ever-more-complicated
operations at ever-increasing speeds.

Bibliography
 LOGIC GATES AND INTEGRATED CIRCUITS

I would like to declare the array of references hereby and submit

that I took help from following sources

1. Comprehensive Physics Practical

A textbook for Physics practical’s ISBN 978-81-318-0384-4

2. Wikipedia.com
The Online Encyclopedia indexing world’s best articles with genuine
references

3. TCYonline.com
An online video tutorial and educational Centre

4. Meritnation.com
The leading educational site in India

5. http://projects.icbse.com/forums
Online help for CBSE projects