Logic Families

Dr. A. M. Adil
Logic family
• Logic family is a group of compatible ICs with same logic levels and
the supply voltages to perform several logic functions
Types of logic families
Unipolar vs bipolar logic families
• Unipolar logic families
• FETs are unipolar transistors
• Current flows through these transistors is due to only one type of charge
particles, i.e., either electrons or holes
• Bipolar logic families
• BJTs are bipolar transistors
• Current flows through these transistors due to both electrons and holes
Saturated vs non-saturated bipolar logic
families
• Operating regions of BJT transistor
• Saturation region
• Both junctions are forward biased (emitter-base junction and base-collector junction)
• In this region, high current flows through the transistor
• In digital logic, transistor in saturation region is considered as in ‘on’ state
• Active region
• In this region, base-emitter junction is forward biased and base-collector junction is
reverse biased
• Cutoff region
• Both junctions are reverse biased
• In cutoff region, transistor does not conduct except small amount of reverse saturation
current.
• In digital logic, transistor in cutoff region is considered as in ‘off’ state
Saturated vs non-saturated bipolar logic
families
• Saturated bipolar logic families
• The transistor switches between saturation region and cutoff region
• Non-saturated bipolar logic families
• The transistor switches between active region and cutoff region
Special characteristics of logic families
• Fan-in and fan-out
• Power dissipation
• Propagation delay
• Noise margin
Fan-in and fan-out
• Fan-out is defined as the maximum number of inputs of gates to be connected at
the output of a gate without degrading the normal operation.
• Fan-out is calculated from the amount of current available in the output of a gate
and the amount of current needed in each input of the connecting gate.

• Fan-in is defined as the maximum number of inputs that a logic gate can accept.
• If the number of inputs exceeds, the output will be undefined or incorrect.

• Fan-in and fan-out are specified by the manufacturer and are described in the data
sheet.
• Higher the fan-in/fan-out results in slower gate.
Power dissipation
• Every electronic circuit requires a certain amount of power to operate.
• The power dissipated in a gate is calculated by the current ICC, which the
gate draws from VCC supply. The power dissipation is given by PD = VCC x ICC.
• The total power dissipation in the system is the sum total of the power
dissipated by all the gates in all the ICs.
• When the output is in high-voltage level, the current is ICCH
• When the output is in low-voltage level, the current is ICCL
• The average current is ICC(avg) = (ICCH + ICCL)/2
• Thus, the average power dissipation is PD(avg) = VCC x ICC(avg)
Power dissipation – example
• Consider a standard TTL NAND gate that uses a supply voltage VCC of 5
V and has current drains ICCH = 1 mA and ICCL = 3 mA. Calculate
• (a) average power dissipation, PD(avg), of a gate – 10mW
• (b) the PD(avg) of an IC having four such gates – 40mW
• (c) the PD(avg) of a system having 5 such ICs – 200mW
Propagation delay
• The propagation delay of a gate is the
average transition-delay time for the
signal to propagate from input to
output when the binary input signal
changes in value
• Propagation delay time when output
changes from high to low level is tPHL
• Propagation delay time when output
changes from low to high level is tPLH
• Generally, tPHL and tPLH are different
due to different loading conditions
• The average of both times is average Input and output signals of an invertor
propagation delay time
Noise margin
• Noise is an unwanted voltage induced in an electrical circuit and can
cause threat to proper operation of circuit

• Noise immunity is an ability to tolerate a certain amount of unwanted

voltage fluctuations on its input without changing outputs

• Noise margin is a quantity measure of noise immunity

Noise margin
• Smaller noise margins mean
circuits are more sensitive to
noise.
References
• https://www.slideshare.net/pradyumnagujjar7/logic-gates-41663589
• https://www.elprocus.com/difference-between-bjt-and-fet/
• https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/computer-science/noise-
margin