IITM BS Digital System Design (EE2103): Syllabus and Tips

Digital System Design (EE2103) is a 4 credit diploma course in the IITM BS in Electronic Systems. It is the advanced follow-up to Digital Systems. The focus is on larger digital systems built on FPGAs: Verilog, state machines and timing, a basic CPU, memory and bus interfaces, testing and debugging, and system-on-chip ideas. You need Digital Systems (EE1102) first.

The syllabus names Prof. Nitin Chandrachoodan of the Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Madras, as the instructor. The syllabus and the handbook agree on the level and the 4 credits, and both handbook tables give the same prerequisite.

What you learn in Digital System Design

The syllabus is written as six modules, not weeks. Its stated aim is to close the gap between theory and real implementation.

• Modules 1 and 2: Verilog on FPGAs. An introduction to Verilog, how FPGAs work and basic design methods. Then finite state machines, more advanced Verilog, and the basics of timing analysis.
• Module 3: designing a CPU. A basic processor with its datapath and control unit, written in Verilog.
• Module 4: putting a system together. Memory systems, peripheral interfaces and bus protocols.
• Modules 5 and 6: bigger designs. Advanced timing analysis, design for testability and debugging methods. Then system-on-chip (SoC) architectures, IP cores and system-level design choices.

The textbook is Digital Design and Computer Architecture by David Harris and Sarah Harris. The reference book is Advanced Digital Design with the Verilog HDL by Michael D. Ciletti.

As a diploma course, it needs worked-out assignment sheets. The syllabus does not give a grading formula.

The Digital System Design Lab

The handbook lists a separate Digital System Design Laboratory (EE2902) worth 1 credit, with this course as a corequisite. Its prerequisite section also asks for the foundation Electronics Laboratory (EE1105). The study plans show the lab as 1 day on campus, in the same term as the Analog Electronics Lab.

Minor for Data Science students

The DS handbook offers a Minor in Digital Design to Data Science students. It includes this course, Computer Organisation and Digital IC Design. See the Digital Design minor. For ES students, this course is a core diploma course.

Who finds it hard and how to prepare

If HDL and state machines felt shaky in Digital Systems, this course shows it quickly. Module 3 is the big step, because a CPU joins everything you have learned into one design.

• Revise the HDL and state machine weeks of Digital Systems (EE1102) before module 1.
• Write a testbench for every module and simulate it before you move on.
• For the CPU, draw the datapath on paper and trace one instruction through it, clock by clock.
• Learn to read a timing report early. It tells you which path limits your clock speed.
• Keep your Verilog in git, as you learned in the Linux course. You will want to go back to a working version.

What to take before and after

Before: Digital Systems, and the Electronics Laboratory for the matching lab. At the degree level, FPGA work continues in Embedded Linux and FPGAs, and chip design continues in the Digital IC Design elective.

Common questions

Which hardware description language does this course use?

Verilog. The syllabus names Verilog in modules 1 to 3, and the reference book is a Verilog text.

Can I take Digital System Design right after the foundation?

Yes, if you have passed Digital Systems and are allowed into diploma courses. It does not need Signals and Systems, so it can run alongside the analog and signals courses.

Is Digital System Design the same as Digital IC Design?

No. Digital System Design is a diploma core course on FPGAs and system building. Digital IC Design (EE5102) is a degree level department elective.