Embedded Controller Hardware Design

WEEK 8: I/O Devices and Circuits

Draft project reports will be graded and returned this week.

Reading assignment for week #8: Chapter 8 in the text.

Homework (Due this week): Problems at end of Chapter 8.

Lecture: We will look at chip specs in detail, and then go on to discuss chapter 8.

Supplementary Reading: This material will not be covered in detail in class, but should be a good supplement to the topics we've covered in class. There is another view of noise margin in the file cktdes.pdf from "The Circuit Designer's Companion" by Williams. The excerpt from this excellent book covers many practical aspects of digital design and interfacing. Also, the topics of crystal oscillators and design for electrically noisy environments are discussed in application notes: ap125.pdf and ap155.pdf. All three files are in the directory:

ftp://ftp.hte.com/uconline/ecd/library

There are also a couple of example spreadsheets for noise margin and loading calculations there.

Copies of the Lecture Materials: The course notes for this week are available on the FTP site. The material corresponding to chapter 8 is in the file ECD10.PDF.

The FAQs for the class and the project have been updated with some new Q&A and have been replaced in the following directory:

ftp://www.hte.com/uconline/ecd

Look for the files named ecdq&a.pdf (general FAQ file) and prjctq&a.pdf (Project FAQ file). They include a number of questions which relate directly to the most common difficulties and issues on the project, so I would strongly recommend reviewing these Q&A files before completing your project.