VHDL for Sequential Circuits

Tom Kelliher, CS 240

Apr. 14, 2008

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Assignment

Read 7-1-3.

From Last Time

Sequential circuit design.

Outline

1. Modified serial comparator.

2. VHDL for serial comparator.

3. Exercise.

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Registers

Modified Serial Comparator

Inputs: A, B, (no more msb). A and B are received least significant bit first. Output 0 if $\rm A \geq B$, otherwise 1.

Reset to S0 on reset.

State diagram:

VHDL for Serial Comparator

Things to observe:

1. Flip-flop implementation: reset priority, event, rising edge sensitive.

2. If and case -- sequential statements -- are valid only within a process.

3. Concurrent assignment is a ``process.''

4. Semantics of a process: sensitivity list, assignments:

   b <= a;
   c <= b;
   

   does not behave as it would in C.

5. VHDL architecture broken into three processes:
   1. State storage.

   2. Next state generation.

   3. Output generation.

   

   Compare process inputs to sensitivity lists.

-- VHDL for serial comparator.  The inputs a and b are input lsb first.
-- The Mealy machine uses rising edge sensitive flip-flops and an
-- asynchronous active low reset.
--
-- The output is 1 if b > a, otherwise 0.


library ieee;
use ieee.std_logic_1164.all;


entity comparator is
  port
  (a, b, clk, reset : in std_logic;
   o                : out std_logic
  ); 
end comparator;


architecture process_defn of comparator is

   -- Two states needed.
   type state_type is (S0, S1);
   -- State assignment.
   attribute enum_encoding : string;
   attribute enum_encoding of state_type :
      type is "0 1";

   signal state, next_state : state_type;

   -- For convenience, concatenate a and b.
   signal inputs : std_logic_vector (1 downto 0);

begin

   -- Concurrent assignment executes the rhs changes.
   -- Concatenate a and b into inputs.
   inputs <= a & b;


   -- Processes execute whenever something on their sensitivity list
   -- changes.  All assignments take place when the process exits.
   --
   -- This process implements the D flip-flop.

   state_register : process (clk, reset)
   begin
      -- If/else construct only valid within a process.
      if (reset = '0') then
         state <= S0;
      elsif (clk'event AND clk = '1') then
         state <= next_state;
      end if;
   end process;


   -- This process computes the next state.

   next_state_process : process (inputs, state)
   begin
      case state is

         when S0 =>
            if (inputs = "01") then
               next_state <= S1;
            else
               next_state <= S0;
            end if;

         when S1 =>
            if (inputs = "10") then
               next_state <= S0;
            else
               next_state <= S1;
            end if;

      end case;
   end process;


   -- This process computes the output.

   output_process : process (inputs, state)
   begin
      case state is

         when S0 =>
            if (inputs = "01") then
               o <= '1';
            else
               o <= '0';
            end if;

         when S1 =>
            if (inputs = "10") then
               o <= '0';
            else
               o <= '1';
            end if;

      end case;
   end process;


end process_defn;

Exercise

Serial comparator. Inputs: A, B. A and B are received most significant bit first. Reset to initial state on reset. Output 0 if $\rm A \geq B$, otherwise 1.

Tom Kelliher