Logic Families

Introduction & Overview

Dr. D. Ezhilarasi, ICE/NITT

 Logic Family Definition
• A circuit configuration or approach used to
produce a type of digital integrated circuit.
• Consequence: different logic functions, when
fabricated in the form of an IC with the same
approach, or in other words belonging to the same
logic family, will have identical electrical
characteristics.
• the set of digital ICs belonging to the same logic
family are electrically compatible with each other

2
 Common Characteristics of the
Same Logic Family
• Supply voltage range, speed of response, power
dissipation, input and output logic levels, current
sourcing and sinking capability, fan-out, noise
margin, etc.
• Consequence: choosing digital ICs from the same
logic family guarantees that these ICs are
compatible with respect to each other and that
the system as a whole performs the intended
logic function.

3
Implementing Logic Circuits
• There are several varieties of transistors – the
building blocks of logic gates – the most important
are:
• BJT (bipolar junction transistors)
• one of the first to be invented
• FET (field effect transistors)
• especially Metal-Oxide Semiconductor types (MOSFET’s)
• MOSFET’s are of two types: NMOS and PMOS
 TTL and CMOS
• Connecting BJT’s together gives rise to a family of logic gates
known as TTL
• Connecting NMOS and PMOS transistors together gives rise to
the CMOS family of logic gates

MOSFET
BJT transistor types
(NMOS, PMOS)

TTL logic gate families CMOS

Digital logic families
• Digital integrated circuits are classified not only by their
complexity or logical operation, but also by the specific
circuit technology to which they belong.
• A logic family is a collection of different integrated-
circuit chips that have similar input, output, and internal
circuit characteristics, but they perform different logic
functions (AND, OR, NOT, etc.).
• The electronic components used in the construction of
the basic circuit are usually used as the name of the
technology. The following are the most popular:
 Types of Logic Family 1
• The entire range of digital ICs is fabricated using
either bipolar devices or MOS devices or a
combination of the two.
• Bipolar families:
• Diode logic (DL). (obsolete)
• Resistor transistor logic (RTL). (obsolete)
• Diode transistor logic (DTL). (obsolete)
• Transistor Transistor logic (TTL).
• Emitter Coupled Logic (ECL), also known as Current
Mode Logic(CML).
• Integrated Injection logic (I2L). (obsolete)

7
 Types of Logic Family 2
• MOS families:
• PMOS family (using P-channel MOSFETs)
• The NMOS family (using N-channel
MOSFETs)
• The CMOS family (using both N- and P-
channel devices).
• The Bi-MOS logic family uses both bipolar
and MOS devices.

8
Electrical Parameters And
Interpretation Of Data Sheets
• Voltages and Currents
• Noise Margin
• Power Dissipation
• Propagation Delay
• Speed-Power Product
• Fan-In, Fan-Out
• Comparison of Logic Families
• Interpretation of Data Sheets
 IC nomenclature & terminology
is fairly standardized.

Digital Systems: Principles and

Applications, 11/e
Ronald J. Tocci, Neal S. Widmer, Gregory
 IC nomenclature & terminology
is fairly standardized.

Digital Systems: Principles and

Applications, 11/e
Ronald J. Tocci, Neal S. Widmer, Gregory
Logic Level & Voltage Range
• Typical acceptable voltage ranges for positive logic 1 and logic 0
are shown below
• A logic gate with an input at a voltage level within the
‘indeterminate’ range will produce an unpredictable output level.

5.0V 5.0V
Logic 1 Logic 1
3.5V
2.5V Indeterminate
Indeterminate
1.5V
0.8V
Logic 0 Logic 0
0V 0V
TTL CMOS
Speed: Rise & Fall Times
• Rise Time
• Time from 10% to 90% of signal, Low to High
• Fall Time
• Time from 90% to 10% of signal, High to Low

rise time fall time

10% 90% 90% 10%

 • A logic signal always experiences a delay going through a
circuit.
• The two propagation delay times are defined as:

Propagation
delays.

Digital Systems: Principles and

Applications, 11/e
Ronald J. Tocci, Neal S. Widmer, Gregory
 • Every IC requires a certain amount of electrical power to
operate.
• Supplied by one or more power-supply voltages connected at
VCC (TTL) or VDD (MOS devices).
• For many ICs, current drawn from the supply varies depending
on logic states of the circuits on the chip.

Digital Systems: Principles and

Applications, 11/e
Ronald J. Tocci, Neal S. Widmer, Gregory
Digital IC Terminology – Power Requirements
• The amount of power an IC requires is determined by the current, ICC (or
IDD) it draws from the supply.
• Actual power is the product ICC x VCC (IDD x VDD ).

can be rewritten to calculate

average power dissipated:

Digital Systems: Principles and

Applications, 11/e
Ronald J. Tocci, Neal S. Widmer, Gregory
Power Dissipation
• Static
• I2R losses due to passive components, no input signal
• Dynamic
• I2R losses due to charging and discharging capacitances through resistances,
due to input signal

• Stray electric/magnetic fields can induce voltages on the

connecting wires between logic circuits
• Called noise, these unwanted, spurious signals can sometimes
cause unpredictable operation.
Noise Margin
• Manufacturers specify voltage limits to represent the logical 0
or 1.
• These limits are not the same at the input and output sides.
• For example, a particular Gate A may output a voltage of 4.8V when it
is supposed to output a HIGH but, at its input side, it can take a
voltage of 3V as HIGH.
• In this way, if any noise should corrupt the signal, there is
some margin for error.
Noise Margin & Noise Immunity
• Noise immunity of a logic circuit refers to the circuit’s ability to
tolerate noise voltages on its inputs.
• A quantitative measure of noise immunity is called noise
margin
• High Level Noise Margin, VNH = VOH (min) - VIH (min)
• Low Level Noise Margin, VNL = VIL (max) - VOL (max)

Logic 1 Logic 1
VOH (min)
VNH
VIH (min)

VIL (max)
VNL
VOL (max)
Logic 0
Logic 0
Output Voltage Ranges Input Voltage Ranges
 • Noise immunity refers to the circuit’s ability to tolerate
noise without changes in output voltage.
• A quantitative measure is called noise margin.
High-state noise margin: Low-state noise margin:

Digital Systems: Principles and

Applications, 11/e
Ronald J. Tocci, Neal S. Widmer, Gregory
Worked Example
• Given the following parameters, calculate the
noise margin of 74LS series.
Parameter 74LS
VIH(min ) 2V
VIL(max ) 0.8V
VOH(min ) 2.7V
VOL(max ) 0.4V
Solution:
High Level Noise Margin, VNH = VOH (min) - VIH (min)=2.7V-2.0V=0.7V
Low Level Noise Margin, VNL = VIL (max) - VOL (max)=0.8V-0.4V=0.4V
 • For proper operation, logic circuit input voltage levels must
be kept out of the indeterminate range.
• Lower than VIL(max) or higher than VIH (min).
• Invalid voltage will produce unpredictable output.
• It is important to know valid voltage ranges for the logic
family being used so invalid conditions can be recognized
when testing or troubleshooting.
• Logic families can be described by how current flows
between the output of one logic circuit and the input of
another.

Digital Systems: Principles and

Applications, 11/e
Ronald J. Tocci, Neal S. Widmer, Gregory
 Current Sourcing/Sinking

• Current-sourcing action.
• When the output of gate 1 is HIGH, it supplies
current IIH to the input of gate 2.
• Which acts essentially as a resistance to ground.
• The output of gate 1 is acting as a source of
current for the gate 2 input.

Digital Systems: Principles and

Applications, 11/e
Ronald J. Tocci, Neal S. Widmer, Gregory
 Current Sourcing/Sinking

• Current-sinking action.
• Input circuitry of gate 2 is represented as a resistance tied to
+VCC —the positive terminal of a power supply.
• When gate 1 output goes LOW, current will flow from the
input circuit of gate 2 back through the output resistance of
gate 1, to ground.
• Circuit output that drives the input of gate 2 must be able to sink a
current, IIL , coming from that input.
Digital Systems: Principles and
Applications, 11/e
Ronald J. Tocci, Neal S. Widmer, Gregory
 • A logic-circuit output is generally required to drive
several logic inputs.
• Sometimes all ICs are from the same logic family.
• But many systems have a mix of various logic families.
• The fan-out—loading factor—is the maximum number of logic
inputs an output can drive reliably.

Digital Systems: Principles and

Applications, 11/e
Ronald J. Tocci, Neal S. Widmer, Gregory
Fan-Out
• The maximum number of standard logic inputs that an output can
drive reliably.
• Also known as the loading factor.
• Related to the current parameters (both in high and low states.)
Speed-Power Product
• Speed (propagation delay) and power consumption
are the two most important performance parameters
of a digital IC.
• A simple means for measuring and comparing the
overall performance of an IC family is the speed-
power product (the smaller, the better).
• For example, an IC has
• an average propagation delay of 10 ns
• an average power dissipation of 5 mW
• the speed-power product = (10 ns) x (5 mW)
= 50 picoJoules (pJ)
Electrical Characteristics
• TTL • CMOS
• faster (some versions) • lower power consumption
• strong drive capability • simpler to make
• rugged • greater packing density
• better noise immunity

• Complex IC’s contain many millions of transistors

• If constructed entirely from TTL type gates would melt
• A combination of technologies (families) may be used
• CMOS has become most popular and has had greatest development
Tri-State Logic
• Both output transistors of totem-pole output are turned off
• Usually used to bus multiple signals on the same wire
• Gates not enabled present high-Z to bus and therefore do
not interfere with other gates putting signals on the bus
Tri-State Logic
• Tri-state logic includes a switch at the output
• In the figure below, the three states are illustrated:
a) Logic High output
b) Logic Low output
c) High impedance (Hi-Z) output
Electronic Combinational Logic
• Within each of these families there is a large variety of different devices
• We can break these into groups based on the number gates per device

Acronym Description No Gates Example

SSI Small-scale integration <12 4 NAND gates
MSI Medium-scale integration 12 – 100 Adder
LSI Large-scale integration 100 – 1000 6800
VLSI Very large-scale integration 1000 – 1M 68000
ULSI Ultra large scale integration > 1M 80486/80586
SSI Devices
• Each package contains a code identifying the package

N74LS00

Manufacturers Code
Family
L Member
N = National Semiconductors 00 = Quad 2 input NAND
SN = Signetics LS
H 02 = Quad 2 input Nor
04 = Hex Invertors
Specification 20 = Dual 4 Input NAND
7400 Series Evolution
• BJT storage time reduction by using a BC Schottky diode.
• Schottky diode has a Vfw=0.25V. When BC junction becomes forward biased
Schottky diode will bypass base current.
C

B
Transistor-Transistor Logic Families
• Transistor-Transistor Logic Families:
• 74L Low power
• 74H High speed
• 74S Schottky
• 74LS Low power Schottky
• 74AS Advanced Schottky
• 74ALS Advance Low power Schottky
CMOS Logic Families

• CMOS Logic Families

• 40xx/45xx Metal-gate CMOS
• 74C TTL-compatible CMOS
• 74HC High speed CMOS
• 74ACT Advanced CMOS -TTL compatible
CMOS Family Evolution
• CMOS Logic Trend: Reduction of dynamic losses (cross-
conduction, capacitive charge/discharge cycles) by
decreasing supply voltages:
• 12V→5V →3.3V →2.5V → 1.8V → 1.5V …
• Reduction of IC power dissipation is the key to:
• lower cost (packaging)
• higher integration
• improved reliability