Combinational Circuits

Introduction

• A Digital logic circuit has voltage levels that are to

be switched from one value to another but have a
finite number of distinct values. These circuits
have a definite set of logic rules.
• Digital logic circuits are also known as switching circuits.
These circuits are commonly used in most digital
electronic devices such as computers, calculators, mobile
phones, etc.
• There are mainly two types of digital logic circuits,
namely:
– Combinational Logic Circuits
– Sequential Logic Circuits
 What are Combinational Circuits?
• A combinational circuit consists of logic gates whose
outputs are determined from the present combination of
inputs and they have no memory.
• These circuits are developed using OR, AND, NOT, NAND,
and NOR logic gates. These logic gates are the building
blocks of combinational circuits.
• A combinational circuit consists of input and output
variables. These circuits are independent of the previous
input to generate an output.
• A combinational circuit can have an ‘n’ number of inputs
and ‘m’ number of outputs. The output in these circuits at
any time is a direct function of the applied external inputs.
• Common combinational circuits constructed using single
logic gates that carry out the desired application include
Encoders, Decoders, Multiplexers, De-multiplexers, Full
and Half Adders, etc.
 Representation of Combinational Circuits
• Logic Gates:
– used to perform the basic logical functions which are necessary for digital circuits.
– The decision is made in a logic gate based on the combination of the input digital
signals in the logic gates.
– building blocks in the construction of combinational logic circuits. Commonly NAND,
NOT, NOR, OR, AND logic gates .

• Boolean Algebra :
– branch of algebra that deals with only true and false values.
– to make logical decisions.
– It helps to analyze and simplify the digital circuit and logic gates and the boolean
expressions involved in them.

• Truth Table:
– describes how the output and input for the given circuit are related.
– It has defined input and output labels that correspond to the given input and the
produced output for a logic system.
– This method calculates the operational values of the logical expressions for every
combination of values taken by their logical variables.
– All the output columns are represented in a single table.
Classification of Combinational Circuits
 Arithmetic and Logic Functions
• fundamental operations that are used in digital electronics.
• These operations are performed on binary data.
• The operation used can be enabled to improve the
computation and helps in performing logical and
comparative operations efficiently.
• The operations performed on the binary data include
arithmetic and logical operations.
• These operations are used to further design adders,
subtractors, comparators, and PLDs (Programmable Logic
Device).
• Basic arithmetic operations include addition, subtraction,
multiplication, and division.
• Basic logic operations include AND, OR, and NOT.
 Data Transmission
• Data transmission in digital electronics involves
sending data using various methods and protocols.
• The entered data by the user is generally converted
before being transmitted to ensure the transmission
occurs without any delay and loss of data.
• It is used to ensure data security and maintains the
integrity of data.
• The entered data by the user is encoded by the
electronics in the keyboard into an equivalent binary
coded pattern using one of the standard coding
schemes used for interchanging information.
• Devices commonly used for data transmission are
Multiplexers, Demultiplexer, Encoders, Decoders.
 Code Converters
• Code Converters are used to get a required code
from one type of given code.
• The combinational circuits can be used to perform
code conversion.
• Different types of binary codes : BCD code, gray
code, excess-3 code, etc.
• A code converter circuit converts the binary
information from one form to another.
• There are various binary forms, including BCD,
7-segment, etc.
 Types of Combinational Circuits
1. Half Adder
• Half adders are combinational
circuits that give the binary sum
of two single-bit binary
numbers. It has two inputs and
two outputs.
• The two inputs are the regular
ones. One output is the regular
one(LSB) and the other one is
the carry output(MSB).
• It can be used to implement
basic gates like AND and XOR.
2. Full Adder
• Full adders are combinational circuits that
take three inputs and give two outputs.
• The inputs are two regular inputs(A and
B) and one carry input(Cin). The outputs
are one sum output(S) and one carry
output(Cout).
• The output carry is also called the
majority 1s detector, which is high if more
than one input is high.
• The logical expression for the sum is Cin
xor (A xor B) and for the carry output is AB
+ BCin + ACin.
3. Half Subtractors
• Half subtractors are
combinational circuits that give
the binary subtraction of two
single-bit binary numbers.
• It has two inputs and two
outputs.
• The two inputs are the regular
ones.
• One output is the difference
between the two inputs, and
the other denotes whether
borrowing was done. It can be
used to implement basic gates
like XOR and NOT.
4. Full Subtractors
• Full subtractors are
combinational circuits that give
the binary subtraction of two
bits.
• It takes three inputs:
minuend(A), subtrahend(B),
and the previous borrow
bit(Bin). It has two outputs
representing the difference(D)
and the output borrow(Bout).
• The logical expression for the
difference is (A xor B) xor Bin
and for the output borrow is
A'Bin + A'B + BBin
5. Decoders
• Decoders are combinational
circuits that are used to
convert a given binary code
so that it can be interpreted
by a human.
• For example, we can have a
decoder with a given input
as an eight-bit binary
number that will convert it
to a seven-segment display.
6. Encoders
• Encoders are combinational
circuits that convert a set of
input signals into a coded
output representation.
• Encoders are widely used to
encode information for
many reasons.
• For Example, we might have
a 4 to 2 binary encoder that
is used to convert four input
lines and produce a 2-bit
binary code output
7. Multiplexers
• Multiplexers are
combinational circuits that
are used to take several
inputs from the user and
select the desired output to
be passed from it.
• Multiplexers are used in many
electronic devices such as
computer memory chips and
data communication devices.
8. Demultiplexers
• Demultiplexers are
combinational circuits that take
a single input and choose one
of the multiple output lines as
the output signal.
• It is the opposite of the
multiplexer. It has selectors
helping in the decision for the
desired output.
 Features of Combinational Circuits

• The output is dependent only on the present input.

• These circuits are faster and time-independent.
• These circuits are easy to design.
• There is no feedback between input and output which
helps in reducing the complexity.
• Logic gates are the building blocks of combinational
circuits.
• These circuits are used in arithmetic and Boolean
operations.
• They don’t have any storage feature, unlike sequential
circuits.
 Applications of Combinational Circuits
• to implement various arithmetic operations. The most commonly
used arithmetic operations are addition, subtraction, multiplication,
and division.

• to implement logic gates that are used for performing various logical
operations. The logical operations implemented are AND, OR, NOT,
NOR, etc.

• to implement the multiplexer. The multiplexers are used to take

several inputs from the user and select the desired output to be
passed from it. Multiplexers are used in many electronic devices such
as computer memory chips and data communication devices.

• to implement a full adder, which is a logic gate that takes two binary
digits as input and gives the result as a sum and a carry bit. The full
adders can be used in electronic devices such as computers and
calculators.
Difference between Combinational
and Sequential Circuits