Course detail

Advanced Techniques in Digital Design

FIT-PNDAcad. year: 2025/2026

This course introduces advanced techniques for digital design. It is focused on logic synthesis and verification of complex logic circuits, efficient utilization of hardware and software and modern technology to construct hardware devices. In particular, the following topics will be discussed: Advanced logic synthesis and verification, high-level synthesis, hardware/software codesign, low power design and reconfigurable computing.  The mentioned approaches and techniques will be illustrated on the design of application specific systems.


Areas of questions for the state doctoral examination

  1. Principles of logical synthesis of digital circuits (representation, optimization, mapping). 
  2. Modern approaches to the synthesis of digital circuits (AIG, BDD, functional equivalence verification). 
  3. HW synthesis from higher programming languages (representation, allocation, planning, binding). 
  4. Application of constraints. 
  5. Verification of digital circuits, OVM methodology. 
  6. Processing technologies (FPGA, 3D IC, IP-core, hard / soft CPU, DSP, etc.). 
  7. Embedded systems, SW architecture. 
  8. Methodology of designing HW / SW signature codes, platforms, programmable logic circuits. 
  9. Reconfigurable computing. 
  10. Design techniques for energy efficient and low-power systems.

Language of instruction

Czech

Mode of study

Not applicable.

Guarantor

doc. Dr. Ing. Otto Fučík

Department

Department of Computer Systems (UPSY)

Entry knowledge

Not applicable.

Rules for evaluation and completion of the course

Elaboration and presentation of a project. 

Aims

To understand advanced techniques in design of complex digital systems.  To be able to use modern technology and systems for digital design to build new hardware devices. To understand modern principles of logic synthesis and get advanced knowledge in hardware/software codesign and reconfigurable computing.
Students will be able to use modern techniques, tools and technologies for the design of hardware devices. 
Using modern techniques to design hardware devices.

Study aids

Not applicable.

Prerequisites and corequisites

Not applicable.

Basic literature

Not applicable.

Recommended reading

Joo Manuel Paiva Cardoso, Jos Gabriel de Figueiredo Coutinho, and Pedro C. Diniz. 2017. Embedded Computing for High Performance: Efficient Mapping of Computations Using Customization, Code Transformations and Compilation. Morgan Kaufmann Publishers Inc., San Francisco, CA, USA.
Marwedel, P.: Embeded System Design: Embedded Systems Foundations of Cyber-Physical Systems and the Internet of Things, 3rd Edition. Springer, USA, 2018, ISBN 978-3-319-56043-4.
Sarkar, Angsuman, Swapnadip De, Manash Chanda, and Chandan Kumar Sarkar. 2016. Low Power VLSI Design Fundamentals.

Classification of course in study plans

  • Programme DIT Doctoral 0 year of study, winter semester, compulsory-optional
  • Programme DIT Doctoral 0 year of study, winter semester, compulsory-optional
  • Programme DIT-EN Doctoral 0 year of study, winter semester, compulsory-optional
  • Programme DIT-EN Doctoral 0 year of study, winter semester, compulsory-optional

Type of course unit

 

Lecture

39 hod., optionally

Teacher / Lecturer

doc. Dr. Ing. Otto Fučík

Syllabus

  1. Introduction: Summary of current approaches to digital design.
  2. Modern approaches to the logic synthesis of digital circuits, optimization at the logical level and the target technology. Models and methods of synthesis (AIG, BDD,functional equivalence checking).
  3. Synthesis of circuits from high-level programming languages (circuit representation, process planning, allocation and assignment of resources).
  4. Functional verification of digital circuits with respect to the coverage of source codes, states, etc. The synergy of logic synthesis and verification. OVM methodology.
  5. Embedded computer system, design of embedded systems with microcontrollers, specification of requirements for embedded systems.
  6. The methods to select appropriate target platform for the embedded system, processes to select appropriate key components of the system.
  7. Typical software architecture of embedded system. Testing, debugging and diagnostics of embedded systems.
  8. Modern computing technologies, structures and heterogeneous platforms (FPGAs 3D IC, IP-core, hard / soft CPU, DSP etc.).
  9. Concurrent design of embedded HW / SW systems (models, distribution, estimates, synthesis, integration, optimization).
  10. Reconfigurable computing - acceleration in hardware with flexibility of software. (reconfiguration, design tools for C / C ++ high-level synthesis etc.).
  11. The design of embedded systems with respect to the energy consumption (power reduction at various levels, ambient energy sources and their use etc.).
  12. Acceleration of application-specific time-critical operations (network traffic processing, image processing, etc.).
  13. Recent trends in technology, logic synthesis and reconfigurable computing.

Guided consultation in combined form of studies

26 hod., optionally

Teacher / Lecturer

doc. Dr. Ing. Otto Fučík