Advantages of Resistor-Transistor Logic

(RTL), Diode-Transistor Logic (DTL) and

Transistor-Transistor Logic.
Debashis Paul
B.Tech-MBA(int)ECE

Section C6803, Roll no. 32

Regn no. 10803129

Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, Punjab (India)

Abstract- This is abstract of the term paper on the topic

advantages of RTL, DTL and TTL.

I. INTRODUCTION

Resistor-Transistor Logic (RTL), Diode-Transistor logic

(DTL) and Transistor Transistor Logic (TTL) is the member of
Logic families. Logic families of digital integrated circuit
devices is a group of electronic logic gates constructed using
different designs usually with compatible logic labels and
voltage characteristics within a family. These may also be
Fig. 1. Schematic of basic two input RTL NOR gate
referred as the set of techniques used to implement logic within
memory, complex integrated circuits. Logic (TTL). It is the basic of all other digital circuits hence a
proper knowledge of its working and principle will be of great
The first two member viz. RTL and DTL [2] have only
help in analyzing other logic circuits of the families.
historical significance since they are no longer used in the
design of digital systems. Rtl was the first commercial family It is a logic circuit consisting of resistors and transistors. It
to have been extensively used. It is important in the present basically performs the NOR gate function. Here we will only
discussion for explaining the basic operation of digital gates. be applying one of two voltages to the input: 0 volts (logic 0)
Dtl circuits have been replaced by TTL. Above that, TTl is a or +V volts (logic 1). The exact voltage used as +V depends on
modification of the DTL gate. So TTL gates would be easier to the circuit design parameters; the usual voltage is +3.6v. We'll
understand if the DTL gate is thoroughly analyzed. assume an ordinary NPN transistor here, with a reasonable dc
current gain, an emitter-base forward voltage of 0.65 volt, and
The basic circuit in each IC digital logic family is either a
a collector-emitter saturation voltage no higher than 0.3 volt. In
NAND or NOR gate. This basic circuit is the primary building
standard RTL ICs, the base resistor is 470 and the collector
block from which all other more complex digital components
resistor is 640 .
are obtained.
B. Working
II. REGISTOR-TRANSISTOR LOGIC (RTL)
When the input voltage is zero volts (actually, anything under
A. Construction
0.5 volt), there is no forward bias to the emitter-base junction,
Resistor–transistor logic (RTL) is a class of digital circuits and the transistor does not conduct. Therefore no current flows
built using resistors as the input network and bipolar junction through the collector resistor, and the output voltage is +V
transistors (BJTs) as switching devices. RTL is the earliest volts. Hence, a logic 0 input results in a logic 1 output.
class of transistorized digital logic circuit used; other classes
When the input voltage is +V volts, the transistor's emitter-
include diode–transistor logic (DTL) and Transistor-Transistor
base junction will clearly be forward biased. For those who like
the mathematics, we'll assume a similar output circuit
connected to this input. Thus, we'll have a voltage of 3.6 - 0.65
= 2.95 volts applied across a series combination of a 640
output resistor and a 470 input resistor. This gives us a base
current of:
2.95v / 1110 = 0.0026576577 amperes = 2.66 ma
Standard fan-out for RTL gates is rated at 16. However, the
fan-in for a standard RTL gate input is 3. Thus, a gate can
produce 16 units of drive current from the output, but requires
3 units to drive an input. There are low-power versions of these
gates that increase the values of the base and collector resistors
to 1.5K and 3.6K, respectively. Such gates demand less
current, and typically have a fan-in of 1 and a fan-out of 2 or 3.
They also have reduced frequency response, so they cannot
operate as rapidly as the standard gates. To get greater output
drive capabilities, buffers are used. These are typically
inverters which have been designed with a fan-out of 80. They
also have a fan-in requirement of 6, since they use pairs of
input transistors to get increased drive.
C. Advantages
The primary advantage of RTL technology was that it
involved a minimum number of transistors, which was an
important consideration before integrated circuit technology
(that is, in circuits using discrete components), as transistors
were the most expensive component to produce. Early IC logic
production used the same approach briefly, but quickly
transitioned to higher-performance circuits such as diode–
transistor logic and then transistor–transistor logic (1963),
since diodes and transistors were no more expensive than
resistors in the IC.
D. Disadvantages
The obvious disadvantage of RTL is its high current dissipation
when the transistor conducts to overdrive the output biasing
resistor. This requires that more current be supplied to and heat
be removed from RTL circuits. In contrast, TTL circuits
minimize both of these requirements.
A standard integrated circuit RTL NOR gate can drive up to 3
other similar gates. Alternatively, it has enough output to drive
up to 2 standard integrated circuit RTL "buffers", each of
which can drive up to 25 other standard RTL NOR gates.
III. DIODE-TRANSISTOR LOGIC (DTL)
A. Construction.
Diode-Transistor Logic, or DTL, refers to the technology for
designing and fabricating digital circuits wherein logic gates
employ both diodes and transistors. DTL offers better noise
margins and greater fan-outs than RTL, but suffers from low
speed, especially in comparison to TTL. RTL allows the
construction of NOR gates easily, but NAND gates are
relatively more difficult to get from RTL. DTL, however,
allows the construction of simple NAND gates from a single
transistor, with the help of several diodes and resistors.
B. Working.
It consists of a single transistor working as an invertors,
driven by a current that depends on the inputs to the three
diodes D1-D3. The current through diodes D A and DB will only
be large enough to drive the transistor into saturation and bring
the output voltage V0 to logic “0” if all the input diodes D 1 –D3
are “off”, which is true when all the inputs in the logic are “1”.
This is because when D1-D3 are not conducting, all the current
from Vcc through R will go through DA and DB and into the base
of the transistor, turning it on and pulling V0 to near ground.
However if any of the diodes D1-D3 gets an input voltage of
logic ‘0’, it gets forward biased and starts working. The ON
diode takes almost all the current away from the reverse biased
DA and DB, limiting the transistor base current. This makes the
the transistor to the OFF state bringing the output voltage V0to
logic ‘1’.
C. Advantages.
One advantage of DTL over RTL is its better noise margin.
The noise margin of a logic gate for logic level '0', Δ0, is
defined as the difference between the maximum input voltage
that it will recognize as a '0' (Vil) and the maximum voltage that
may be applied to it as a '0' (Vol of the driving gate connected
to it). For logic level '1', the noise margin Δ1 is the difference
between the minimum input voltage that may be applied to it as
a '1' (Voh of the driving gate connected to it) and
Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of DTL circuit
the minimum input voltage that it will recognize as a '1' (Vih).
Mathematically, Δ0 = Vil-Vol and Δ1 = Voh-Vih. Any noise that
causes a noise margin to be overcome will result in a '0' being
erroneously read as a '1' or vice versa. In other words, noise
margin is a measure of the immunity of a gate from reading an
input logic level incorrectly.
In a DTL circuit, the collector output of the driving transistor is
separated from the base resistor of the driven transistor by
several diodes. Circuit analysis would easily show that in such
an arrangement, the differences between Vil and Vol, and
between Voh and Vih, are much larger than those exhibited by
RTL gates, wherein the collector of the driving transistor is
directly connected to the base resistor of the driven transistor.
This is why DTL gates are known to have better noise margins
than RTL gates.
D. Limitations.
A problem that DTL doesn't solve is its low speed, especially
when the transistor is being turned off.
Another problem with DTL circuits is that it takes as much
room on the IC chip to construct a diode as it does to construct
a transistor. Since "real estate/surface area” is exceedingly
important in ICs, it was desirable to find a way to avoid
requiring large numbers of input diodes. So TTL came up.
Another problem with turning off the DTL output transistor is
the fact that the effective capacitance of the output needs to
charge up through Rc before the output voltage rises to the
final logic '1' level, which also consumes a relatively large
amount of time. TTL, however, solves the speed problem of
DTL elegantly.
IV. TRANSISTOR-TRANSISTOR LOGIC (TTL)
A. Introduction.
Transistor-Transistor Logic (TTL) [3] is a class of digital
circuits built from bipolar junction transistors (BJT), and
resistors. It is called transistor-transistor logic because both the
logic gating function (e.g. AND) and the amplifying function
are performed by transistors (contrast this with RTL and DTL).
It is notable for being a widespread integrated circuit (IC)
family used in many applications such as computers, industrial
controls, music synthesizers, and electronic test and
measurement instruments. Because of the wide use of this logic
Fig. 3. Circuit diagram of basic TTL circuit
family, signal inputs and outputs of electronic equipment may
be called "TTL" inputs or outputs, signifying compatibility
with the voltage levels used.
TTL became popular with electronic systems designers in 1962
after Texas Instruments introduced the 7400 series of ICs,
which had a wide range of digital logic block functions, and
Sylvania introduced a similar family of products. The Texas
Instrument family became an industry standard, but TTL
devices are made by Motorola, Signetics, SGS-Thomson,
National Semiconductor and many other companies. TTL
became important because its low-cost integrated circuits made
digital techniques economically practical for tasks previously
done by analog methods.
Simplified schematic of a two input TTL NAND gate. The
fundamental switching action of a TTL gate is based on a
multiple-emitter input transistor. This replaces the multiple
input diodes of the earlier DTL, with improved speed and a
reduction in chip area. The active operation of this input
transistor removes stored charge from the output stage
transistors more rapidly than a comparable DTL gate, making
TTL much faster in switching. A small amount of current must
be drawn from a TTL input to ensure proper logic levels. The
total current draw must be within the capacities of the
preceding stage, which limits the number of nodes that can be
connected.
All standardized common TTL circuits operate with a 5 volt
power supply. A TTL signal is defined as "low" or L when
between 0V and 0.8V with respect to the ground terminal, and
"high" or H when between 2V and 5V. Standardization of TTL
devices was so successful that it is routine for a complex circuit
board to contain chips made by many manufacturers, based on
availability and cost rather than interoperability restrictions.
Like most integrated circuits of the period 1960-1990, TTL
devices are usually packaged in through hole, dual in line
packages with between 14 and 24 lead wires, made usually of
epoxy plastic but also commonly ciramic. Other packages
included the flat-pack, used for military and aerospace
applications, and beam-lead chips without packages for
assembly into larger arrays. As surface-mounted devices
became more common through the 1990's, most popular TTL
devices were made available in these packages.
Before the advent of VLSI devices, TTL integrated circuits
were standard method of constructions for the processors of
mini-computer and main frame processors; such as the Digital
Equipment Corporation VAX and Data General Eclipse, and
for equipment such as machine tool numerical controls,
printers, and video display terminals. As microprocessors
became more functional, TTL devices became important for
"glue logic" applications, such as fast bus drivers on a
motherboard, which tie together the function blocks realized in
VLSI elements.
B. Working.
Applying a logic '1' input voltage to both emitter inputs of T1
reverse-biases both base-emitter junctions, causing current to
flow through R1 into the base of T2, which is driven into
saturation. When T2 starts conducting, the stored base charge
of T3 dissipates through the T2 collector, driving T3 into cut-
off. On the other hand, current flows into the base of T4,
causing it to saturate and pull down the output voltage Vo to
logic '0', or near ground. Also, since T3 is in cut-off, no
current will flow from Vcc to the output, keeping it at logic '0'.
T2 always provides complementary inputs to the bases of T3
and T4, such that T3 and T4 always operate in opposite
regions, except during momentary transition between regions.
Now applying a logic '0' input voltage to at least one emitter
input of T1 will forward-bias the corresponding base-emitter
junction, causing current to flow out of that emitter. This
causes the stored base charge of T2 to discharge through T1,
driving T2 into-cut-off. Now that T2 is in cut-off, current
from Vcc will be diverted to the base of T3 through R3,
causing T3 to saturate. On the other hand, the base of T4 will
be deprived of current, causing T to go into cut-off. With T4
in cut-off and T3 in saturation, the output Vo is pulled up to
logic '1', or closer to Vcc.
Outputs of different TTL gates that employ the totem-pole
configuration must not be connected together since differences
in their output logic will cause large currents to flow from the
logic '1' output to the logic '0' output, destroying both output
stages. The output of a typical TTL gate under normal
operation can sink currents of up to 16 mA.
C. Advantages.
TTL has a much higher speed than DTL. This is due to the
fact that when the output transistor is turned off, there is a path
for the stored charge in its base to dissipate through, allowing it
to reach cut-off faster than a DTL output transistor. At the
same time, the equivalent capacitance of the output is charged
from Vcc through T3 and the output diode, allowing the output
voltage to rise more quickly to logic '1' than in a DTL output
wherein the output capacitance is charged through a resistor.
D. Comparisons with other families.
TTL devices consume substantially more power than
equivalent CMOS devices at rest, but power consumption does
not increase with clock speed as rapidly as for CMOS devices.
Compared to contemporary ECL circuits, TTL uses less power
and has easier design rules but is substantially slower.
Designers can combine ECL and TTL devices in the same
system to achieve best overall performance and economy, but
level-shifting devices are required between the two logic
families. TTL is less sensitive to damage from electrostatic
discharge than early CMOS devices.
Due to the output structure of TTL devices, the output
impedance is asymmetrical between the high and low state,
making them unsuitable for driving transmission lines. This
drawback is usually overcome by buffering the outputs with
special line-driver devices where signals need to be sent
through cables. ECL, by virtue of its symmetric low-impedance
output structure, does not have this drawback.
The TTL "totem-pole" output structure often has a
momentary overlap when both the upper and lower transistors
are conducting, resulting in a substantial pulse of current drawn
from the supply. These pulses can couple in unexpected ways
between multiple integrated circuit packages, resulting in
reduced noise margin and lower performance. TTL systems
usually have a decoupling capacitor for every one or two IC
packages, so that a current pulse from one chip does not
momentarily reduce the supply voltage to the others.
Several manufacturers now supply CMOS logic equivalents
with TTL-compatible input and output levels, usually bearing
part numbers similar to the equivalent TTL component and
with the same pin outs. For example, the 74HCT00 series
provides many drop-in replacements for bipolar 7400 series
parts, but uses CMOS technology.
TABLE I
THE TTL FAMILY AND CHARACTERISTICS [1].
TTL Series Prefix Example Features
Standard TTL 74 7400 Oldest, slowest,
most power
hungry member
of the TTL
 family. preparation of this term paper by giving knowledge about the
Low Power TTL 74L 74L00 Old but
optimized to
subject matter and also the required format.
consume less
power than REFERENCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY
“Standard”
Schottky TTL 74S 74S00 Old, but [1] Jain R. P., “Modern Digital Electronics”, Tata McGraw-Hill publication,
optimized for
3rd ed, page 93-109, 2007
speed. Consumes
too much power!
Low-Power 74LS 74LS00 Faster and lower [2] Morris M. Mano, “Digital Design”, Prentice-Hall publication, 3rd Ed, Page
Schottky TTL power than the 399-421, 2006
above
subfamilies. [3] Donald P Leach, Albert Paul Malvino, Goutam Saha, “Digital Principles
Becoming rather And Applications”, The McGraw-Hill Companies publication, 6th ed, page 506-
obsolete 531, 1995.
Advanced S TTL 74AS 74ALS00 Very fast, but
quite power
[4] http://www.siliconfareast.com/dtl.htm
hungry!
Advanced LS 74ALS 74ALS00 Very good
TTL speed-power [5] http://www.play-hookey.com/digital/electronics
ratio. Quite
popular member [6] http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/Hbase/electronic/ logfam.html
of this Family
Fast TTL 74F 74F00 Fairchild’s fast [7] http://www.asic-world.com/digital/logic1.html#Digital_ Logic Families
TTL family.
Excellent speed-
power product.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I take this opportunity to thank my subject instructor Mr.

Jaspinder Singh Sidhu, lecturer, Dept. of ECE, LPU for
allocating me the above topic and also guiding me in