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Digital logic gates, which are also known as combinational logic gates or simply
'logic gates', are digital IC's whose output at any time is determined by the states of
its inputs at that time. Since logic gates are digital IC's, their input and output signals
can only be in one of two possible digital states, i.e., logic '0' or logic '1'. Thus, the
logic state in which the output of a logic gate will be put in depends on the logic states
of each of its individual inputs.

The primary application of logic gates is to implement 'logic' in the flow of digital
signals in a digital circuit. Logic in its ordinary sense is defined as a branch of
philosophy that deals with what is true and false, based on what other things are true
and false. This essentially is the function of logic gates in digital circuits - to determine
which outputs will be true or false, given a set of inputs that can either be true (logic
'1') or false (logic '0').

The response output (usually denoted by Q) of a logic gate to any combination of

inputs may be tabulated into what is known as a truth table. A truth table shows each
possible combination of inputs to a logic gate and the combination's corresponding
output. Table 1, which describes the various types of logic gates, provides a truth table
for each of them as well.

Gate Description Truth Table

Output
A B
Q
The AND gate is a logic gate that
gives an output of '1' only when 0 0 0
all of its inputs are '1'. Thus, its
AND Gate
output is '0' whenever at least 0 1 0
one of its inputs is '0'.
Mathematically, Q = A B. 1 0 0

1 1 1

Output
A B
Q
The OR gate is a logic gate that
gives an output of '0' only when 0 0 0
all of its inputs are '0'. Thus, its
OR Gate
output is '1' whenever at least 0 1 1
one of its inputs is '1'.
Mathematically, Q = A + B. 1 0 1

1 1 1
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The NOT gate is a logic gate that A Output Q

gives an output that is opposite
NOT Gate 0 1
the state of its input.
Mathematically, Q = A. 1 0

Output
A B
Q
The NAND gate is an AND gate
with a NOT gate at its end. Thus, 0 0 1
NAND for the same combination of
Gate inputs, the output of a NAND gate 0 1 1
will be opposite that of an AND
gate. Mathematically, Q = A B. 1 0 1

1 1 0

Output
A B
Q
The NOR gate is an OR gate with
a NOT gate at its end. Thus, for 0 0 1
the same combination of inputs,
NOR Gate
the output of a NOR gate will be 0 1 0
opposite that of an OR gate.
Mathematically, Q = A + B. 1 0 0

1 1 0

Output
A B
Q

The EXOR gate (for 'EXclusive OR' 0 0 0

EXOR gate) is a logic gate that gives an
Gate output of '1' when only one of its 0 1 1
inputs is '1'.
1 0 1

1 1 0

Logic gates may be thought of as a combination of switches. For instance, the AND
gate, whose output can only be '1' if all its inputs are '1', may be represented by
switches connected in series, with each switch representing an input. All the switches
need to be activated and conducting (equivalent to all the inputs of the AND gate
being at logic '1'), for current to flow through the circuit load (equivalent to the output
of the AND gate being at logic '1').

An OR gate, on the other hand, may be represented by switches connected in parallel,

since only one of these parallel switches need to turn on in order to energize the
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circuit load.

In Boolean Algebra, the AND operation is represented by multiplication, since the only
way that the result of multiplication of a combination of 1's and 0's will be equal to '1'
is if all its inputs are equal to '1'. A single '0' among the multipliers will result in a
product that's equal to '0'. The Boolean expression for 'A AND B' is similar to the
expression commonly used for multiplication, i.e., AB.

The OR operation, on the other hand, is represented by addition in Booelean Algebra.

This is because the only way to make the result of the addition operation equal to '0' is
to make all the inputs equal to '0', which basically describes an 'OR' operation. The
Boolean expression for 'A OR B' is therefore A+B.

The NOT operation is usually denoted by a line above the symbol or expression that is
being negated: A = NOT(A). The NAND operation is simply an AND operation
followed by a NOT operation. The NOR operation is simply an OR operation followed
by a NOT operation.

One of the most useful theorems used in Boolean Algebra is De Morgan's Theorem,
which states how an AND operation can be converted into an OR operation, as long as
a NOT operation is available. De Morgan's Theorem is usually expressed in two
equations as follows:

(AB) = A + B; and

(A+B) = A B.

De Morgan's Theorem has a practical implication in digital electronics - a designer

may eliminate the need to add more IC's to the design unnecessarily, simply by
substituting gates with the equivalent combination of other gates whenever possible.
Since NAND and NOR gates can be used as NOT gates, de Morgan's Theorem basically
implies that any Boolean operation may be simulated with nothing but NAND or NOR
gates. This is why NAND and NOR gates are also called universal gates.
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Minterm Expansions

There are usually numerous ways any Boolean function can be expressed, and each
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expression leads fairly naturally to a circuit with AND gates, OR gates and inverters.
Different ways of expressing a function can have widely varying levels of complexity.
More complex circuits will require more gates and inverters, so it's a reasonable goal
to learn how to devise circuits that are as simple as possible.

In this section we are going to look at how you can represent circuits differently
using Boolean algebra. We'll move from that to a consideration of how you can
implement circuits based on different Boolean expressions. Those concepts are
important because any given circuit, even one as complex as a CPU chip, will be
better if you can design it to use fewer components. That's expecially important in
large circuits involving millions of transistors or gates. Savings of a small percentage
of components can translate into thousands of transistors or gates.

An Example Function

Let's look at a simple Boolean function of three variables. We'll describe this
function with a truth table. Here's the truth table. The input variables are X, Y and
Z, and the function output is F.

X Y Z F

0 0 0 0

0 0 1 0

0 1 0 1

0 1 1 0

1 0 0 0

1 0 1 1

1 1 0 0

1 1 1 0

Let's examine this function in some detail. The only non-zero entries are at:

X = 0, Y = 1, Z = 0

and X = 1, Y = 0, Z = 1
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