Digital Electronics and µ-processors

(EC2L006)

Lecture 3: Algebraic Manipulation, Canonical and

Standard Forms, and Gate-Level Minimization
Algebraic Manipulation
• Simplify the following Boolean function to a minimum number
of terms:
F (x,y,z)= xy + x' z + yz

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Complement of a Function
• The complement of a function F is F’ and is obtained from an
interchange of 0’s for 1’s and 1’s for 0’s in the value of F.
• It can be derived algebraically through DeMorgan’s theorem:

• A simple procedure for deriving the complement of a function

is to take the dual of the function and complement each
literal.

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Example 1:
• Find the complement of
F1 = x’yz’+x’y’z
Using
1) DeMorgan’s law
2) Taking dual of F1 and complimenting each literal.

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Canonical Forms
Minterms and Maxterms

• n binary variables can be combined to form 2n terms (AND

terms), called minterms.

• In a similar fashion, n binary variables can be combined to

form 2n terms (OR terms), called maxterms.

• Note that each maxterm is the complement of its

corresponding minterm and vice versa.

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Minterms and Maxterms for Three Binary Variables

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Minterms and Maxterms (Contd.)
• Boolean function expressed as a sum of minterms or product
of maxterms are said to be in canonical form.

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Example 2:
• Express the Boolean function F(A,B,C)= A+B’C as a sum of
minterms.

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Example 3:
• Express the Boolean function F(x,y,z)=xy+x’z as a product of
maxterms.

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Conversion between Canonical Forms:
• To convert from one canonical form to another, interchange
symbols ∑ and ∏and list those numbers missing from the
original form.

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Standard Forms:
• Canonical forms are very seldom the ones with the least
number of literals.
• In Standard Form (sop/pos), terms that form the function may
contain one, two, or any number of literals.

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Example 4:
• Function expressed in a nonstandard form, can be changed
to standard form.

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Gate-Level Minimization
• Gate-level minimization is the design task of finding an
optimal gate-level implementation of the Boolean functions
describing the digital circuit.
• Difficult to minimize if the logic has more than a few inputs;
however helps to understand how the minimization tools are
built with these fundamentals.
• Truth table representation of a function is unique, when it is
expressed algebraically it can appear in many different, but
equivalent, forms.
• Minimization using Boolean algebra is awkward because it lacks
specific rules to predict each succeeding step in the
manipulative process.
• Map method provides a simple, straightforward procedure for
minimizing Boolean with clear rules.
• Regarded as a pictorial form of truth table/Karnaugh map (K-
map)
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K-map
• K-map is a diagram made up of a squares, with each square
representing one min-term of the function that is to be
minimized.
• Map represents a visual diagram of all possible ways a function
may be expressed in standard form.
• By recognizing various patterns, the user can derive alternative
algebraic expressions for the same function, from which the
simplest can be selected.
• The simplest expressions produced by the map are always in
one of the two standard forms:
• Sum of products
• Product of sums
• Simplest algebraic expression is an expression that contains:
• minimum number of terms and with the smallest possible
number of literals in each term.

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Two-Variable K-Map
• Four minterms, each square represents a minterm.

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Two-Variable K-map: Example

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Three-Variable K-map:
• There eight minterms for three binary variables; therefore, the
map consists of eight squares.
• Minterms are arranged in a sequence similar to Gray code---only
one bit changes in value from one adjacent column to the next.

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Three-Variable K-map (Contd.)
• How is this map useful?
• Any adjacent squares in the map differ by only one variable,
which is primed in one square and unprimed in the other.

• From the postulates of Boolean algebra, the sum of two

minterms in adjacent squares can be simplified to a simple AND
term.

Example: m5+m7

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Example: 5

• Simplify F(x, y, z) = Σ(2, 3, 4, 5)

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Example 6:

• Simplify the Boolean function

F(x, y, z) = Σ(3, 4, 6, 7)

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Three Variable K-map:
• The number of adjacent squares that may be combined must
always represent a number that is a power of two, such as 1,
2, 4, and 8.

• One square represents one minterm, giving a term with three

literals.
• Two adjacent squares represent a term with two literals.
• Four adjacent squares represent a term with one literal.
• Eight adjacent squares encompass the entire map and produce
a function that is always equal to 1.

• In general, any 2k adjacent squares, for k=(0,1,2,…,n) in an n-

variable map, will represent an area that gives a term of (n-k)
literals ( n > k).
• If n=k, entire map is combined to give the identity function.

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Example:7

• Simplfy the function F(x, y, z) = Σ(0, 2, 4, 5, 6)

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Example: 8

For the Boolean function

F=A′C + A′B + AB′C + BC
a) Express this function as a sum of minterms.
b) Find the minimal sum-of-products expression.

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Example: 9
• Simplify the Boolean Function
S(x, y, z) = Σ(1, 2, 4, 7)

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