Futures: Digital Circuit Design with HDL for High Schoolers

Electronics is the study of the behavior and movement of electrons in physical components.  Analog Circuit Design is concerned with controlling continuously varying voltage and currents, while Digital Circuit Design controls digital signals represented by two discrete voltage or logic levels.  The evolution from analog to digital design allowed for greater signal speed and storage capabilities and has revolutionized the world of electronics.  Analog electronics forms the base for digital components and Digital Integrated Circuits (ICs), or “chips” control most modern electronic devices, from cellular phones and peripheral “wearables” to computers including CPU and GPUs, appliances, automobiles, and many more!  Additionally, the supply chain shortage experienced during the pandemic, especially in the area of chip production, spotlighted the need to develop on-shore manufacturing capabilities, and significant funding has since been allocated by companies and governments world-wide resulting in explosive job opportunities for Digital Design Engineers. 
 
Students completing this third course in the Digital Circuit Design series will be introduced to the Verilog high-level description language including syntax, data types, modules, and general design hierarchies.  Simulation through the use of test benches and verification languages such as SystemVerilog will also be covered.  A project applying HDL to CPU and/or GPU implementation will be completed.