Instructor:

Paul V. Gratz

Email: pgratz@tamu.edu

Phone: 458-4126

Office: WERC 333D

Class Hours (Zachry 223B):

Monday, Wednesday 1:50pm - 2:40pm

Lab Hours (Zachry 115D):

Section 501: Tuesday, 2:20pm - 4:10pm

Section 502: Wednesday, 5:30pm - 7:30pm

Instructor Office hours (WERC 333D): 

Monday, 3:00pm - 4:00pm

Wednesday, 10:00am - 11:00am

Class Room:

223B Zachry

Graduate Assistant (Office hours held in Zachry 115D):

Rajesh Kumar (rkrajuee at neo dot tamu dot edu)

Office hours: Friday, 4:00pm - 5:00pm

Mailing List:

Class mailing list is Section 501 and Section 502

Resources:

Virtex-II Pro Development System

Xilinx XUP Virtex-II Pro Development System

Digilent Inc. Virtex-II Pro Development System

XUPV2P User Guide

EDK8.2i Reference Manual

ISE8.2i Quick Start Manual

Logic Analyzer and Oscilloscope

Agilent 1673G Logic Analyzer

Agilent 54622D Mixed Signal Oscilloscope

Linux Documentation (for Lab 4)

Dr. John Kelm's write up

O'Reilly's Linux Device Drivers, 2nd Edition

Video Decoder Documentation (for Lab 5)

ADV7183B Video Decoder manual

Digilent Video Decoder Board(VDEC1) Reference Manual

Verilog Documentation

Verilog Quick Reference

Verilog Reference Card

Longer Verilog Reference

Nonblocking and Blocking Assignments in Synthesizable Verilog

        Book: "Verilog HDL" (Second Edition) by Samir Palnitkar

Emacs Verilog Mode

Course Objective:

• The goal of this course is to provide the student with an in-depth knowledge of digital circuit design using an embedded platform as an implementation method. We will cover hardware and software co-design, using a commercial FPGA with an embedded on-chip microprocessor.
• At the end of the course the student should be able to view the design of digital systems from a embedded hardware/software perspective and obtain a set of fundamental concepts and design skills that can be applied to a wide variety of digital design problems.

Class Notes:

Posted here on this web page (see attachments at the bottom of the page). The notes are either developed by the course instructors or derived from other original copyrighted classnotes.

Grading policy:

• Homeworks 15%. Verilog or C code in any homework should be emailed to the TA, and will be tested to work correctly for full credit. I will assign homework assignments on Mondays, and you will have one week to turn in your solution (in class). Any files (Verilog or C code) that accompany your homework should be turned in by 4pm (as an email attachment) to the TA, on the day that the homework is due. No credit will be given for late homework.
• Lab 45%, Labs will be completed in pairs. The TA will have your lab partner assignment list available at the beginning of each lab. Lab reports must be turned in individually. Lab reports for week i should be turned in at the start of the lab of week i+1. For full credit, you should include comments in any code (Verilog or C) that you include in the lab report. If any student misses a lab session, they will receive no credit at all for the lab session, even if they turn in the lab report for that lab session.
• Test1 (2 hours) 20%, Test2 (2 hours) 20%. Both tests will be open notes, and may have lab related questions
  • Test 1 will be held on (TBA). Location TBA. Extended office hours TBA.
  • Test 2 will be held on Tuesday, Dec 15th at 3:30pm. Location Zachry 223B. Extended office hours TBA.
• EE449 will be graded on a curve.

Important Logistical Issues:

• As indicated in the first week of class, you are responsible for reading this page and familiarizing yourself with the information on it.
• Lab Safety: The first day of class all students will receive a copy of the Laboratory Safety Basic Student Guidelines sheet.  Each student must fill out the last page, and return it to the department, before he or she, is permitted to attend the first laboratory session for the course.  Students will also be informed of the evacuation procedures and paths, from the classroom to the outside of the building, across the street, in the event the emergency alarm system is tripped during a class period.  Evacuation floor plans are posted through out the building.  TA’s in their laboratories will have further safety instructions. 
  
• Excused absences: Rules concerning excused absences may be found at http://student-rules.tamu.edu/rule07. In particular, except for absences due to religious obligations, the student must notify his or her instructor in writing (acknowledged e-mail message is acceptable) prior to the date of absence if such notification is feasible. In cases where advance notification is not feasible (e.g., accident, or emergency) the student must provide notification by the end of the second working day after the absence. This notification should include an explanation of why notice could not be sent prior to the class. If the absence is excused, the instructor must either provide the student with an opportunity to make up any quiz, exam or other graded activities or provide a satisfactory alternative to be completed within 30 calendar days from the last day of the absence.
• Days of religious observance: By state law, if a student misses class due to an obligation of his or her religion, the absence is excused. A list of days of religious obligation for the coming semester may be found at http://dof.tamu.edu/faculty/policies/religiousobservance.php.
• Disruptive behavior: If a student's behavior in class is sufficiently disruptive to warrant immediate action, the instructor is entitled to remove a student on an interim basis, pending an informal hearing with the Head of the Department offering the course. This hearing must take place within three working days of the student's removal. This rule and supporting information may be found at http://student-rules.tamu.edu/rule21.
• Accommodations for students with disabilities: It is the responsibility of the student to provide instructors with documentation showing they have registered with Disability Services and requested accommodation. Instructors then have the responsibility to work with Disability Services to provide reasonable accommodations. If a student who has not registered with Disability Services requests an accommodation, they should be referred to Disability Services at http://disability.tamu.edu .
• Email Policy: Please remember that email will be used as an official means of communicating class information to you. You should make sure that the email address that you gave on the first day of class is a current and functioning address. In case of any changes in your email address, please let me know ASAP.
• Academic Honesty: Remember that plagiarism will not be tolerated and will be dealt with under the Aggie Honor System Office guidelines. Upon discovering a suspected violation of the Aggie Honor code, I will contact the Aggie Honor System office http://www.tamu.edu/aggiehonor/.

Course Calendar: