Teach an introductory computer engineering course with Multisim SPICE simulation

Wei-Jer Han

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Conference: 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Publication Date: August 23, 2022
Start Date: June 26, 2022
End Date: June 29, 2022
Conference Session: Curricular Developments in Electrical and Computer Engineering
Page Count: 25
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--40906
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/40906
Download Count: 547

Paper Authors

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Wei-Jer Han Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

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Professor Wei-Jer (Peter) Han has taught sophomore courses at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University since 2017. Prior to Virginia Tech, he was a professor at DeVry University from 2002 to 2016. He is also an electrical engineer since 1995 by designing electrical/electronic equipment for emergency vehicles such as police cars, ambulances and fire trucks. He received his MS degree from Missouri University of Science and Technology. His main interests are in the areas of embedded systems, computer architecture, signal processing and control systems.

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Abstract

Simulation in an introductory computer engineering course is usually through the use of VHDL or Verilog. Students have to learn the programming of FPGA besides the design of digital electronics. Before or during students learning the introductory to computer engineering course, a circuit simulation tool such as Multisim, a SPICE based tool is usually taught in an ECE or EET curriculum. In most cases, students use SPICE simulation tools to learn digital circuits or systems, but not to learn a computer system. This paper illustrates the use of a SPICE simulation tool, namely Multisim to design and simulate a basic computer system for educational purposes. Using Multisim to simulate a basic computer system in an introductory course to computer engineering has the benefit to alleviate the amount of material to learn by students. It also gains learning effectiveness because of students’ familiarity with the use of the simulation tool. This paper uses Multisim to illustrate two examples of teaching computer systems in an introductory to computer engineering course. By using these two examples which are based on both Von Neumann and Harvard architectures, students will build basic computer systems with multiple and single cycle instruction architectures by designing and drawing schematic diagrams. The diagrams include simple ALU, registers, memory and control unit. Furthermore, students will write and assemble a simple assembly program to run on their built computer systems. The clock pulses for all registers can also be controlled by using a simple switch to advance the fetch and execution cycles to examine the content of the registers and the memory throughout the learning process. In contrast to FPGA simulation, students have the control of the clock pulse generation, to observe the outputs on the built computers during their execution cycles with probe indicators, as well as use the interactive digital inputs. Moreover, students can change the content of the memory without recompilation. This increases the learning effectiveness because the content of the registers and memory can be compared and reviewed at the same time while a clock pulse advances an execution cycle. A study by applying this method to an introductory computer engineering course reveals that students grasped the concept of a computer system design easier and better than using Verilog HDL on a FPGA alone.

Citation
Format

Han, W. (2022, August), Teach an introductory computer engineering course with Multisim SPICE simulation Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--40906

TY - CPAPER
AB - Simulation in an introductory computer engineering course is usually through the use of VHDL or Verilog. Students have to learn the programming of FPGA besides the design of digital electronics. Before or during students learning the introductory to computer engineering course, a circuit simulation tool such as Multisim, a SPICE based tool is usually taught in an ECE or EET curriculum. In most cases, students use SPICE simulation tools to learn digital circuits or systems, but not to learn a computer system. This paper illustrates the use of a SPICE simulation tool, namely Multisim to design and simulate a basic computer system for educational purposes. Using Multisim to simulate a basic computer system in an introductory course to computer engineering has the benefit to alleviate the amount of material to learn by students. It also gains learning effectiveness because of students’ familiarity with the use of the simulation tool. This paper uses Multisim to illustrate two examples of teaching computer systems in an introductory to computer engineering course. By using these two examples which are based on both Von Neumann and Harvard architectures, students will build basic computer systems with multiple and single cycle instruction architectures by designing and drawing schematic diagrams. The diagrams include simple ALU, registers, memory and control unit. Furthermore, students will write and assemble a simple assembly program to run on their built computer systems. The clock pulses for all registers can also be controlled by using a simple switch to advance the fetch and execution cycles to examine the content of the registers and the memory throughout the learning process. In contrast to FPGA simulation, students have the control of the clock pulse generation, to observe the outputs on the built computers during their execution cycles with probe indicators, as well as use the interactive digital inputs. Moreover, students can change the content of the memory without recompilation. This increases the learning effectiveness because the content of the registers and memory can be compared and reviewed at the same time while a clock pulse advances an execution cycle. A study by applying this method to an introductory computer engineering course reveals that students grasped the concept of a computer system design easier and better than using Verilog HDL on a FPGA alone.
AU - Wei-Jer Han
CY - Minneapolis, MN
DA - 2022/08/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Teach an introductory computer engineering course with Multisim SPICE simulation
UR - https://peer.asee.org/40906
DO - 10.18260/1-2--40906
ER -