Logic gates
A logic gate is the building block of a digital circuit which is at the heart of any computer
operation. Logic gates perform logical operations that take binary output. They are used in
the most electronic devices, including smart phones, tablets and memory devices. Combining
10’s, 100’s and 1000’s of logic gates make it possible for a computer to perform highly
complex operations and tasks at ever increasing speeds.
The logic gates can be classified into the following major types:
1. Basic Logic Gates
There are three basic logic gates:
1. AND Gate
2. OR Gate
3. NOT Gate
2. Universal Logic Gates
In digital electronics, the following two logic gates are considered as universal logic gates:
1. NOR Gate
2. NAND Gate
3. Derived Logic Gates
The following two are the derived logic gates used in digital systems:
1. XOR Gate
2. XNOR Gate
AND Gate
The AND gate is one of the basic logic gates that performs the logical multiplication of inputs
applied to it. It generates a high or logic 1 output, only when all the inputs applied to it are
high or logic 1. Otherwise, the output of the AND gate is low or logic 0.
Properties of AND Gate:
AND gate can accept two or more than two input values at a time.
When all of the inputs are logic 1, the output of this gate is logic 1.
Z=A.B
OR Gate
This logic gate which produces a low or logic 0 output only when it’s all inputs are low or
logic 0. For all other input combinations, the output of the OR gate is high or logic 1.
Properties of OR Gate:
It can have two or more input lines at a time.
When all of the inputs to the OR gate are low or logic 0, the output of it is low or
logic 0.
Z=A+B
Z=A+B+C
NOT Gate
logic gate used to perform complement of an input signal applied to it. It takes only one
input and one output. The output of the NOT gate is complemented of the input applied to it.
Therefore, if we apply a low or logic 0 output to the NOT gate is gives a high or logic 1
output and vice-versa. The NOT gate is also known as inverter, as it performs the inversion
operation.
Properties of NOT Gate:
The output of a NOT gate is complemented or inverse of the input applied to it.
NOT gate takes only one output.
NOR Gate
The NOR gate is a type of universal logic gate that can take two or more inputs but one
output. It is basically a combination of two basic logic gates i.e., OR gate and NOT gate.
Thus, it can be expressed as,
NOR Gate = OR Gate + NOT Gate
Properties of NOR Gate:
The following are two important properties of NOR gate:
A NOR gate can have two or more inputs and gives an output.
A NOR gate gives a high or logic 1 output only when its all inputs are low or logic 0.
NAND Gate
The logic symbol of a NAND gate is represented as a AND gate with a bubble on its output
end as depicted in the following figure. It is the symbol of a two-input NAND gate.
Exclusive-OR gate (XOR Gate)
In an XOR gate, the output of a two-input XOR gate attains state 1 if one adds only input and
attains state 1.
Properties of XOR Gate:
It can accept only two inputs at a time. There is nothing like a three or more input
XOR gate.
The output of the XOR gate is logic 1 or high, when its inputs are dissimilar.
Exclusive-NOR Gate (XNOR Gate)
In the XNOR gate, the output is in state 1 when both inputs are the same, that is, both 0 or
both 1.
Properties of XNOR Gate:
XNOR gate takes only two inputs and produces one output.
The output of the XNOR gate is high or logic 1 only when it has similar inputs.
Various symbols and shapes used for Boolean operators
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Simplification and Boolean Expression
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