[SI-LIST] Re: METASTABILITY
- From: "Dr. Howard Johnson" <howie03@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <si-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2006 14:22:40 -0800
Dear Robert and Hal,
Thank you both for your kind words. Metastability is
a cool subject. When I talk about metastability I use
both a physical model and an electrical circuit.
The idea for the physical model (a ball sitting
atop a potential hill) came from discussions with
Mr. Wakerly (a good source for lots of nice
ideas). The concept as he explained it to me was
a thought experiment. I just turned it into a
real, physical demonstration.
The idea for the electrical circuit came from my
mentor, Dr. Martin Graham. The schematic for this
circuit appears on page 121 of "High-Speed Digital
Design: A Handbook of Black Magic".
The feedback circuit that renders my circuit
sufficiently stable for real-time demonstration
is shown in the schematic, but not explained until the
bottom of page 127.
A 35-min video of my complete metastability
demonstration (physical and electrical)
is available through http://www.sigcon.com/films.htm
Best regards,
Dr. Howard Johnson, Signal Consulting Inc.,
tel +1 509-997-0505, howie03@xxxxxxxxxx
http:\\sigcon.com -- High-Speed Digital Design seminars,
publications and films
-----Original Message-----
From: si-list-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:si-list-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Haller,
Robert
Sent: Monday, January 09, 2006 11:20 AM
To: si-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Cc: hmurray@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx; Ray Anderson
Subject: [SI-LIST] Re: METASTABILITY
Since nobody else has mentioned it, Dr. Howie Johnson at one
time
performed a Metastability lab demo in his class that was
pretty cool. It
helped send home the importance of setup and hold
requirements.
Regards,
Bob=20
Robert Haller
Enterasys Networks
Core Routing - Hardware
Phone: 978-684-1340=20
FAX: 978-684-1499
-----Original Message-----
From: si-list-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:si-list-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Hal Murray
Sent: Saturday, January 07, 2006 3:44 AM
To: si-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Cc: hmurray@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [SI-LIST] Re: METASTABILITY=20
> a good point : a quick look for "metastability" in the
index of my
> half-dozen SI books didn't get many hits.=20
~15 years ago, when I was browsing for general digital logic
books, I
used=20
Metastability as my test case. When I saw a book that
looked
interesting, I=20
would open it to the index and look for Metastability.
(This was long
before=20
Amazon, so you could find books in bookstores where you
could touch
them.)
This was an amazingly quick way to evaluate a book. First,
you got to
check=20
the index which I consider to be important. If I didn't
find anything
then I=20
was suspicious. If I did, then I would go check out that
section. I
think I=20
understand Metastability so it doesn't take long to find out
if the
author=20
says something sensible.
Two books in my collection have good sections on
Metastability:
High-Speed Digital Design: A Handbook of Black Magic
Howard Johnson and Martin Graham
Digital Design: Principles and Practices
John F. Wakerly
My opinions:
Anybody interested in SI should have a copy of "Black
Magic". I like
the=20
style. Every time I open it to look up something I get
suckered in just
rereading a section I've already read many times.
Wakerly is now up to the 4th edition (2005). Mine is a
couple back. I
still=20
learn something every time I open it. I wish I had a copy
many many
years=20
ago.
Both are a bit old, mostly using MSI (DIPs) as examples.
But the ideas=20
haven't changed. I may be biased since I did a lot of work
with MSI and
I=20
can easily relate to their examples.
------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe from si-list:
si-list-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field
or to administer your membership from a web page, go to:
//www.freelists.org/webpage/si-list
For help:
si-list-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'help' in the Subject field
List FAQ wiki page is located at:
http://si-list.org/wiki/wiki.pl?Si-List_FAQ
List technical documents are available at:
http://www.si-list.org
List archives are viewable at:
//www.freelists.org/archives/si-list
or at our remote archives:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/si-list/messages
Old (prior to June 6, 2001) list archives are viewable at:
http://www.qsl.net/wb6tpu
Other related posts:
