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DescriptionQ782
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Q782DesignASIC interview problem

Compute serial two's complement LSB first

TechniquesTwo's complementSerial arithmeticMealy FSMBit stream
DifficultyMedium
TopicFSMs
LanguageSystemVerilog
Requirements4 checkpoints
01

Problem

Build a synchronous serial two's-complementer for words arriving least-significant bit first. Copy bits through the first 1 inclusive, invert all later bits, and produce a combinational result for each valid input bit.

Example input and output

Use this case to check your interpretation
Input
start with 4-bit word arriving LSB-first as [0,0,1,1]
Output
two's-complement output bits=[0,0,1,0]
Explanation

Zeros are copied through the first accepted one inclusive, then the later high bit is inverted; invalid gaps hold the seen-one state.

02

Requirements (4)

  • start marks the first valid bit of a new word and clears prior history.
  • Hold state when valid_in is low and drive data_out to zero while invalid.
  • The first 1 passes unchanged; only following valid bits are inverted.
  • Explain why an unknown-length MSB-first stream cannot satisfy the same zero-buffering contract.