P6: 16-bit comparator

Due
March 04, 2026 at 11:59 PM

Goals

• Demonstrate your knowledge of basic circuit design
• Put your knowledge about binary numbers to use

Objective

This circuit will implement a 16-bit comparator. It will take in two 16-bit inputs representing unsigned binary integers and indicate if the first number is greater than, equal to or less than the second number.

Requirements

• your work must be in a file called sixteen_bit_comp.circ
• your implementation must be in the main circuit (you are welcome to create sub-circuits however)
• your circuit must have two inputs: A and B
• A and B are both 16-bit unsigned integer values
• the circuit should have a 1-bit output called gt that will be 1 only when A is greater than B and 0 otherwise
• the circuit should have a 1-bit output called eq that will be 1 only when A is equal to B and 0 otherwise
• the circuit should have a 1-bit output called lt that will be 1 only when A is less than B and 0 otherwise
• you are restricted to
  • input pins
  • output pins
  • splitters
  • components in the Gates library (i.e., basic logic gates)
• you must include a text vector in a file called comparator-test.txt that provides sufficient tests to test the functionality of your circuit

Implementation

With 32 bits of input, it would be impractical to try to design a 16-bit comparator with a truth table. So start small. What if this a 1-bit comparator? Then recall the theme of the class: abstraction.

You may add as many subcircuits as you deem appropriate.

Submission

Upload your .circ file and test vector to Gradescope.