A matrix representation method for decoders using majority gate characteristics in quantum-dot cellular automata

Quantum-dot cellular automata (QCA) is a highly attractive alternative to CMOS for the future digital circuit design. Current methods for designing circuits in QCA, especially decoders, mainly refer to traditional CMOS circuit design methods, which do not make full use of the characteristics of QCA technology. For our purpose, the three-input majority gate in QCA is analyzed and a combinational logic gate that fully embodies the majority characteristics is then proposed. A matrix representation method for decoders using the logic gates is proposed, which combines matrix decomposition with majority characteristics. To verify the superiority of this method, a 2–4 and a 3–8 decoders are proposed and implemented in QCA. The proposed decoders have better physical properties in terms of area, latency, cell, gate count, power dissipation and cost function, compared with previous designs. In addition, a schematic diagram of a 4–16 decoder is also presented for demonstrating the scalability of this method. The experimental results show that this method is more suitable for the design of QCA decoders in contrast to previous methods, which can help to reduce the cost of QCA circuits.