227-0147-00L  VLSI II: Design of Very Large Scale Integration Circuits

SemesterSpring Semester 2021
LecturersF. K. Gürkaynak, L. Benini
Periodicityyearly recurring course
Language of instructionEnglish



Courses

NumberTitleHoursLecturers
227-0147-00 GVLSI II: Design of Very Large Scale Integration Circuits
Lecture: Tue 14-16 h
Exercises: Wen 9-12 h
5 hrs
Tue14:15-16:00LFW B 1 »
Wed09:15-12:00ETZ D 61.1 »
09:15-12:00ETZ D 96.1 »
F. K. Gürkaynak, L. Benini

Catalogue data

AbstractThis second course in our VLSI series is concerned with how to turn digital circuit netlists into safe, testable and manufacturable mask layout, taking into account various parasitic effects. Low-power circuit design is another important topic. Economic aspects and management issues of VLSI projects round off the course.
ObjectiveKnow how to design digital VLSI circuits that are safe, testable, durable, and make economic sense.
ContentThe second course begins with a thorough discussion of various technical aspects at the circuit and layout level before moving on to economic issues of VLSI. Topics include:
- The difficulties of finding fabrication defects in large VLSI chips.
- How to make integrated circuit testable (design for test).
- Synchronous clocking disciplines compared, clock skew, clock distribution, input/output timing.
- Synchronization and metastability.
- CMOS transistor-level circuits of gates, flip-flops and random access memories.
- Sinks of energy in CMOS circuits.
- Power estimation and low-power design.
- Current research in low-energy computing.
- Layout parasitics, interconnect delay, static timing analysis.
- Switching currents, ground bounce, IR-drop, power distribution.
- Floorplanning, chip assembly, packaging.
- Layout design at the mask level, physical design verification.
- Electromigration, electrostatic discharge, and latch-up.
- Models of industrial cooperation in microelectronics.
- The caveats of virtual components.
- The cost structures of ASIC development and manufacturing.
- Market requirements, decision criteria, and case studies.
- Yield models.
- Avenues to low-volume fabrication.
- Marketing considerations and case studies.
- Management of VLSI projects.

Exercises are concerned with back-end design (floorplanning, placement, routing, clock and power distribution, layout verification). Industrial CAD tools are being used.
Lecture notesH. Kaeslin: "Top-Down Digital VLSI Design, from Gate-Level Circuits to CMOS Fabrication", Lecture Notes Vol.2 , 2015.

All written documents in English.
LiteratureH. Kaeslin: "Top-Down Digital VLSI Design, from Architectures to Gate-Level Circuits and FPGAs", Elsevier, 2014, ISBN 9780128007303.
Prerequisites / NoticeHighlight:
Students are offered the opportunity to design a circuit of their own which then gets actually fabricated as a microchip! Students who elect to participate in this program register for a term project at the Integrated Systems Laboratory in parallel to attending the VLSI II course.

Prerequisites:
"VLSI I: from Architectures to Very Large Scale Integration Circuits and FPGAs" or equivalent knowledge.

Further details:
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Performance assessment

Performance assessment information (valid until the course unit is held again)
Performance assessment as a semester course
ECTS credits6 credits
ExaminersF. K. Gürkaynak, L. Benini
Typesession examination
Language of examinationEnglish
RepetitionThe performance assessment is offered every session. Repetition possible without re-enrolling for the course unit.
Mode of examinationoral 30 minutes
Additional information on mode of examinationFor examinations, we accept German and English as language.
This information can be updated until the beginning of the semester; information on the examination timetable is binding.

Learning materials

 
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Offered in

ProgrammeSectionType
Electrical Engineering and Information Technology BachelorEngineering ElectivesWInformation
Electrical Engineering and Information Technology MasterCore SubjectsWInformation
Electrical Engineering and Information Technology MasterFoundation Core CoursesWInformation
Electrical Engineering and Information Technology MasterCore SubjectsWInformation
Electrical Engineering and Information Technology MasterAdvanced Core CoursesWInformation
Electrical Engineering and Information Technology MasterSpecialization CoursesWInformation
Electrical Engineering and Information Technology MasterRecommended SubjectsWInformation
Neural Systems and Computation MasterElectivesWInformation
Physics MasterGeneral ElectivesWInformation
Quantum Engineering MasterElectivesWInformation