Course Catalogue

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Integrated circuit design underpins the majority of modern electronics, and this course will enhance students' knowledge of typical industrial design flows for analogue, digital, and mixed signal integrated circuits. It will cover both the technical aspects of the integrated circuit design process, and the broader engineering aspects, using an extended design example to investigate both the details of silicon design, and also analyse areas such as manufacturability and design costs.

This course will be timetabled in blocks, typically one week in four with tutorials and on-line support available between each block.

Mandatory Entry Requirements

None

Recommended Entry Requirements

None

None

None

Assessment

Final Examination 25%

Design Study 75%

The course aims to develop students' insights into the design philosophies, processes, and tools used in the industrial fabrication of integrated circuits, and to reinforce these insights through a realistic design study using commercially relevant design tools.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ state Moore's law and precis the effect of scaling rules on the operation of integrated circuits;

■ describe and draw process flows for digital, mixed signal and analog integrated circuits;

■ demonstrate the use of simulation tools for the design of digital, analogue circuits and sub-systems;

■ demonstrate the conversion of digital and analogue circuit designs into a silicon layout topology;

■ exercise design judgement in translating a list of functional requirements to a physical design implemented on a typical fabrication process;

■ evaluate optimum economic solutions by comparing different design implementations and process technologies.