1. Design and Implementation of VLSI Systems (EN1600) lecture01 Sherief Reda Division of Engineering, Brown University Spring 2008 [sources: Weste/Addison Wesley – Rabaey Pearson]

2. Introduction Brief Tour of VLSI Design and Implementation Class logistics Lecture 01: the big picture

3. Objectives of the class A VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration) system integrates millions of “electronic components” in a small area (few mm 2  few cm 2 ). Class objective: Learn how to design “efficient” VLSI systems that implement required functionalities. What are the design metrics? Circuit Speed / Performance Power consumption Design Area Yield

4. What are VLSI systems composed of? pMOS nMOS 1.Transistors CMOS logic gates + 2. Wires = Circuits design

5. How does an IC look like from the inside? transistors wires R. Noyce J. Kilby

6. Technology scaling Moore’s Law. The number of transistors in an integrated circuit doubles every 2 years. Quad core from Intel: ~600 million transistors in 286 mm 2 If a pond lily doubles everyday and it takes 30 days to completely cover a pond, on what day will the pond be 1/2 covered?

7. Feature sizes Human Hair ~75  m 0.18  m 180 nm feature.. ~40,000 (65-nm node) transistors could fit on cross-section [C. Keast]

8. Why should you learn about VLSI systems? They are ubiquitous in our daily lives (computers/iPods/TVs/Cars/…/etc).  EN160 can help you understand the devices you use. The market for VLSI systems (and semiconductors) is worth $250 billion dollars.  EN160 can help you get a decent job after graduation (or you can even start your own company). VLSI design and analysis is fun!

9. Biggest semiconductor companies

10. Introduction Brief Tour of VLSI Design and Implementation Class logistics Lecture 01: the big picture

11. What does it take to design VLSI systems? Same engineering principles you learned so far 2. write specifications 1. idea (need) 3. design system 4. analyze/ model system if satisfactory 5. Fabrication 6. test / work as modeled?

12. 1. Applications / Ideas

13. 2. Specifications Instruction set Interface (I/O pins) Organization of the system Functionality of each unit in the and how it to communicate to other unit

14. 3/4. Design and Analysis Design development is facilitated using Computer-Aided Design (CAD) tools compilation/ synthesis VHDL / Verilog / SystemC device layout find wire routes mask layout patterns design schematics

15. 5. Fabrication tapeout mask writer masks wafer printing die dice mask layout patterns test and packaging chip

16. 6. Evaluate design and compare to model. board Does the chip function as it is supposed to be? Does it work at desired clock frequency? (can we overclock?) Check signal integrity Power consumption Input/output behavior

17. What are we going to cover in this class? Overview of VLSI CMOS fabrication MOS transistor theory VLSI Layout design Circuit analysis and performance estimation Computer-aided design and analysis tools Combinational and sequential circuit design Memory systems Big, nice design project

18. Textbooks RecommendedAdditional

19. Grading 20% Homeworks 20% Midterm 20% Design Project 40% Final exam

20. Website http://ic.engin.brown.edu/classes Office hours Lab TA: Mike Kadin