520.391/491: CAD Design of Digital VLSI Systems I

Fall 2007

 

Dr. Ralph Etienne-Cummings

Email: retienne@jhu.edu

Office: Barton 401B

Class Time: TW, 5:30-7:00PM, Barton 114

Office Hrs: TW 3:00 – 5:30PM Barton 401B

URL: http://etienne.ece.jhu.edu/~etienne/ECE491.html

 

 

Class Announcements - Refresh this page often!

11/8 – Computer Organization notes added

11/8 – Sample Exam 2’s added to old exam link

11/7 – Final Project posted.

10/30 – HW5 posted Due date is 11/7.

10/17 – HW4 posted Due date is 10/24.

9/28 – Exam 1 is on Wednesday 10/3 in class.

9/28 – Sample Exams link is up

9/28 – Design Rules link added

9/27 – TA office hours posted.

9/19 – Lecture notes page added

9/19 – HW2 posted. Due date is 9/28.

9/12 – The Class newsgroup is here.

9/12 – Link posted for more thorough discussion of device physics under Reading Material.

9/12 – Class online group formed you should receive an invitation by the end of the day if not email Andre.

9/12 – HW1 posted. Due date is 9/19

9/7 - For access to the grad computer lab, please see Candace Abel or Ethel Peterson in Barton 105 (Note: you must be on the class roster).

9/7 - Click here for instructions on running Cadence from home

9/7 - IEEE Code of Ethics

9/7 - Please click on the following link and register for an account.

http://www.ece.jhu.edu/acct_req.htm

 

Homeworks:

HW1 due 9/19.

HW2 due 9/28.

HW4 due 10/24. 

HW5 due 11/7.  Submit by email to Andre at vinfluxbeing@gmail.com

 

 

Course Outline:

 

Abstract: This course is an introduction to VLSI design. Although the emphasis is on digital VLSI circuits, an initial overview of the analog basis of digital VLSI circuits will be given. Using a state-of-the-art CAD environment provided by CADENCE Design Systems, the students will design combinational and sequential circuits at various levels of abstraction.

 

First a brief discussion of the device physics of MOSFETs will be presented. Next, CMOS circuits will be used to construct digital primitives such as NOT, NAND, NOR, FLIP-FLOP etc... These circuits will be analyzed using hand calculations and SPICE/SPECTER simulations. Subsequently, the integration of these primitives using the SCMOS design rules provided by MOSIS will be discussed. A brief overview of the fabrication steps and justifications for the rules will also be provided. Schematic versus layout verification and SPICE simulation will be used to confirm the integrity of the mask layout. Next the behavioral abstraction of the circuits using VERILOG HDL will be developed. The behavioral model will include the effects of the parasitic components encountered in the layout process. Using the behavioral models, a large system will be developed for the class project. The project, which will be defined later, will be integrated into a TINY Chip in 0.5um Nwell CMOS process. The entire chip will be simulated, verified and converted to CIF for possible submission to the MOSIS service for fabrication.

 

Textbooks:
Digital Integrated Circuits, J. Rabaey, 2003, ISBN 0-13-090996-3

 

Recommended:
Verilog HDL: A guide to digital design and synthesis, S. Palnikar, 1996, ISBN 0-13-451675-3

Computer Systems Architecture, M. Mano, 1995, ISBN 0-13-175563-3

Other References:

Basic VLSI Design, D. Pucknell and K. Eshraghian 1988
Fundamentals of CMOS VLSI Design, J. Uyemura, 1988
Analysis and Design of Analog integrated Circuits, P. Gray and R. Meyer, 1994
Modern VLSI Design, Wayne Wolf, 1994
CAD: CADENCE SPICE VLSI circuit simulators
SPECTER VLSI circuit simulators
VERILOG-XL Logic/VHDL simulator
CADENCE Design Tools for complete design integration, verification and submission in CIF format via the Intenet

 

Cadence Manual Documents, Techfiles and Other Helpful Files
Our Cadence Page

AMI05 Design Rules

 

Course Grading:
Weekly Homework 30%
Exam1: 10%

Exam2: 20% 

Project: 40%

 

Grading Policy:
90% or above A
80% to 89% B
65% to 79% C
45% to 64% D
44% or below F

 

Schedule

Dates (week beginning) 

Topics 

September 9

Course Introduction

Device Physics of MOSFETS: Chapter 3-4

Intro. to Cadence Design Environment

September 16

Device Physics of MOSFETS: Chapter 3

September 23

Device Physics of MOSFETS: Chapter 3

Introduction to Layout and VerilogHDL

September 30

The Wire: Chapter 4

The inverter: Chapter 5

Exam 1

October 7

The Wire: Chapter 4

The inverter: Chapter 5

October 14

Combinational Logic Gates: Chapter 6

October 21

Combinational Logic Gates: Chapter 6

October 28

Combinational Logic Gates: Chapter 6

Sequential Logic Circuits: Chapter 7 

November 4

Basic Computer Design: A Hardware Perspective

(Final Project assignment)

Exam 2 

November 11

Current Issues in Computer Design

Arithmetic Building Blocks: Chapter 11

November 18

Arithmetic Building Blocks: Chapter 11 (cont.)

Memory and Arrays: Chapter 12

November 25

Memory and Arrays: Chapter 10 (cont.) 

December 2

Interconnections/Timing: Chapter 9/8

Projects Consulting

December 9

Final Project Presentations

 

 

Class Notes and Handouts:
Lecture Notes

Verilog Manual

 

Reading Material:

Device Physics Discussion

 

Homework Solutions:

 

Old Exams:

Sample Exams

 

 

Teaching Assistant and Cadence Support

Andre Harrison (aharri68@jhu.edu)
Barton 401 (Computational Sensory-Motor Systems Lab)
Tel: x6-0746
Office Hours: Thursdays 5pm - 7pm

Fridays 3pm - 5pm

(Or just drop by if you have a question.

If I’m not there send an email.)

Linux Support

Justin Martin, Brian O’Reilly (ecehelp@jhu.edu)