ECE 425 - Introduction to VLSI System Design

3017 Electrical and Computer Engineering Building

15:00 - 15:50 MWF

Course Director

Volodymyr Kindratenko (kindrtnk@illinois.edu)

Instructors

Anu Aggarwal (agganu@illinois.edu)

Office Hours: Fridays - 12:30-2:30 pm

Office: ECEB 3044

Teaching Assistants

Xinheng Liu (xliu79@illinois.edu)
Office Hours: Wednesdays, 7-10 pm, 2022 ECEB
Additional in MP Due Weeks: Fridays 5-8 pm, 2022 ECEB

Announcements

Reference Books

Text Book
Neil Weste and David Harris, CMOS VLSI Design: A Circuits and Systems Perspective, 4th edition.
Recommended Book
De Micheli, Synthesis and Optimization of Digital Circuits.
Other Reference Books
Sherwani, Algorithms for VLSI Physical Design Automation.

Rabaey, Chandrakasan, Nikolic, Digital Integrated Circuits: a Design Perspective, 2nd edition.

Goal

The aim of this course is to provide an introduction to the design and layout of Very Large Scale Integrated (VLSI) circuits for complex digital systems. It covers custom design, cell-based hierarchical design, and algorithmic aspects of VLSI CAD tools. With a focus on CMOS technology, students generate layouts of CMOS chips on engineering workstations in an associated laboratory. By the end of the course, students will have designed, laid out, and verified a 4-bit microprocessor modeled after the Am2901 from Advanced Micro Devices.

Grading

Student presentations - 5%
Homework assignments (three in total): 10%
Exams (1 & 2, both in class): 20% + 20%
Machine Problems (four in total): 45%
- MP0: 2.5%;
- MP1: 10%;
- MP2: 25% (checkpoint: 5%, final: 20%);
- MP3: 7.5%
Homework will be due on compass by 11:59 pm on the due dates(no late acceptance).
Machine problems will be due on Compass by 11:59pm on the due dates. You will submit PDF version of the MP report on Compass. All MPs, except MP3, are accepted up to three days late with penalties:
- 1 day: 90%;
- 2 days: 70%;
- 3 days: 50%;
- >3 days: 0%.
There will be MP competition (mainly MP2 and MP3) and extra credits will be rewarded to the top 3 winners. Details on extra credit will be announced later.

Q & A

Piazza Q&A page