| CODE | MNE3501 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | Mixed Mode VLSI | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 03 - Years 2, 3, 4 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 6 | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Microelectronics and Nanoelectronics | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | The study-unit covers semiconductor materials and technologies, including MOS technology. The operation of the MOS transistor in the strong inversion and subthreshold operations are discussed. The MOS transistor will be evaluated in terms of d.c. operation, channel length modulation effect, body effect; d.c. biasing in IC design. The use of the MOS transistor as an active load will be covered and explained. The ac operation of the MOS transistor is also covered including the a.c. small-signal, operation, transconductance, bulk transconductance, output resistance; capacitances in nanometer-scale transistors; first-order and second-order small-signal models. VLSI building blocks including active resistors, current sources and current mirrors are covered together with Inverter amplifiers including d.c. analysis, a.c. low-frequency and high-frequency operation VHDL concepts for Digital VLSI design, verilog is covered together with the concepts of logic design in CMOS including Timing and switching levels, Gate circuits, ratioed and ratioless design and the CMOS transmission gate. Other Digital circuits are introduced including CMOS inverters, NOR and NAND logic circuits. Technologies are compared in terms of switching times, Buffer circuits, Signal propagation delays, capacitive loading, power dissipation, noise in digital circuits. Study-unit Aims This study-unit aims at introducing students to the fundamental concepts of both analogue and digital VLSI technology. Learning Outcomes 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - analyse the operation of the MOS transistor in the IC design environment; - analyse digital logic design in integrated circuits, while getting familiar with CAD tools; - analyse the operation of the inverter amplifier used in IC design. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - design analogue and digital building blocks; - use verilog to design and synthesize digital circuitry; - use the Cadence design framework, which is the package normally used in the VLSI industry. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings (availability at the Library or otherwise is indicated against each entry) Textbook • Geiger R., Allen P., Strader N., VLSI Design Techniques for Analog and Digital Circuits. McGraw-Hill, ISBN 0-07-100728-8, 1990. (Available) Reading List • Fabricius E., Introduction to VLSI Design, McGraw-Hill, ISBN 0-07-100727-X, 1990. (Available) • Lewis D. & Prothese D., Design of Logic Systems, Chapman & Hall, ISBN 0-412-42890-3, 1992. (Available) • Pucknell D. & Eshraghian K., Basic VLSI Design, 3rd edition. Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-079153-9, 1995. (Available) |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Tutorial | ||||||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Ivan Grech Joseph Micallef (Co-ord.) |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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