ECE 495D - ASIC Design Laboratory

Course Details

Lecture Hours: 1 Lab Hours: 3 Credits: 2

Counts as:

Experimental Course Offered:

Spring 2006

Catalog Description:

Catalog Description:
Introduction to the principles and practices of computer engineering, ranging from basic logic to the design of high-end computing hardware and software. This course covers numerical representations, digital logic design, low-level and high-level programming, and program design for modern multicore processors (such as the Core Duo used in many desktop and server machines or the Cell-BE used in the Playstation 3).
Credit cannot be obtained for both ECE 495K and CS 159 or equivalent.

Required Text(s):

  1. VHDL for Logic Synthesis , 2rd Edition , Andrew Rushton , Wiley , ISBN No. 0-471-98325-X

Recommended Text(s):

None.

Learning Outcomes:

A student who successfully fulfills the course requirements will have demonstrated an ability to:
  1. understand and use major syntactic elements of VDHL - entities, architectures, processes, functions, common concurrent statements, and common sequential statements. [a,k]
  2. design common sequential functions: flip-flops, registers, latches, and state-machines. [a,c,k]
  3. create a VDHL test bench and use it to test/verify a sequential VHDL design of moderate complexity. [b,k]
  4. place, route, and verify timing of a standard cell design. [b,c,k]
  5. draw, given commented VHDL code of moderate complexity, a corresponding RTL level block diagram. [a,b,k]
  6. use, modify, and create scripts to control the synthesis process. [k]
  7. use different design styles, constraints, and optimization options to achieve required synthesis results. [a,c,e,k]
  8. explain the difference between various ASIC design approaches - standard cell, full custom, and programmable devices. [a]
  9. prepare functional and interface requirements for a sequential design project of the student's choosing. [a,c,e]
  10. create the hierarchical decomposition of a sequential design. [a,c,e]
  11. gain experience in the oral presentation of their work to others. [g]
  12. work in a team and negotiate the division of labor. [d]
  13. gain familiarity with the use and purpose of design reviews. [g]
  14. prepare final design documentation sufficient for another engineer to use, test, or enhance the design. [g]

Lab Outline:

Week(s) Topic(s)
1 Course overview, VHDL synthesis and simulation design flow
2 Combinational logic design - schematic and VHDL
3 Use of test benches, timing constraints, optimization trade-offs
4 Sequential logic functions in VHDL
5 State machine design in VHDL
6-7 System level design in VHDL; Writing ASIC specifications
8-9 ASIC Place and Route; Timing closure
10-11 Advanced VHDL topics
12-13 ASIC and programmable logic implementation technologies (full custom, standard cell, FPGA)
14-15 Current VLSI topics
Final Student presentations and final reports

Engineering Design Content:

  • Establishment of Objectives and Criteria
  • Synthesis
  • Analysis
  • Testing
  • Evaluation

Engineering Design Consideration(s):

  • Economic
  • Manufacturability

Assessment Method:

Outcomes x. through xv. Will be demonstrated by means of a final design project to be completed by teams of two or three students. Final projects will be evaluated on a per team basis, but individual participation will also be evaluated.