VLSI Circuit Design Methodology Demystified A Conceptual Taxonomy [Paperback]

This book was written to arm engineers qualified and knowledgeable in the area of VLSI circuits with the essential knowledge they need to get into this exciting field and to help those already in it achieve a higher level of proficiency. Few people truly understand how a large chip is developed, but an understanding of the whole process is necessary to appreciate the importance of each part of it and to understand the process from concept to silicon. It will teach readers how to become better engineers through a practical approach of diagnosing and attacking real-world problems.

Foreword xi
Richard Templeton

Foreword xiii
Hans Stork

Preface xv

Acknowledgments xvii

CHAPTER 1 THE BIG PICTURE 1

1. What is a chip? 1

2. What are the requirements of a successful chip design? 3

3. What are the challenges in today’s very deep submicron (VDSM), multimillion gate designs? 4

4. What major process technologies are used in today’s design environment? 5

5. What are the goals of new chip design? 8

6. What are the major approaches of today’s very large scale integration (VLSI) circuit design practices? 9

7. What is standard cell-based, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) design methodology? 11

8. What is the system-on-chip (SoC) approach? 12

9. What are the driving forces behind the SoC trend? 15

10. What are the major tasks in developing a SoC chip from concept to silicon? 15

11. What are the major costs of developing a chip? 16

CHAPTER 2 THE BASICS OF THE CMOS PROCESS AND DEVICES 17

12. What are the major process slS(