A four-term undergraduate course sequence, with a focus on VLSI design techniques, is being developed with laboratory exercises to complement each course. Standard cell techniques receive the major emphasis with other techniques also being stressed. IC fabrication (using MOSIS) of prototype ICs is being planned for incorporation in the laboratory coursework. Testability is introduced at an early stage of the sequence, and emphasized through-out. Equipment obtained includes five (5) Apollo workstations, using Mentor-Graphics software, plus eight (8) 80386-based PCs using ORCAD. The goal is for the students in the sequence to experience taking an IC design concept all the way through analysis, simulation, design, fabrication and testing.
