The Massachusetts Microelectronics Center (M2C) is conducting a two week (ten day) project-oriented workshop on the fundamentals of VLSI design and CAD tool usage. This workshop is directed towards Electrical Engineering faculty with little experience in VLSI design, Electrical Engineering faculty with expertise in VLSI but little familiarity with the design tools available in an academic environment, and Computer Science faculty with minimal acquaintance with electronic engineering. The goal of the Workshop is to equip the faculty with the resources necessary to conduct an undergraduate course in VLSI design that would culminate in the fabrication and subsequent test of student-designed chips. Topics include an introduction to UNIX, device behavior, design methodology including design reviews, design styles, and process fundamentals. Lectures on design methodology and process technology are supplemented by design and simulation laboratory exercises on CAD workstations. Emphasis is on public-domain CAD tools in a UNIX environment. The course culminates in the fabrication of student projects at M2C's integrated circuit fabrication facility. Fabricated chips will be mailed to participants shortly after the end of the Workshop. In addition, previously fabricated chips designed to the same project specifications, some working and some with planned design flaws, are to be tested during the workshop.
