Syllabus

ECE546001,601 VLSI Systems Design

Spring 2017

1:302:45pm T, H Room 1025 EB2

Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering

North Carolina State University

Instructor
ProfessorW.RhettDavis,442MRC
5155857(rhett_davis@ncsu.edu)
Officehours:Tuesday,Thursday,34pmin1014EB2

Teaching Assistants
Tobeannounced

Prerequisites
CompletionofECE302(Microelectronics)oranequivalentisrequiredinordertoregisterfor
thiscourse.ThisrequirementassumesthatstudentshaveabasicknowledgeofBJTandMOS
fieldeffecttransistors,IVcharacteristics,circuitmodels,SPICEanalysis(includingbasicUNIX
commands),singlestagetransistoramplifiers(singleendedanddifferentialpair),calculationsof
smallsignalvoltagegain,inputresistanceandoutputresistance.Studentsnotfulfillingthis
requirementmayregisterwiththepermissionoftheinstructor.

Course Objectives
Bytheendofthiscourse,youshouldbeabletodothefollowing:Createtransistorlevel
circuitschematicsandmasklayoutfordigitalintegratedcircuits.
Analyzethesecircuitswithhandcalculationstopredicttheirperformanceintermsofdelay,
area,andpowerdissipation.
Optimizetheperformanceofacircuit.
Designcircuitsinavarietyofdifferentlogicfamilies:StaticCMOS,DynamicCMOS,Ratioed
Logic.
 Designcomplexsystemscontainingavarietyofblocks:randomlogic,integerarithmetic,and
memories.
AnalyzethefirstordereffectsofcomplexandemergingtrendsinVLSItechnology,including
crosstalkandvariability
Usestateoftheartcomputeraideddesign(CAD)toolstolayout,simulateandverifyyour
circuits.
Workindiverseteamsonacomplexproject.

Textbooks
[DigIC]DigitalIntegratedCircuits:ADesignPerspective,2ndEditionbyRabaey,Chandrakasan,
andNikolic,PrenticeHall,2003.

[LPDE]LowPowerDesignEssentialsbyJanRabaey,Springer,2009,AvailableOnlineat
http://catalog.lib.ncsu.edu/record/NCSU2379378

otherrecommendedtexts:CMOSVLSIDesign:ACircuitsandSystemsPerspective,3rdEditionby
WesteandHarris,AddisonWesley,2005.

Course Requirements

FlippedLectureFormat:A"flippedlecture"formatwillbeoccasionallyusedforthisclass.Thisformat
makesclasstimeavailableformoreproblemsolvingandindepthdiscussions.Foreachlecturethat
usesthisformat,studentswillberequiredtowatchavideomoduleandcompleteashortonlinequiz
beforeattendingthelecture.Quizzeswillbedueat1:30pmonthedaythatitsassociatedvideois
assigned.

Examinations:Therewillbeone75minuteinclassexamandafinalexam.Examswillbeclosedbook
andclosednoteswithonesheetofnotesallowed(frontandback)forthefirstexamandtwosheetsfor
thefinalexam.Examswillhaveassignedseating,withnotificationemailedtoeachstudenttwodays
beforeeachexam.Photoswillbetakenduringeachexamtoenforcethispolicy.

MissedExaminations:Ifyoumissanexamwithoutacertifiedmedicalexcuseorpriorinstructor
approval,azerowillbeaveragedintoyourgrade.Ifyoudomissanexaminationformedicalreasons,
pleasegivemethecontactinformationforyourhealthcareproviderandgiveyourprovidersufficient
authorizationformetodiscussthereasonforyourabsence.StudentsattendingtheNCSUStudent
HealthCentercandothatbysubmittingtheformfoundat(https://healthypack.dasa.ncsu.edu/wp
content/uploads/sites/15/2015/04/phiauthorization2014.pdf).Usemycontactinformation
(http://www.ece.ncsu.edu/people/wdavis)andspecifyamissedexaminationasthepurposeofthe
disclosure.
Homework:Homeworkassignmentswillbeissuedthroughoutthesemester(approximatelyoneper
week).AllhomeworkwillbesubmittedonlineusingtheSubmitandGradelinknexttoeach
assignmentinMoodle.Whenrequiredtoshowyourwork,pleasesubmitaPDFfileorascannedimage
withtheproblemworkedoutinorderwithallofthestepsshown.DonotincludeyournameinthePDF
fileorscannedimage.Theseassignmentsmustrepresentyourownwork.Givingorreceivingassistance
onassignmentsisallowed,butyoumaynotshareanypaperand/orelectronicmaterial(sourcecode,
datafiles,reports,charts,photos,screenshots,etc.).Copyingofmaterialsubmittedaspartof
assignmentsisnotallowed,andtherewillbenotoleranceforcheating.Ifunusualsimilaritiesarenoted,
anacademicintegrityviolationreport(https://studentconduct.dasa.ncsu.edu/wp
content/uploads/sites/39/2015/06/RAIVforNewCode.pdf)willbefiled.

LateHomework:Homeworkwillbedueat11:45pmontheduedatepostedonthecoursewebsite.
Homeworkturnedinlatewillnotbeaccepted.Becauseofthisstrictpolicy,thelowesthomeworkgrade
willbedropped.

PeerGrading:Becausethiscourseteachesdesign,whichisacreativeprocess,itisimportantthat
studentsgetfeedbackontheircreativity,whichcannotbeautomaticallygraded.Duetothehugeclass
sizeandlimitedTA/gradersupport,peergradingisthebestalternativetoprovidethisfeedback.For
eachhomeworkassignment,youwillberesponsibleforgradingyourownsubmissionplusuptothree
otherstudentssubmissions,usingthesameSubmitandGradelinkinMoodle.Toensurefairness,this
processwillbedoubleblind.Toensuredoubleblindness,pleasedonotincludeyournameinthe
PDFfileorscannedimagewhenpreparingyourownsubmission.Thegradeyoureceiveforthe
assignmentwillbeanaverageoftheassessmentsyoureceive.Assessmentswillbedue1weekafterthe
homeworkdeadline,andlateassessmentswillnotbeaccepted.PleasecontacttheinstructororTAif
youhavedifficultygradingorifyoufeelthatanassignmenthasbeencopied.

AssessmentGrades:Foreachhomeworkassignment,youwillreceiveanAssessmentGradethatis
automaticallyassigned,dependingonhowfaryourhomeworkassessmentsdeviatedfromtheaverage
assessment.Thisassessmentgrademaybeoverriddeniftheinstructorfeelsthatthegraderneglected
togradetheassignmentproperly.Onecriterionforpropergradingistoleavefeedbackwhen
deductingpoints.

PeerGraderEvaluation:Inordertoimprovetheevaluationprocessandtoassistindetermining
assessmentgrades,youwillbegiventheopportunitytoevaluateyourpeergraders.Submitthis
optionalevaluationusingtheEvaluatePeerGraderslinkinMoodle.Notethatthesameevaluation
willbereturnedtoallthreeofyourpeergraders,sobesuretoincludeenoughinformationinyour
evaluationforgraderstoidentifythemselves,basedontheircomments.Thisevaluationmayalsobe
usedbytheinstructorasgroundstooverridetheautomaticallyassignedassessmentgrade.

Project:Studentsmustcompleteadesignprojectthatdemonstratestheideaspresentedinthisclass.
Therequirementsforthisprojectwillbeclarifiedasthesemesterprogresses.Thedurationofthe
projectwillbeapproximatelythelast6weeksofclass.Studentsmustorganizethemselvesintogroups
of3.Asignificantpartofyourgradewilldependontheperformanceofyourdesignrelativetoother
groupsaswellasanassessmentofyourperformancebyyourgroupmembers.Thefinalreportwillbe
dueonthelastdayofclass,anddemonstrationswillbearrangedthelastweekofclass.

Online Resources
MainCourseWebPage(https://moodle
courses1617.wolfware.ncsu.edu/course/view.php?id=6247)
VideoLecturesArecordingofeachlecturesessionwillbeavailableshortlyafteritmeets.
TheserecordingscanbeaccessedwiththeRecordedLectureVideoslinkonthecourse
webpage.
AFSWorkspace500MBforeachstudentat
/afs/eos.ncsu.edu/lockers/workspace/ece/ece546/001/[UnityID].Thisspacecanbeused
howeveryoulike,butitwilldisappearonthelastdayofexams,andsoarchivingyour
storageinthisspaceduringexamweekishighlyrecommended.
DiscussionForumsavailablethroughthe"Forums"linkonthemaincoursewebpage.
Differentforumswillbecreatedforspecifictopics,butstudentsmayalwaysposttothe
"General"forum.Theinstructorandteachingassistantswillanswerquestionspostedto
theseforumsaswellaswithemail,butpreferentialtreatmentwillbegiventoforumposts.
Studentsareencouragedtoanswerquestionsaswell.Itissuggestedthatpostingsregarding
toolerrorsrefertoaspecificlogfileandrundirectoryinthisworkspace.
OnlineGradeBookGradeswillbemadeavailableonline.Detailswillbediscussedinclass.
CADTutorialsavailableathttp://www.eda.ncsu.edu/wiki/Tutorial:Contents.Studentswill
beexpectedtoworkthroughthesetutorialsaspartofthehomeworkassignments.
Additionaltutorialsandhelpfileswillbepostedonthecoursehomepageasneeded
underDesignResources
AnonymousFeedbackMaybesubmittedathttp://classic.wolfware.ncsu.edu/wrap
bin/feedback?c=ece:546::001:1:2017

Grading Policy
Yourgradewillbebasedupon:
onemidtermexam(20%)
finalexam(20%)
modulequizzes(2%)
homework(18%)brokendownasfollows:
o AverageofPeerGrades(16%)
o AssessmentGrade(2%)
project(40%)brokendownasfollows:
o CorrectnessofMilestone#1(2%)
o CorrectnessofMilestone#2(3%)
o CorrectOperationofFinalDesign(10%)
o PhysicalVerificationofFinalDesign(5%)
 o Documentation(FinalReport)(10%)
o Performance(5%)
o PartnerAssessment(5%)

GradingScale:Allassignmentswillbegradedona100pointscale.Theaverageofthese
assignments(usingtheweightsabove)willbeusedtocomputeyourfinalscore.Thefollowing
scalewillthenbeusedtoassignyourfinalgrade:

10097 A+ 9793 A 9390 A

9085 B+ 8580 B 8075 B
7570 C+ 7065 C 6560 C
6040 D
<40 F

GrayAreasBetweenGuaranteedLetterGrades:Therewillbeagrayareaofseveralpoints
belowthespecifiednumericalcutoffgrades.Twopeoplegettingthesameweightedaverage
(say,89)mightthereforegetdifferentcoursegrades(AandB+).Ifyouareinoneofthosegray
areas,whetheryougetthehigherorlowergradedependsonwhetheryourperformanceon
homeworkhasbeenimproving(itgoesup)ordeclining(itgoesdown)andwhetherornotyour
attendanceinclassandofficehourshasbeenfrequent(up)orinfrequent(down).

AuditRequirements:Studentsauditingthiscourseareexpectedtocompletethehomework
assignmentsandpeergradingwithatleastaCaverage(above60).Modulequizzes,Exams,
andtheProjectmaybeomitted.

Academic Integrity
Allassignmentsmustrepresentindividualeffort(i.e.yourownwork).Givingorreceiving
assistanceonassignmentsisallowed,butyoumaynotshareanypaperand/orelectronic
material(sourcecode,datafiles,reports,charts,photos,screenshots,etc.).Copyingof
materialsubmittedaspartofassignmentsisnotallowed,andtherewillbenotolerancefor
cheating.Ifunusualsimilaritiesarenoted,anacademicintegrityviolationreport
(https://studentconduct.dasa.ncsu.edu/wpcontent/uploads/sites/39/2015/06/RAIVforNew
Code.pdf)willbefiled,whichmayleadtosuspension.SeetheResourcesforStudentsatthe
NCSUOfficeofStudentConduct(http://studentconduct.dasa.ncsu.edu/students)fordetails.If
youhaveanyinformationaboutthemethodsbeingusedtocheatonassignments,youmaylet
usknowbysubmittinganonymousfeedback(http://classic.wolfware.ncsu.edu/wrap
bin/feedback?c=ece:546::001:1:2017).

Supporting Fellow Students in Distress

AsmembersoftheNCStateWolfpackcommunity,weeachshareapersonalresponsibilityto
expressconcernforoneanotherandtoensurethatthisclassroomandthecampusasawhole
remainsasafeenvironmentforlearning.Occasionally,youmaycomeacrossafellowclassmate
whosepersonalbehaviorconcernsorworriesyou.Whenthisisthecase,youareencouragedto
 reportthisbehaviortotheNCStateStudentsofConcern
(http://studentsofconcern.ncsu.edu).Althoughyoucanreportanonymously,itispreferredthat
youshareyourcontactinformationsotheycanfollowupwithyoupersonally.

Accomodations for Disabilities

Reasonableaccommodationswillbemadeforstudentswithverifiabledisabilities.Inorderto
takeadvantageofavailableaccommodations,studentsmustregisterwithDisabilityServicesfor
StudentsattheStudentHealthServicesBuilding,2815CatesAvenue,Suite2221,9195157653.
Seehttp://dso.dasa.ncsu.edufordetails.

Changes to Syllabus

Anyadditionsormodificationswillbepostedtothewebpageandannouncedduringlecture.