10 June, 2024 – School of Electrical Engineering Studies of UiTM Pulau Pinang Branch hosted an insightful online industry lecture titled “Introduction to Layout IC Design”. The guest speaker for the virtual event was Mr. Ahmed Saad Abdou Ahmed, the Vice President of ASIC Design at Universlink Integrated Solutions, a leading provider of custom integrated circuit design services.
The online lecture was attended by a diverse audience of engineering students, both from university’s bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and the bachelor’s degree in Technology Engineering (Industrial Electronics). The virtual format allowed participants from these two complementary degree programs to come together and learn from industry expertise.
Mr. Ahmed Saad Abdou Ahmed began his presentation by providing an overview of the IC design process, highlighting the critical role that layout design plays in transforming a circuit schematic into a functional semiconductor chip.
“Layout design is arguably one of the most important and complex stages of the IC development lifecycle,” Mr. Ahmed explained. “It’s where the abstract circuit topology is transformed into a concrete, manufacturable pattern of materials on a silicon wafer. Getting the layout right is essential for ensuring optimal circuit performance, power consumption, and reliability.”
Throughout the lecture, Mr. Ahmed explained the fundamental concepts and best practices of layout IC design. He covered topics such as:
- Design Rule Checking (DRC): The process of verifying that the proposed layout design adheres to the foundry’s manufacturing rules and constraints, ensuring the chip can be reliably produced.
- Device Placement: The strategic positioning of transistors, resistors, and other active/passive components to minimize parasitic effects and optimize performance.
- Interconnect Routing: The efficient routing of metal traces to connect the various devices, minimizing resistance, capacitance, and cross-talk between signals.
- Parasitic Extraction and Modeling: The analysis of parasitic resistances, capacitances, and inductances introduced by the layout, and techniques to account for these effects in the circuit simulation.
- Floorplanning and Chip Partitioning: The high-level organization of the chip’s functional blocks and IP cores to enable efficient routing, heat dissipation, and overall chip performance.
He also shared insights into the latest tools and technologies that are widely used in layout design. Students and academic staff engaged actively, asking thoughtful questions and sharing their own experiences and challenges in the field of IC design.
Overall, the virtual “Introduction to Layout IC Design” industry lecture provided a comprehensive and insightful overview of this essential discipline, inspiring the next generation of IC designers and strengthening the collaboration between the university’s school of studies and the industry.