What Is VLSI Design? The answer is pretty straightforward. VLSI designing is the modern way to design and develop ICs. It’s divided into two parts — the software and hardware.
Though countries like Bangladesh have a thriving ICT sector, falling behind in creating skilled resources in VLSI designing. Also, the country has only a few VLSI solution providers. However, the leading offshore VLSI and embedded provider in Bangladesh, BJIT, has taken up the responsibility of educating fresh IT graduates about VLSI designing.
Let’s take a look at VLSI design and how it’s done in the embedded systems industry -
What Is VLSI Design?
VLSI full form stands for Very Large Scale Integration. VLSI is the process of creating an Integrated Circuit or IC by integrating numerous transistors onto a single microchip. After VLSI, the latest technology is ULSI (Ultra Large Scale Integration) designing.
Also, the highest transistor count in an IC chip has been 2 trillion as of 2019.
VLSI design came after three stages of IC designing -
- SSI — Small Scale Integration (Transistors Count: 1–100)
- MSI — Medium Scale Integration. (Transistors Count: 100–1000)
- LSI — Large Scale Integration. (Transistors Count: 1000–10000)
VLSI Basics
To be an expert in VLSI designing, you must have a clear idea of — digital number systems, logic gates, combinational and sequential circuits, multiplexing (MUX), and overall knowledge of digital system design. Also, you must have a sound idea of semiconductors such as CMOS processing, designing, etc.
BJIT, a leading offshore company in VLSI designing, conducts various skill-based training sessions to educate the young minds of Bangladesh’s IT sector. Also, the company provides world-class embedded solutions (VLSI and CAD) globally.
Discussing all the above-mentioned topics in a single blog post is difficult. That’s why below are some of the basics of VLSI designing that every VLSI aspirant must know of -
Moore’s Law
The first step to answer the question — “what is VLSI design?” is to clearly understand Moore’s Law. Co-founder of Intel Gordon Moore postulated this law in 1965. The law states that -
The amount of transistors (per IC) doubles down every 10 to 14 months.
Following Moore’s law, the number of transistors has doubled every year since 1970. However, with the emergence of new ways to measure processing power, the prediction of Moore’s law is slowing down. Nonetheless, it’s still valid as of 2021.
VLSI Design — Front-end
The front-end part of the VLSI design is the simulation part. In this stage, the simulation of the circuit is designed using RTL languages. Also, the GATE level design is simulated in this part. This stage is important for assembling, assessing, and preparing the system. Along with the interconnectivity of different parts of the system.
The VLSI design flow table below mentions all the stages of the front-end process.
VLSI Design Flow
VLSI Design Flow contains seven steps; leading companies like BJIT go through each of the steps to successfully produce top-notch embedded systems solutions. The entire process is shown briefly below -
Name of the stage & Core function
- System Requirements
System performance analysis, end goal specification, functionality, and physical measurement.
2. System Architecture
The decision of RISC or CISC system, ALU number, cache size, etc.
3. Functional Design
How the entire system is interconnected, and what are the functionalities of each module.
4. Logic Design
Control flow diagram, allocation of registers, the width of the data units, arithmetic operations, etc. RTL language is used to create the logic design.
5. Circuit Design
Develop circuit representation of the system based on the outcome of the logic design stage.
6. Physical Design
Conversion from circuit representation to geometric representation.
7. The Final Stage
Packaging, Testing, Debugging, and Maintenance.
VLSI Design — Back-end
The back-end part is the hardware part. It contains a CMOS-level design. Also, the physical design and integration occur in this stage. Stages of the back-end process are given below -
Name of the stage & Core function
- Processing of the Wafer
Crystalized silicone is cut into wafer-like shapes.
2. Photo-lithography
Making tracks in the wafer by photolithography techniques.
3. Etching Technology
Creating patterns in the wafer and protecting vital parts of the system.
4. Ion Implanting
Implanting the semiconductor characteristics in the system by ion implantation.
5. Metal-Masking
Applying aluminum player in the wafer.
6. Assembling, Fabrication, and Final Packaging
All the materials are assembled and fabricated in the material. After that, the wafers are cut into single ships and packaged afterward.
EDA Tools in VLSI Designing
EDA stands for Electronic Design Automation. These are software tools to design and develop the IC circuit. Here are some popular EDA tools used in VLSI designing -
Synopsys
Synopsys is one of the most popular EDA tools available in the market. Developed by an American company of the same name, this tool is one of the most used EDA tools in VLSI designing.
Siemens EDA
Siemens EDA is one of the most popular EDA tools available in the market. VLSI engineers all over the world use these tools to design ICs.
Keysight Technologies
Keysight Technologies is an American company that produces EDA software tools. The name is a portmanteau of the words key and insight — the company wants to say that their products always provide valuable insight to key functions.
Cadence
Cadence EDA tool is also a popular EDA tool used by VLSI engineers. It’s also an American company.
Benefits of VLSI Designing
VLSI designing has many benefits. Below are some of the core benefits of VLSI designing -
- Decreases size for circuits
- Reduces space and assists in minimization.
- Cost-effective and faster performance.
- Delivers high-performing systems.
- Requires a lower amount of power.
VLSI Designing in BJIT
BJIT is a leading offshore software and embedded systems development company globally. Forming in 2001, the company has 20+ years of experience in different sectors of the ICT industry. Being a pioneer in the rise of the ICT sector in Bangladesh, BJIT has 750+ engineers and developers working for major IT markets such as Japan, the U.S.A, Sweden, and the Netherlands.
BJIT’s VLSI generation process is industry standard. It has skilled resources in building embedded systems (VLSI and CAD). From design to development and testing, BJIT is the one-stop solution for VLSI engineering.
BJIT also conducts training and workshops to build skilled resources — BJIT’s experienced mentors can cover all about VLSI engineering, from “what is VLSI design?” to “how to test the effectiveness of your VLSI circuit?”
