3D integration is the big next step in system integration. It is still an emerging technology though and its implications on die and packages are not fully understood yet. Furthermore, it comes in many different process flavors. Adoption by mainstream designers requires the availability of tools that let them evaluate the cost and benefits of 3D compared to conventional system implementations. ...

The three-dimensional (3D) integrated circuit technology developed by MIT Lincoln Laboratory allows circuit structure that forms on several silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrates to be integrated into a 3D integrated circuit. This 3D technology gives the possibility of better thermal and noise management, more compact design, and so on. However, circuit design in the 3D technology has not been f...

This paper describes a knowledge-based system for automatically synthesizing integrated circuit layouts for NMOS cells. The desired cell layouts are specified in terms of their general structural and functional characteristics. From these initial specifications, the system produces correct and CoriJpact cell layouts. The system performs this task by generating plan steps at different levels of ...

III.1. Basic Model for the Operational Amplifier. The OPerational AMPlifier (OPAMP) is a key building block in analog integrated circuit design. The OPAMP is composed by several transistors and passive elements (resistors and capacitors) and arranged such that its low frequency voltage gain is very high; the dc gain of the OPAMP-741 is around 10 V/V (10 μV at the input give us 1 V at the output...

• Small physical size: The space constraints of many detectors, most notably pixel vertex detectors, absolutely require custom microelectronics. Even when commercial electronics can be used, small ASICs can often be positioned closer to the sensor than would otherwise be possible. This reduces input capacitance and improves noise performance. In many cases the size of the cable plant is also re...

Advances in integrated circuit design, image and audio coding and computer architecture have made it possible to develop desktop-based multimedia telecommunications systems at modest cost. We examine how desktop multimedia telecommunications using various network technologies between workstations have been used to allow non-experts to perform tasks typical of their day-to-day work, and show tha...

This paper describes the experience in teaching integrated circuit design using an educational tool called Microwind through a Project-Based Learning approach. The evolution of the tool in the context of technology scale down is described, with focus on nanoscale technologies. An evaluation of the courses taught in two institutions (INSA France, and UniSA Australia) shows high levels of student...

In order to address the challenges of future integrated circuit design, both logic synthesis and physical design will need to be tightly integrated. This includes integrating the circuit structure information produced by logic synthesis with the placement stage of physical design. The first step is to determine the effects of partitioning decisions on placement performance. This paper describes...