Module 1 : Introduction to VLSI Design
Lecture 1 : Motivation of the Course
   
1.1 Motivation of the course

Why do some circuits work the first time and some circuits take over a year and multiple design iterations to work properly? Why can, for some circuits, the produced quantities easily be ramped up, and for others both circuit and process optimisation is needed. Why are some circuits running red-hot requiring expensive cooling solutions while other circuits , for similar performance, are running from small batteries in hand held gadgets? Why do some companies make money with successful innovations and why do some companies loose hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue just because they did not get their product on market in time.

The answer to these questions is (a lack of) system engineering : analysis and design of a system's relevant electrical parameters. The deep submicron CMOS technologies have moved the bottleneck from device and gate level issues to interconnects and communication (metal wires) bottle necks, where we currently do not have any design automation. This course aims to provide a working knowledge of system electrical issues at chip level related to remove or live with these new bottle-necks (so that the disasters in design can be avoided with proper structures and performance budgeting ) .
 
 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
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