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Microelectronics

Participants will learn about the complete chip development cycle, be familiar with key open-source tools (e.g., SPICE, Verilog, Yosys, OpenROAD, KiCad), and gain insight into the opportunities and challenges of accessible semiconductor design.

Overview

This four-week course introduces the foundations of modern microelectronics, from basic devices to system integration. Participants will learn how semiconductor chips are designed, simulated, fabricated, and tested, gaining exposure to both analog and digital design flows as well as the broader development pipeline. The course combines conceptual overviews with practical introductions to widely used open-source tools, highlighting pathways for students, researchers, and independent designers to engage in chip design and low-cost tapeout opportunities.

Week 1: Introduction to microelectronics, devices, and the design ecosystem. Covers transistors, analog circuit basics, grounding, and signal fidelity.

Week 2: Schematic design, simulation, and layout, with an introduction to fabrication processes and tapeout.

Week 3: Digital design methodology—hardware description languages, good coding practices, verification and testing tools, and logic synthesis/place-and-route.

Week 4: Packaging, evaluation boards, system testing, and integration, culminating in student presentations.

Outcomes

  • Explain the role of transistors, analog components, and digital logic in microelectronic systems
  • Use schematic capture and simulation tools (e.g., SPICE) to design and test simple circuits
  • Understand the basics of layout, design rules, and the tapeout process
  • Write and evaluate hardware description language (HDL) code (e.g., Verilog/SystemVerilog) for simple digital designs
  • Apply open-source tools for synthesis, place-and-route, and verification (e.g., Yosys, OpenROAD)
  • Recognize the full chip development pipeline from concept to fabrication and testing

Prerequisites

  • General comfort with computers, programming, and the command line
  • Basic knowledge of electronics (Ohm’s law, current/voltage, simple circuits)
  • Some prior exposure to coding logic or scripting (Python, C, or similar)
  • Interest in hardware design or digital fabrication (no prior chip design required)

Site requirements

Global

November 18, 20, 25, 27 and December 2, 4, 9, 11 — 9:00–10:30A EDT

Local

Mon, Wed, Fri (local)

Local nodes set times

Faculty

Jennifer Volk

Jennifer Volk

published

Wisc

My research focuses on leveraging the unique properties of novel technologies (like, e.g., superconductor electronics and photonics) to create highly efficient systems for next-generation domains (e.g., datacenters, neuromorphic and quantum computing, and space, satellite, and sensing systems). I take on a holistic approach, centering on circuit design and spanning materials science and computer microarchitecture, to develop solutions that fully exploit the strengths of these technologies while mitigating their drawbacks.

Andreas Olofsson

Andreas Olofsson

published

Zero Asic

Andreas Olofsson is a pioneering semiconductor entrepreneur and engineer, currently leading Zero ASIC as its founder and CEO. With a rich background designing low-power, highly parallel processors—culminating in the Epiphany architecture and Parallella platform—he later directed DARPA initiatives before founding Zero ASIC. There, he has driven a wave of open-source chiplet innovations, including the groundbreaking Platypus eFPGA. He holds advanced degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and is recognized as an IEEE member with multiple patents to his name.

Alexander Wynn

Alexander Wynn

published

Lincoln lab MIT

Scaling superconductor electronics for the next generation of computing.