Technical Elective Offered by the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE)
This electrical and computer engineering-specific (ECE-specific) technical elective teaches students to apply the fundamentals of structured design methodologies for VLSI (Very Large-Scale Integration) systems (Microchips Design). Topics include switching models, device equations, combinational and sequential systems design, simulation, timing, verification, and tools for computer-aided design. This course gives students the skills required to design the microprocessor chips of the future. It prepares students for advanced graduate studies in VLSI design as well as lucrative positions at companies like:
- Intel and ARM – as a leader in the next generation microprocessor designs.
- NVIDIA – developing the chips that will power the generative artificial intelligence systems of the future.
- AMD – whose engineers design the reconfigurable computing engines that power Google and Amazon data centers.
- Analog Devices and Texas Instruments – designers of integrated signal processing and power systems.
- Qualcomm and Apple – designing the communication and data processing chips for the most advanced cell phones.
Specifically, students who take this course will learn about:
- CMOS Processing Technology
- MOS Transistor Theory
- Circuit Characterization and Performance Estimation
- CMOS Circuit and Logic Design
- Transistor-Level VLSI Design Tools
- CMOS Design Methods
- Chip-level VLSI Design Tools
- CMOS Testing
- CMOS Subsystem Design
Faculty from The College of New Jersey have published multiple peer-reviewed research papers related to VLSI Design, including:
- Hernandez, Orlando J. “A Fully Integrated VLSI Circulator for 915-MHz ISM Band RFID and IoT.” In SoutheastCon 2023, pp. 130-135. IEEE, 2023.