THE VLSI HANDBOOK

1. Chapter 1 : Introduction

An introduction to VLSI, its evolution, present day challenges and future outlook.

2. Chapter 2 : Semiconductor Ecosystem

A look into VLSI trends, the semiconductor value chain and key manufacturing challenges.

3. Chapter 3: SoC Development

System on Chip (SoC) design challenges, components and details of SoC design flow.

4. Chapter 4: IP Design

Dive into soft and hard IP Design processes followed by a discussion on the challenges faced in IP Design.

5. Chapter 5: FPGA Aided Development

An overview of FPGAs in ASIC development and reconfigurable computing, as well as applications of FPGAs in AI, 5G and financial use cases.

6. Chapter 6: Emerging Semiconductor Applications

Explore and learn about emerging semiconductor applications in today's world, with a focus on AI, 5G and automotive sectors.

7. Appendix A : VLSI Resources

A compilation of useful VLSI resources for practitioners and students, including books, learning resources, tools and source designs.

8. Appendix B: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

A collection of commonly asked FAQs including academia and industry opportunities, designed with a focus on the needs of aspirants.

9. Author Biographies

The purpose of this book is to give a thorough introduction to the field of Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI). The book assumes that the readers are familiar with some of the basic VLSI terminologies. It is especially intended for the fresh college graduates aspiring to work in the VLSI Industry, along with those who have just started their career in the VLSI domain and want to understand the overall picture. Of course, this book is also intended for all passionate engineers or anyone interested to know about current or future VLSI trends and industry paradigms.

It takes time to learn VLSI concepts and practice hardware skills. It also takes relentless efforts to secure a good job in the VLSI Industry and then excel in it. This book provides general understanding of overall VLSI concepts along with various design flows from top to bottom. It gives an overview of the VLSI industry with perspectives on how innovations in VLSI will emerge and shape the future.

Though this book can also be used by anyone who has started a career in VLSI and wants to build a comprehensive understanding of VLSI, it doesn’t cover the entire scope of the VLSI domain. Hence various learning resources and answers to frequent questions that may potentially arise in the minds of readers are provided at the end of this book as appendices for easy reference. We hope the readers would find the book useful and informative.

July, 2021

New Delhi, India

"The VLSI Handbook: Design Principles, Industry and Career Perspectives is the right book at the right time for filling the gap between the courses being taught in engineering colleges and the skill set required in the VLSI industry. Practically, it is impossible to add more VLSI content in graduate courses because the study of basic electronic concepts is very much required for Electronics Engineering UG students. I congratulate the authors in capturing all the details of VLSI industry (Flows, IP and SoC design, FPGA based design) in the book in a very balanced manner with appropriate depth. The vast experience of the authors in industry and research institutes makes this book unique in covering the exact industrial design activities happening in a way which is easily understandable to students. Another important feature of this book is that it describes the full ecosystem of the VLSI industry from silicon to system level, these sections will give a boost to those students who are interested in start-ups. This book will help all UG students as well as the faculty of Electronics Engineering to understand the concepts around VLSI design. The book content will also act as a career guide to PG students in selecting their future streams within the VLSI domain. I strongly recommend that this book should be added as a reference book for all PG courses in VLSI. As a visiting faculty for several engineering colleges, I found that it was very difficult to suggest any reference book on VLSI (for M.Tech. students), with this book I see a perfect option available. I wish Udit, Aditya and Sumit great success for this effort."

-Rajeev Kumar Srivastava (Ph.D.), Director, NXP Semiconductors Ltd., Bangalore, India.

"I am fortunate to have witnessed VLSI System on Chip Design and EDA taking shape over the last three decades in India. The famous Silicon Valley, Indian IT Hubs like Bengaluru/Hyderabad and now startups all are testimonials. It has fuelled Internet, transformed Communication, Entertainment, Automotive and the way we live today. This field has and continues to attract the best talents of our times and has remained rewarding, both in terms of money and status.

I am glad that new generation colleagues Dr Udit, Dr Sumit and Aditya, took time to create this book. It takes lots of wisdom and maturity to detach yourself from day-to-day achievements and think for others. This book undertakes us on a guided tour and answers any and every question one may have related to the field of VLSI, including future trends.

The book is written in simple language and the reader can easily connect to it. The unique thing is the Appendix where VLSI Resources are provided and FAQ section where all possible questions are addressed. This resource is coming from Rich experience that these authors have accumulated. It can help, ranging from students (10th and 12th standard) to experienced VLSI industry people, who at times do not know the pros and cons of other related domains. Such resources are rare to find in a concise way and is very useful and relevant.

My best wishes to the authors and the readers and I feel honoured to be part of this journey."

-Bhanu Prakash, Deputy GM, VLSI Design, HCL Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Noida, India.

"The authors have systematically described and covered basic introduction of VLSI, semiconductor ecosystem, SoC/IP Flow and latest trends in upcoming fields. The authors have vast experience in industry and academic excellence in the VLSI field so they have perfectly conceptualized this book based on their learning and experience.

I insist all the readers to prefer to read this book because I am very impressed and satisfied with the book as it has covered all the relevant topics, people usually look for them. Referring this book will give a fair overview of VLSI field, how industry creates the eco-system and works, and what are latest and upcoming fields. I thank and wish the authors all the very best on devising this very useful book."

- Manoj Kumar Yadav, Director SoC Design at Intel Technology India Pvt. Ltd.

"Congratulations to the authors of the book for developing an easy to understand collateral to create interest in beginners and growing the chip design community to contribute to the growth of VLSI industry. This book is an excellent reference for an overview of the chip design covering almost every aspect. This is great collateral for the beginners as well as good refresher for professionals who have specialization in specific area of VLSI and interested to know overall chip design ecosystem. This book will certainly add great confidence with VLSI knowledge for all who are interested to shape their career in the chip design industry."

Vikas Kamboj, Director, Applications Engineering, Synopsys India Pvt. Ltd.

"I want to extend my thanks to the authors for coming up with the idea to catch young engineers' attention to this wonderful field of technology and introduce them to semiconductors. This makes a good balance to develop excitement and curiosity in young minds with an introductory walk through over the technology and industry, while at the same time encourage and facilitate them to make their career in the VLSI Industry. Simple language and right mix of figures and graphs make it easy read and easy to comprehend. I am sure the readers will enjoy this power pill over their weekend."

Sudhanshu Jayaswal, Senior Manager, Siemens EDA

"First of all, let me congratulate and thank the authors for coming up with this book. VLSI Industry is like an ocean, and having all the relevant information compiled at one place is the need of the hour. This book comprehensively covers all aspects of the VLSI Industry and gives the much needed information for readers. This is an excellent resource and a must-read not only for fresh graduates but also a quick refresher for experienced professionals in the VLSI Industry."

Rohit Gupta, Design Engineering Manager at Qualcomm

"This book provides a comprehensive overview of the VLSI Industry and is a great read for graduates seeking opportunities in this domain. The authors have touched upon diverse topics based on the current industry trends, making the book useful for industry experts as well. I strongly recommend this book to readers who are interested in diving into the VLSI domain, and wish the authors great success in this endeavor."

Amit Tyagi, R&D Engineer, Staff, Synopsys Inc. Mountain View, California

"Semiconductors is a complex field to understand and operate in. It is fast-paced with technologies getting revamped every 3-4 years. New emerging trends make it absolutely imperative for the stakeholders to change their approach to how they look at and deal with challenges and opportunities on the offer. This book is an impressive attempt to shed light on the existing VLSI ecosystem, SoC & IP design flows, FPGA usage, and VLSI trends. Especially useful for freshers and people at the early stage of their careers in the VLSI domain."

Manu Tiwari, Industry Principal, Frost & Sullivan

"The VLSI industry has been developed significantly in the last 40 years. The semiconductor technology scaling is able to bring many complex features in our daily gadgets while making them compact. In recent years, the advent of 5G and artificial intelligence brings new opportunities and challenges in this field. This book provides a nice overview of different aspects of the VLSI industry, written by the experts in the field. This is an excellent read for anyone who wants to learn and/or to start a career in this area. I particularly find the design methodology and flow explained in this book very interesting and not readily available elsewhere."

Somnath Kundu, Research Scientist, Intel Labs, Hillsboro, Oregon

"This book very interestingly and efficiently gives an overview of the VLSI domain. It covers how the industry has evolved over the years, its current state and which way it is expected to go in future. It also gives a view of various design and verification flows which an IP or SoC goes through before it is in the hands of a consumer. This is a one stop shop for all the information one would need to get acquainted with this domain before one starts his/her career. This book will also be immensely helpful for those who have started this journey and want to get a bird eye view of the industry and its processes. I hope that this book helps readers fulfil their dreams. I also congratulate the authors for sharing with the new generation what they have learnt from years of their hard work in the industry."

Vidit Gupta, Staff Software Engineer at Xilinx

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