Here is the outline I was thinking of: 3 hr lecture- 3 hr labs
1. Define what is meant by RTL 2 GDSII in general for ASIC applications.
A lecture to show the basics of a typical ASIC Design flow. You can explain this in the context of OpenROAD as well.
Also introduce the building blocks such as libraries, PDKS, rules, constraints etc briefly.
I have attached a set of slides based on our current presentation--this may be too complex but it gives you an idea of the flow. The design images can be substituted by a simpler example like GCD. (Github-> https://github.com/The-OpenROAD-Project/OpenROAD-flow-scripts/tree/master/flow/designs/sky130hd/gcd)
2. Show the RTL- GDS flow in OpenROAD-flow-scripts
Explain briefly input/outputs at each stage and handoffs of the flow and the associated functional role.
e.g a Systems architect - designs the system given the components with a targeted design goal for power, performance, area
RTL engineer- Defines the register transfer level based on the architecture and synthesizes a netlist (Verilog, VHDL etc.) . We support Verilog.
3. Introduction to physical design - basic concepts of standard cell placement , creation of a power grid, i/o pins to connect to the external world,
goals - reducing wirelength
4. Some basic analysis like timing, area utilization, density etc. using the OpenROAD GUI.
5. Final chip handoff- importance of ensuring that this design can be made manufacturable based on skywater 130nm or GF180 pdk.
Lab demo - GCD (greatest common divisor) from ORFS Github-> https://github.com/The-OpenROAD-Project/OpenROAD-flow-scripts/tree/master/flow/designs/sky130hd/gcd
I can help set you up with ORFS and share a simple demo example.
Student project- Pick any design from the ORFS design repo, choose a design goal and improve that (area, utiization, timing etc)
Extra credit- Student selects any open source design core and completes the flow in ORFS.
- Submit a GitHub issue (problem found) or a fix via a PR from the ORFS set of issues to contribute. This may be a huge stretch goal but students inclined towards software, scripts, document improvements can contribute.
Here's a MEMS foundry that was recently launched recently--something that could be very useful for your class.
https://science.xyz/news/launching-science-foundry
Here's the latest infor on Tiny Tapeout: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fblSVCPvCiY
We should include a plan for student projects on Tiny Tapeout.
NSF Link to teacher Education research grant opportunities
