In our everyday life, we used to see devices like smartphones, laptops, PCs, etc that work on many electronic components mounted on the Printed Circuit Board (PCB) inside them. Among all mounted components there is a very important component of any circuit called a microprocessor or microcontroller or Integrated Circuits (ICs). Now one question comes to our mind how are these chips manufactured and what is the technology behind the design of these chips? What is VLSI? Here we are now diving into the most interesting but most complex technology of electronics engineering called VLSI.
Before proceeding please read the previous article on semiconductor basics which help you to understand VLSI easily- Understanding Semiconductors Basics: Types, Manufacturing, and Applications | How Silicon Chips are Manufactured?
In this blog post, I am going to explain this emerging and complex technology of Electronics in a simple and understandable way. Let's learn all basics of VLSI design technology.
Table of Contents
What is VLSI?
VLSI stands for Very Large Scale Integration. VLSI is the process of creating and designing Integrated Circuits (ICs) like processors, and memory devices that contain millions or billions of transistors on a single chip. VLSI technology is the revolution in the electronics industry which play a very important role in the creation of smaller, more powerful, more energy-efficient devices. History of VLSI :
The history of VLSI started in the late 1950s when the first IC (Integrated Circuit) was developed which contains only a few transistors and was majorly used in military and aerospace applications. In the 1960s integrated circuits (ICs) began to use in commercial applications like calculators, watches, and early huge computers which contain only a few hundred transistors.
But the real breakthrough came in the 1970s when VLSI came into the picture. Carver Mead a chip designer developed tools and standards and successfully integrate tens of thousands of transistors on a single silicon chip which is then called Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI)
Today VLSI technology is now used in many applications where integrated circuit chips are required like our smartphones, laptops, cars, bikes, airplanes, and medical devices, etc. Modern Chips which are designed using VLSI technology contain Billions of transistors on a single small chip of a few centimeters.
VLSI Design Process
The VLSI design process involves lots of steps but some of them are important as follows
1) Design Specification: This is the first step in VLSI design which involves defining the specifications and requirements of the chip. This includes determining the function of the chip, required characteristics, and other specifications.
2) Logic Design: The second step is the logic design which involves creating a high-level logic representation of the chip with the help of Hardware Description Language (HDL). HDL is used to describe the performance of chips in terms of logic gates and other digital components.
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| VLSI Design Process (img credit : tutorialspoint) |
3) Circuit Design: The circuit Design step involves the conversion of logic design into a detailed circuit schematic. This contains a selection of transistors and other components and circuitry according to the design specifications.
4) Layout Design: Layout design is a skilled task that involves an arrangement of individual components on a chip to minimize space and the circuit should work properly. Careful placements of transistors and other components considering some factors like power consumption, signal integrity, and thermal management.
5) Photolithography: Finally in this step pattern is created on the surface of the semiconductor chip using a series of masks and light-sensitive materials, which is then etched to create the desired circuitry on the chip.
Current State of Art in VLSI:
Nowadays VLSI technology is dominated by the developments of smaller, power-efficient, cost-efficient, and high-performance chips. Thanks to the advancements in material science, modern photolithography, and other key technologies.
Now VLSI technology is moving towards three-dimensional (3D) integration which involves arrangements of multiple circuitry on top of each other to get large density and efficient use of space. 3D integration is mainly important in devices that have space constraints like smartphones and thin laptops.
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| 3D or Multilayer VLSI (img credit: BIT blog) |
Another important trend in VLSI is the development of new semiconductor materials for the fabrication of chips. For example, Silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrates have become increasingly common in recent years which give better performance and less power consumption as compared to traditional silicon substrates.
How to learn VLSI?
Learning VLSI is a challenging task but also it is very exciting. VLSI is the field of electronics that has many opportunities for engineers. If you want to learn then the following points can be helpful to you.
1) Be strong in the basics of electronics: VLSI technology is dependent on basic principles of electronics so you must want to understand basics such as digital and analog circuits, semiconductors and MOSFETs, transistors, and their working principles and operations.
For Basics Read our previous blog posts -
2) Learn the Basics of VLSI Design: First you need to know about all parts of VLSI design. At least you have to learn basics like VLSI design methodologies, circuit design, layout design and circuit verification etc. For this use online materials, books, lectures etc.
3) Practise VLSI Design Tools: Download and install VLSI design tools that are used in industries like Cadence and Synopsys. You can use their free version to practice. and you can use youtube to learn the basics of this software.
4) Attend Workshops and Conferences: By attending workshops and conferences you will get the latest trends in VLSI technology. Also, your network will build with VLSI professionals and educators. You can join VLSI communities on different platforms like Reddit, medium etc.
5) Online courses: There are many online courses available on different platforms on google and on youtube also there are lots of lecture series available. I suggest NPTL courses learn because these lectures are conducted by IIT professors.
Here is some NPTL courses link that are totally free of cost:
i) https://nptel.ac.in/courses/117106092
ii) https://onlinecourses.nptel.ac.in/noc21_cs12/preview
6) Pursue a Degree in VLSI: Pursuing a Bachelor's or Master's degree is the best option to study VLSI in deep. And it is also a good option to start a career in the VLSI field.
7) Bonus Tip: Subscribe to us and stay tuned with The Mechatronics Blog to learn VLSI and other technologies in Electronics. Career in VLSI
A career in VLSI can be highly paid and offer exciting opportunities to work in this cutting-edge technology. Here are some career paths for Engineers in VLSI.
1) VLSI Design Engineer: The design engineer works on Logic building and decides the overall structure and specification of a chip.
2) Verification Engineer: The verification Engineer is responsible for testing and validating the functions of Integrated Circuits(Ics)
3) Physical Design Engineer: Physical Design Engineer is responsible for designing the layout of ICs, placements of components on-chip and routing of transistors and interconnects.
4) Product Engineer: The product engineer ensures the quality of the chip or IC, international standards, and product reliability.
5) Application Engineer: Application engineers are responsible for providing technical support and expertise to customers who use integrated circuits in their products.
Conclusion
Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) technology is a very advanced technology in electronics now. It has a wide range of applications in the modern era. Now this technology moving towards 3D integration which is another state-of-the-art advancement in VLSI. The huge demand of microprocessors and Integrated Circuits in the world creates many career opportunities in this field. The Indian government also focusing to attract chip manufacturers to India. The future of VLSI is in the development of new computing technologies like quantum computing and neuromorphic computing. Overall VLSI is an emerging field of electronics that has a never-ending future.
Hope you enjoyed learning about VLSI. Subscribe to our blog and stay tuned with us to read more stuff like this.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)
What is VLSI ?
VLSI is the process of creating and designing Integrated Circuits (ICs) like processors, and memory devices that contain millions or billions of transistors on a single chip.
What is the full form of VLSI ?
VLSI stands for Very Large Scale Integration.
What is VLSI Design ?
VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration) design is the process of designing complex semiconductor chips that integrate a large number of transistors and other components on a single chip. VLSI design involves creating a design description using hardware description languages (HDLs), verifying the design for correctness, translating it into a gate-level netlist, optimizing it for power, timing, and area, and creating a final design database for fabrication. VLSI design is a crucial part of the semiconductor industry and is used to create advanced electronic devices such as microprocessors, memory chips, and system-on-chip (SoC) designs.
What is VLSI full from in Computer ?
The full form of VLSI in computer is Very Large Scale Integration.
If you have any dought, Let me know in comment box