A Project-Oriented Undergraduate Course in Mixed Analog/Digital ASIC Design

Microelectronic systems design for ASICs is still considered as a hard and very specialized topic by undergraduate students in electrical and electronics engineering (EEE). This feeling is justified because the mastery of ASICs design requires wide knowledge in fields as different as semiconductor physics, VLSI fabrication, circuit theory, signal theory,... Nowadays, the progress in technology have lead to more and more complex developments where logic and analog functions are integrated on a same chip. A future designer has to be prepared to these new challenges. It comes into its own that the task is not easy to fullfill. Many students can be put off if no effort is made by the education to promote the exciting world of microelectronics.