VLSI Design

This book is devoted to the study of VLSI Design specifically for the students pursuing studies at the undergraduate level. Current silicon-based IC technology has made possible the design of complex digital circuits with saving of space, power requirements and cost and also with high potential speed. The complexity and speed are very vital factors in VLSI systems. So majority of VLSI systems in silicon utilize nMOS, cMOS and BicMOS technology.

The book is intended to serve as first and reference for the Undergraduate Engineering students who are studying VLSI design. As a pre-requisite, the reader is expected to have a good knowledge on Digital Circuits and Design.

In the first chapter, Introduction to VLSI, MOS device operation and its various characteristics are discussed. The successive chapter elaborates on Basic IC production processes viz. nMOS, cMOS, etc. Chapters 3 & 4 tell about how various circuits for digital systems can be implemented using MOS and the process involved in MOS circuits design. While the 5th chapter has a detailed look on combinational, sequential and data path circuits. Chapter 6 discusses on programmable logic devices, giving more attention to PLAs and memories.Hardware description language which offers the most versatile design entry is introduced in Chapter 7. Though VHDL and verilog are popular languages used, detailed study of VHDL precedes and a comparison of VHDL with verilog is done for better understanding. Chapter 8 is a dedicated to analog VLSI which is another key area in VLSI design. It also briefs on GaAs Technology?a backbone to high speed VLSI. The concluding chapter gives information on field programmable gate arrays?another important programming device. Though several FPGA vendors and manufacturers are in market, this chapter concentrates on the most versatile XILINX series. Sufficient coding on VHDL are given as Appendix for the benefit of the students.
While this book covers most of the core areas of VLSI design, it is hoped that this will serve as a single reference book for the students pursuing undergraduate studies in Electronics & Communication Engineering, Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering.