TN 423

VLSI CIRCUITS

10 Credits
 Course Objectives
1. Explain the operation of a MOS transistor
2. Analyze and implement various logic gates and circuits
using MOS transistors.
3. Design circuit components and verify their performance
using simulation tools.
4. Develop the requirements of designing digital systems s
uch as choice of logic family, testability, and VLSI syste
m considerations.
5. Design digital circuits using programming languages su
ch a Verilog and HDL.
6. Principles of PCB Layout Design
 Course Outline
1. Introduction to VLSI design process
2. Levels of integration
3. CMOS Circuits
4. Tanner Tools and Test Benches
5. Logic Circuits
 Course Outline
6. Fabrication process
7. Design verification and testing
8. Complex CMOS Circuits
9. Complex Sequential logic
10. Applications of VLSI
 Course Prerequisites
Ω Analogue Electronics
Ω TN 221: Digital Electronics I
Ω TN 321: Digital Electronics II
Ω Antenna and Wave Propagation Equation
s
 Practical Sessions
Ω Simulation tools
Ω A few simulations for VLSI Circuits
 Mode of Delivery
Ω In a week, there will be
✓ 2 Lecture Hours (Tuesday:08.00-10.00 hrs) a
nd
✓ 1 Tutorial hour (Tuesday: 04.00-05.00 noon)
✓ Lab hour
 Course Assessment
Ω Two class tests = 25%
Ω Several Assignments = 12%
Ω Quizzes = 3%
TOTAL CW = 40%
Ω UE = 60%
Ω TOTAL MARKS =100%
 Text/Reference Books

by Nell H.E. Weste David M. Harris

by Rabaey, J. M
by Wa
yne Wolf

by Nell H.E. Weste and Kamran Eshrag

htan
 LECTURE 1

INTRODUCTION TO ELECTRONICS AND

SEMICONDUCTORS
 Outline
Ω Introduction
Ω Electronic Components
Ω Semiconductors
Ω Transistors
Ω Motivation
Ω Historical Perspective
Ω Types of Ics
Ω Introduction to Fabrication of ICs
 Introduction
Ω It is a field of science and engineering whi
ch deals with electronic devices and their
utilizations.
Ω Electronic devices are devices whose flow
of current is due to the controlled flow of
charge carriers through a gas, a vacuum
or a semiconductor.
 Electronic Components
Ω Resistors (Fixed and variable)
Ω Capacitors (Fixed, variable, electrolytic..)
Ω Inductors
Ω Diodes (PN, Zener, Avalanche…)
Ω Gates (AND, NAND, OR, NOR, XOR…)
Ω Transformers
Ω Transistors (Bipolar, FET, JFET...)
 SEMICONDUCTORS
Ω Materials are classified into three categori
es
1. Insulators
2. Semiconductors
3. Conductors
Ω A semiconductor is a material whose
electrical properties lie between those of a
conductor and an insulator
 Semiconductors…
Ω Energy band diagrams show the energy levels o
f the electrons in the material.
Ω The diagram has two bands, the conduction ban
d and the valence band.
Ω The valence band is occupied by the electrons
with the highest energy level of those which are
still attached to their parent atoms, these are the
outer most (or valence) electrons.
Ω The conduction band is occupied by electrons w
hich are free from their parent atoms.
 Semiconductors…
Ω These electrons are free to move through the m
aterial.
Ω When a voltage is applied these electrons will dr
ift to produce an electrical current.
Ω In semiconductors there is a gap between the v
alence and conduction bands.
Ω This energy gap reflects the amount of energy t
hat would be needed to remove an electron fro
m it's parent atom (ie to transfer it from the valen
ce to the conduction band).
Semiconductors…
 Semiconductors…
Ω Intrinsic semiconductors are essentially pure se
miconductor material.
Ω The semiconductor material structure should co
ntain no impurity atoms.
Ω Elemental and compound semiconductors can b
e intrinsic semiconductors.
Ω At room temperature, the thermal energy of the
atoms may allow a small number of the electron
s to participate in the conduction process.
Ω Examples: Silicon (Si) and Germanium (Ge)
 Semiconductors…
Ω An extrinsic semiconductor can be formed fro
m an intrinsic semiconductor by adding impur
ity atoms to the crystal in a process known a
s doping .
Ω Doping can be done using
✓ pentavalent impurities (to create n-type semicon
ductor) or
✓ trivalent impurities (to create p-type semiconduct
or)
 Semiconductors…
Ω The use of semiconductors such as Silicon and
Germanium in making electronic devices
Ω Semiconductor devices are
✓ smaller,
✓ cheaper,
✓ more reliable and
✓ consume less power than vacuum or gaseous device
s
Ω Development of semiconductor technology has
made it possible to integrate a large number of d
evices in a small silicon chip known as Integrate
d Circuits (IC)
 Semiconductors…
Ω Applications of electronics:
✓ instrumentation,
✓ entertainment,
✓ general communication,
✓ wireless communication,
✓ medical electronics,
✓ computers, etc.
 Semiconductors…
Ω Silicon is preferred over other S/Cs cos:
1. It is easily available
2. It is chemically simpler
3. It forms a stable oxide (SiO2) which is o
ne of the important process step in the f
abrication of ICs
4. Reduction in power consumption
5. Reduction in size and weight (Miniaturi
zation)
 Semiconductors…
6. Cost reduction due to batch processing
7. Improved functional performance-similar I
Cs have matched performance
8. Increased operating speed-absence of p
arasitic capacitive effect
9. Long life
10. Facilitates quick design
 TRANSISTORS
Ω There are three main classifications of tra
nsistors each with its own
✓ symbols,
✓ characteristics,
✓ design parameters, and
✓ applications.
1. Bipolar Junction Transistors (BJT)
2. Field Effect Transistors (FETs)
3. Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBTs)
 Transistors…
1. Bipolar Junction Transistors (BJTs)
ΩBJTs are considered current driven devices and h
ave a relatively low input impedance.
ΩThe designation describes the polarity of the sem
iconductor material used to fabricate the transistor.
ΩThey are available as
1. NPN transistor or
2. PNP transistor
 Transistors…
pnp transistor npn transistor
 Transistors…
2.Filed Effect Transistor (FET)
ΩFET is a semiconductor device in which the curre
nt is controlled by electric field existing in the deplet
ion region of a reverse biased PN junction
ΩIn the case of the field-effect transistor (FET) it is
the input voltage which controls the output current.
Ωthe current drawn by the input is usually negligibl
e (it can be less than 1 pA).
 Transistors…
Ω Characteristics of FETs over BJTs
1. FETs are unipolar
2. FETs are voltage-controlled devices
3. FETs have high input impedance
4. Are less noisier than BJTs
5. Are less affected by radiation
6. Are simple to fabricate on IC and occupy les
s space
7. Have small gain bandwidth product compare
d to BJTs
 Transistors…
ΩField Effect Transistors are further subdivided int
o two classifications:
1. Junction Field Effect Transistors (JFETs), and
2. Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors (
MOSFETs) or MOS Transistor.
 Transistors…
Junction Field Effect Transistors (JFETs)
▪Two types of JFETs:
1. N-channel
2. P-channel
▪JFETs have three terminals
✓ Source (S)
✓ Drain (D)
✓ Gate (G)
 Transistors…
MOSFETs
ΩA Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (MOS) structure is
created by superimposing several layers of conduc
ting and insulating materials to form a sandwich-lik
e structure.
ΩThese structures are manufactured using a serie
s of chemical processing steps involving
✓ oxidation of the silicon,
✓ selective introduction of dopants, and
✓ deposition and
✓ etching of metal wires and contacts.
 Transistors…
Ω Transistors are built on nearly flawless single cr
ystals of silicon, which are available as thin flat
circular wafers of 15–30 cm in diameter.
Ω CMOS technology provides two types of transist
ors (also called devices):
✓ an n-type transistor (nMOS) and
✓ a p-type transistor (pMOS).
Ω Transistor operation is controlled by electric fiel
ds so the devices are also called Metal Oxide S
emiconductor Field Effect Transistors (MOSFET
s) or simply FETs.
 Transistors…
nMOS transistor and its symbol
 Transistors…
pMOS transistor and its symbol
 Transistors…
3. Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBTs)
ΩThese are the most recent transistor devel
opment.
ΩThis hybrid device combines characteristic
s of both the Bipolar Transistor (low saturatio
n voltage)with the capacitive coupled, high i
mpedance input, fast switching of the MOS
device.
 Motivation
Ω the first logic gates using MOSFETs were descri
bed in 1963
Ω These logic gates used both nMOS and pMOS t
ransistors, earning the name Complementary M
etal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS)
Ω The circuits consumed only nanowatts of power,
six orders of magnitude less than their bipolar c
ounterparts
Ω MOS integrated circuits became attractive for th
eir low cost because
✓ each transistor occupied less area and
✓ the fabrication process was simpler
 Motivation…
Ω Processes using nMOS transistors became co
mmon in the 1970s
Ω First two nMOS Intel products
✓ 256-bit static random access memory and
✓ 4004 4-bit microprocessor
Ω nMOS adv: less expensive
Ω nMOS disadv: still consumed power while idle
Ω Power consumption became a major issue in th
e 1980s as hundreds of thousands of transistor
s were integrated onto a single die
 Motivation…
Ω For nearly all digital logic applications CM
OS processes have now replaced
✓ nMOS processes and
✓ bipolar processes
 INTEGRATED CIRCUITS
Ω IC is a miniature, low cost , electronic circ
uit consisting of active and passive compo
nents
Ω An IC can function as an amplifier, oscillat
or, timer, counter, computer memory, or mi
croprocessor.
Ω The level of integration of chips has been
classified as small-scale, medium-scale, la
rge-scale, and very large scale.
 Acrony # of Compon
Level of Integration m ents

Small-Scale Integration: E.g.- inverters, AND gate, OR SSI <10

gate
Medium-Scale Integration : E.g.- decoders, adders, co MSI 10-1,000
unters, muxs, and demuxs

Large-Scale Integration: E.g.- memory modules, I/O c LSI 1,000-10,000

ontrollers, and 4-bit microprocessor systems

Very Large-Scale Integration E.g.: large memory mod VLSI 10,000-1,000,

ules and 8bit, 16-bit, and 32-bit microprocessors syst 000
ems
Ultra Large-Scale Integration E.g.: 64-bit microproces ULSI >1,000,000
sor systems and microcontrollers
 Historical Perspective
Ω The age of digital electronic computing on
ly started in full with the introduction of the
vacuum tube
✓ Led to the design of ENIAC and the UNIVAC
I (the first successful commercial computer)
✓ Consumed very large power
Ω Transistors (1947)
Ω 1956-first bipolar logic gates
✓ set of integrated-circuit commercial logic gat
es
 Historical Perspective
The Birth of Digital Logic Families
ΩA group of electronic logic gates construct
ed using one of several different designs, us
ually with compatible logic levels and power
supply characteristics within a family
ΩIt is a set of techniques used to implement
logic within VLSI integrated circuits
 Historical Perspective…
Ω 1962- The first truly successful IC logic fa
mily, Transistor-Transistor Logic (TTL)
✓ offered a higher integration density and
✓ basis of the first integrated circuit revolution.
 Historical Perspective…
Ω Emitter-Coupled Logic (ECL) family- curre
nt switching circuits that produced the first
subnanosecond digital gates
Historical Perspective…
 Historical Perspective…
Ω The first IC flip-flop with two transistors w
as built by Jack Kilby (1958)
Ω Intel’s Itanium microprocessor contained
more than 2 billion transistors and a 16 G
b Flash memory contained more than 4 bil
lion transistors (2008).
Ω annual growth rate of 53% over 50 years
1. steady miniaturization of transistors and
2. improvements in manufacturing processes
 Historical Perspective…
Ω as transistors become smaller, they also
✓ become faster,
✓ dissipate less power, and
✓ are cheaper to manufacture
 Historical Perspective…
Ω MOS became dominant in all digital design appr
oaches in the late 1960s
Ω MOS digital integrated circuits started to take off
in full in the early 1970s
✓ the first practical MOS integrated circuits were imple
mented in PMOS-only logic and were used in applic
ations such as calculators
✓ the first high density semiconductor memorie
s 4Kbit MOS memory (1970)
Ω Complexity of the manufacturing process delay
ed the full exploitation of these devices for two
more decades
 Historical Perspective…
Ω The second age of the digital IC revolutio
n was the first microprocessors by Intel in
1972 (the 4004) and 1974
Ω Implemented in NMOS-only logic, has the
advantage of higher speed over the PMO
S logic.
Ω evolution towards ever
✓ higher integration densities
✓ speed performances &
✓ Power consumption issues
 Historical Perspective…
Ω Large majority of the current integrated circuits
are implemented in the MOS technology
Ω Other technologies come into play when very hi
gh performance is at stake.
✓ BiCMOS technology (bipolar and MOS devices on th
e same die).
✓ BiCMOS is used in high-speed memories and gate a
rrays.
Ω When higher performance is needed, other tech
nologies emerge—Gallium-Arsenide, Silicon-Ge
rmanium and even superconducting technologi
es.
 Historical Perspective…
Moore’s Law (Gordon Moore, 1960)
ΩMoore’s law gives an exponential growth p
attern in the complexity of integrated semico
nductor circuits
ΩThe number of transistors that can be integ
rated on a single die would grow exponential
ly with time
ΩStatement: “states that the number of trans
istors on a chip will double approximately ev
ery two years”.
 Historical Perspective…
Moore’s Law
 Digital Circuits Design Process
Ω There are many abstraction levels in digit
al circuit design
Ω In the order of increasing abstraction,
✓ the device,
✓ circuit,
✓ gate,
✓ functional module (e.g., adder) and
✓ system levels (e.g., processor)
 Digital Circuits Design Process
Design abstraction levels in digital circuits
 Types of ICs
Ω Classified as follows:
✓ Based on fabrication
1. Monolithic ICs
2. Hybrid ICs
✓ Based on Application
1. Analog ICs
2. Digital ICs

55
 Types of ICs…
Monolithic ICs
ΩGreek mono + lithos meaning single stone
ΩMonolithic ICs are built on a single stone o
r a single crystal of Silicon or any other s/c
ΩAll the circuit components (transistors, resi
stors, capacitors, etc.) are built as a single e
ntity in the ICs

56
 Types of ICs…
Monolithic ICs

57
 Types of ICs…
Hybrid ICs
ΩMay contain one or more monolithic circuit
s or
ΩIndividual transistors bonded to an insulati
ng substrate with resistors, capacitors or oth
er circuit elements with proper interconnecti
ons

58
 Types of ICs…
Hybrid ICs

59
 Types of ICs…
Features of Hybrid ICs
1.Electric performance of hybrid ICs is comp
arable to that of Monolithic ICs
2.Hybrid ICs are very reliable
3.Design flexibility allows easy design chang
es
4.Cost effective
5.High components and inter-connection de
nsity
60
 Types of ICs…
Analog ICs
ΩPerform amplification or other linear operat
ions on signals
ΩDeal with continuously varying quantities li
ke temp, pressure etc.
ΩExamples are:
✓ Amplifier ICs
✓ Opamp ICs

61
 Types of ICs…
Ω Op Amp IC LM 741

62
 Types of ICs…
Digital ICs
ΩPerform circuit functions by dealing with di
screte quantities
ΩInvolve logic and memory
ΩDesigning digital ICs is much simpler as co
mpared to analog ICs
ΩUsed in computers, calculators, etc.

63
 Types of ICs…
Digital ICs

64
 Types of ICs…
Ω The ICs are usually measured by the num
ber of logic gates or the number of transis
tors that the IC contains
✓ SSI
✓ MSI
✓ LSI
✓ VLSI
✓ ULSI

65
 Types of ICs…
Advantages of ICs over discrete component
s
i. Reduced size and weight of the circuit
ii. Increased reliability
iii. Reduced cost-batch fabrication
iv. Reduced power consumption
v. Speed enhancement

66
Introduction to Fabrication of ICs
Ω The fabrication process of bipolar ICs is much c
omplex compared to MOS ICs
Ω MOSFETs have simpler structures
Ω The oxide layer determines the various conducti
ng properties of the device
Ω MOSFET fabrication involves pMOS and CMOS
technology
Ω For CMOS technology, the static power dissipati
on is zero.
Ω CMOS technology is popular in IC fab
67
Introduction to Fabrication of ICs
Ω ICs are fabricated using planar technology and batc
h processing
Ω It means that the base and emitter regions of the us
ed transistors are diffused into the collector in a sin
gle plane
Ω IC fabrication using planar technology involves ma
ny independent processes.
✓ Crystal growths
✓ Epitaxial growths
✓ Oxidation
✓ Photolithography
✓ Etching diffusion/ion implantation
✓ metallization, etc. 68
Introduction to Fabrication of ICs
Ω Batch processing allows many IC chips to
be made from a single Silicon wafer

69