Spring Term 2018.
Lectures: Tuesday and Thursday, 11:30 - 1:00pm. Maxwell Dworkin 221.

The recommended text is CMOS VLSI Design by Weste and Harris. The book's web site provides information about the book and access to sample chapters. See the course syllabus for other useful resources.

This course provides an introduction to the design and analysis of digital CMOS VLSI circuits and systems. We begin by thinking about what constitutes a VLSI system and how to go about designing one—from physical layers that define the transistors and wires that comprise an integrated circuit to high-level understanding of assembling various building blocks. The course leverages switch-level abstraction of transistors to teach the design of static CMOS logic, but then delves into some details of transistor operation to understand circuit delays and power dissipation. We will see how to combine the basic logic elements to assemble more complex structures such as datapaths, memories, and control logic. The course introduces numerous industry-grade computer-aided design (CAD) tools used to facilitate the design, verification, and analysis of complex VLSI circuits and systems. The first half of the semester will focus on the basic mechanics of designing VLSI circuits. The second half of the semester will focus on a design project and discuss advanced topics such as low power design and variability.

Harvard is a member of These partnerships enable CS 148 and CS 248 to make use of industry-grade computer-aided design (CAD) tools that facilitate the design, verification, and analysis of complex VLSI circuits and systems.
 
Instructor: Prof. Gu-Yeon Wei
Office Hours: Mon 10–11am, Wed 1–2pm,
   or by appointment via email
Office: Maxwell Dworkin 333
Email: gywei at g.harvard.edu
Phone: 617-384-8131
Teaching Fellow: Thomas (Hsea Ching) Hsueh
Office Hours: Tue 1–3pm
Office: Maxwell Dworkin 311
Email: hsueh at seas.harvard.edu
Administative Assistant: Carol Harlow
Office: Maxwell Dworkin 343
Email: harlow at deas.harvard.edu

Note: To safeguard the intellectual property of Harvard's industrial benefactors, portions of this web site are password protected.