Full-custom design project for digital VLSI and IC design courses using synopsys generic 90nm CMOS library

We have developed a full-custom IC design flow based on Synopsys custom design tools and the recently released Synopsys 90 nm generic library. The developed design flow can be used for teaching VLSI and digital IC design courses. We have also developed a full-custom design project that was used as a course project in teaching ldquoDigital VLSI Designrdquo course at San Francisco State University. The design project is to design a 4-bit ripple carry adder in a full custom fashion from schematic to layout in the generic 90 nm CMOS technology. The developed design flow and the course project provide a very effective hands-on approach to teaching digital IC design and VLSI design in advanced CMOS technologies. The team project was conducted in a competition based format providing great enthusiasm and motivation among the students, enhancing their learning experience. The competition was to achieve the best design quality defined as the product of following design metrics: propagation delay, power dissipation, and layout area for the 4-bit ripple carry adder. The winning team achieved a delay of 82.2 ps, power dissipation of 30.7 muW, and layout area of 112.8 mum² for the 4-bit adder.