System-on-Chip (SoC) Design Planning
April 15 to 17, 2019
Expanding IC Design Awareness in Mindanao
Article by Rochelle M. Sabarillo
In the recent years, the largest contributor to the Philippines' manufacturing sector is the semiconductors and electronics industry. Changing the way to innovate as a nation, the government, industry and academe work hand-in-hand to boost the competitiveness of the Philippines electronics and semiconductor industry through integrated circuit (IC) and system design. This paves way to pouring more investments into supporting the growth of this specialized field.
To help realize this endeavor, Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT) Microelectronics Laboratory continue to put serious effort in strengthening IC and system design awareness in the academe by reaching out to its neighboring universities and colleges to conduct a series of trainings and workshops related to analog and digital IC design. For the past years which started last 2015, trainings specifically about analog IC design, operational amplifier design, full-custom IC design, and HDL digital design with Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) were successfully held. The participants who attended the trainings were faculties from different colleges and universities in Mindanao.
To continue pursuing the goal of involving more universities in the field of microelectronics, MSU-IIT Microelectronics Laboratory of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Technology (DEET) once again organized another IC design training for this year 2019 in coordination with MSU-IIT Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Extension (OVCRE) and Department of Science and Technology – Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD).
Among the colleges and universities which participated on the said training are Ateneo de Davao University, Holy Cross of Davao College, University of Mindanao, Caraga State University, Surigao State College of Technology, Notre Dame of Marbel University, Notre Dame of Midsayap College, Universidad de Zamboanga, Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan, University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines, MSU – General Santos, MSU – Marawi, and MSU-IIT.
All the resources which include lecture videos, online laboratory exercises, and soft bound copies of workshop laboratory guide for all the trainees, and most importantly the speaker for the whole training duration were generously provided by Synopsys, the American company that owns and develops the current IC design tool used by the university.
The training was divided into three sets. The first one entitled, “Cloud-Based Synthesis using Design Compiler”, held last April 8 to 10 was about guiding the participants to proficiency in the 'Implementation Flow' using Synopsys tools namely Design Compiler, IC Compiler II, and Prime Time. The training consists of lecture videos along with laboratory exercises to simulate real-time design challenges and other activities. The goal of the training is to provide the participants a clear understanding of the ASIC flow and increase their skills in ASIC design. To help facilitate the training, the trainees were assisted by the researchers of the µC-IC project of MSU-IIT funded by DOST-PCIEERD.
On the other hand, the second set held last April 11 to 13 entitled, “IC Compiler Block Level Implementation” focuses on using the IC compiler to perform placement, clock tree synthesis (CTS), routing, and design-for-manufacturability (DFM) on block-level designs with an existing floorplan. It also includes achieving design closure on designs with moderate congestion, multi-corner multi-mode (MCMM) timing and power challenges. On the first day of this training, Professor Jefferson Hora of MSU-IIT together with Mr. Alvin Chua Yee Meng, Synopsys Marketing representative, shared about the significance of including microelectronics as a specialized field in the academe and how it can contribute to the country’s economic success.
On the actual training period, the lectures were given by Engr. Nicholas Yee Wee Han, a Senior Applications Engineer of Synopsys based in Singapore. Throughout the lecture duration, questions raised by the trainees were entertained and successfully addressed by the lecturer. After every lecture, the participants were given time to perform the corresponding laboratory exercises.
During the closing program on the third day, Engr. Genesis Orozco, President of Advanced Computing Solutions (ACS) Incorporated gave a short inspiring message encouraging the participants to pursue IC design in academe. All participants were given with certificates of completion and souvenirs from Synopsys and participants with outstanding performance during the training were awarded.
The last set of the training focuses on the “SoC Design Planning Integration”. This was held last April 15 to 17 and was exclusive only for MSU-IIT faculties of the DEET department and researchers of the µC-IC project. The purpose of the training is to guide the participants to perform multi-voltage hierarchical design planning with a mix of black box and synthesized sub-modules, some of which are multiply-instantiated modules (MIMs) and to help them create a multi-voltage power network using Template-based Power Network Synthesis (TPNS) and use Data Flow Analysis (DFA) to analyze logic connectivity and improve macro placement. After the lecture, the participants performed the corresponding laboratory exercises found in the provided laboratory guide. Also, during the training, the researchers were given a chance to consult about their questions and clarifications related to their project’s system design integration. The training concluded with the distribution of the certificate of completion to the participants and some short closing remarks both from MSU-IIT and Synopsys representatives.
The whole training which covers a total duration of nine days of exchanging knowledge and sharing expertise ended successful and fruitful. Many participants expressed their appreciation and gratitude for having attended the said training and were looking forward for more trainings in the years to come. With this, MSU-IIT Microelectronics Laboratory together with its faculty, staff, and researchers, with the support of the government and industry partners, will continue to strive harder to promote microelectronics and expand IC design awareness in Mindanao for the benefit of the country.
