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.