Overview of VLSI Layouts: A Simple Synopsis
15th January 2025, 2:30 p.m., UTAR Kampar, Block E, E120
Lead Staff : Cik Nursaida
The department was honored to host Professor Jen-Shiun Chiang for an online talk titled "Overview of VLSI Layouts: A Simple Synopsis."
Professor Chiang is a faculty member in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Tamkang University, Taiwan. He holds a B.S. in Electronics Engineering from Tamkang University (1983), an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Idaho (1988), and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Texas A&M University (1992). His research interests encompass machine learning architectures, digital signal processing for VLSI, image data compression, SoC design, analog-to-digital conversion, mixed-signal circuit design, and low-power circuit design. He is currently a Fellow of IET.
As the External Examiner for the Bachelor of Electronics programme, Prof. Chiang is visiting the department to provide guidance on the programme's quality, relevance, and alignment with industry standards.
During his talk, Prof. Chiang introduced integrated circuits as multi-layer structures consisting of gates at the bottom, multiple metal layers, vias for interconnections, and non-conducting SiO₂ layers between the metals. He highlighted key technological milestones, including:
- 2010: Planar 32 nm technology
- 2015: FinFET 14 nm
- 2022: Samsung horizontal nanosheet 3 nm, TSMC multifin 3 nm,
- Future: 2 nm nanowire and emerging 2–3 angstrom solutions
Given the shrinking scale of IC designs, Prof. Chiang emphasized the importance of design rules to resolve manufacturing challenges such as minimum width constraints, broken wires, and short circuits. He also discussed the FinFET invention by Prof. Hu at UC Berkeley and the key differences between planar and FinFET structures, noting that FinFET layouts are fixed, whereas CMOS size in planar designs can be adjusted during development.
The session concluded with an engaging Q&A segment, where Prof. Chiang addressed queries from the audience.