Mixed Signal Circuit Design

MSC Lectures

Here you can find general info about the courses offered.

Wintersemester

Analog Integrated Circuits

Analog Integrated Circuits

Associated Courses
Analog Integrated Circuits (Vorlesung)
Analog Integrated Circuits (Übung)
Analog CMOS Circuit Design (Integrierte LV)

Modules
Analog Integrated Circuits
Entwurf Analoger Integrierter Schaltungen

Learning Outcome

The continuous progress in the field of integrated circuits and systems makes it possible to integrate more complex functions with ever-increasing operating speeds in a system-on-chip approach. The basic module "Analog Integrated Circuits" is teaching the analog concepts and basic circuit techniques that are used in integrated analog circuits. As part of a practically-oriented training part, the skills to master independent basic circuit design, simulate and develop the layout are taught.

Teaching Content

In this course the following topics will be covered:
1. Design and layout of integrated passives
2. MOSFET small and large signal behavior, stability and Bodeplot
3. MOSFET basic circuits such as current mirrors, common-source amplifier circuits, common-gate amplifier circuits, noise
4. Operational amplifiers, differential stage, frequency compensation

Integrierte Schaltungen

Integrierte Schaltungen

Associated Courses
Integrierte Schaltungen (Vorlesung)
Integrierte Schaltungen (Übung)

Modules
Digital Integrated Circuits

Description

"Integrated Circuits" - Fundamentals of silicon integrated circuit technology: transistor models from a circuit point of view; basic analog and digital circuits; static and dynamic behavior; bistable circuits; MOS logic families; practical use of Spice simulations and layout editor.

Projektorientiertes Praktikum

Projektorientiertes Praktikum

more infos regarding ProLab

Rechnerorganisation

Rechnerorganisation

Associated Courses
Rechnerorganisation (Vorlesung)
Rechnerorganisation (Übung)

Modules
Rechnerorganisation (#40019)

Description

Learning outcomes

Students will be able to program programmable digital systems in assembler language. They will be able to describe how a program written in a high-level programming language is translated into machine language and executed by a digital system. Furthermore, they will be able to derive the logic operations involved in processing machine instructions in a digital system at the register transfer level and develop extensions. In addition, students will be able to interpret the number representations used in digital systems and solve arithmetic operations using underlying microalgorithms. They will be able to represent the basic structure of digital systems, including input/output organization, memory hierarchy, and elementary structural principles of computers.

Teaching Content

  • Basics in the design of digital systems (combinatorial logic, gates, truth tables, memory elements, finite state machines)
  • Basic technologies and components of a computer architecture
  • Assembler programming: assembler language, control constructs, addressing modes
  • Computational arithmetic: number representations (place value systems, fixed and floating point numbers) - Understanding and evaluating computational performance (SPEC benchmarks, Amdahl's Law).
  • Design and operation of a simple von-Neumann-computer
  • Structure and functionality of a multi-cycle implementation
  • Assembly line processing (pipelining), pipeline conflicts and their solutions
  • Memory hierarchy, caches, virtual memory
  • Input/output techniques (addressing, synchronization, direct memory access)

Analog Layout Design

Analog Layout Design

Seminar
more infos here

Modules
Analog Layout Design

Learning Outcome

  • The goal of this modul is to understand and master the overall analog layout design flow (DRC, LVS, ERC, Antenna ...).
  • The main objective is to perform a layout and verify the generated layout of an analog circuit during the course of this seminar.

Teaching content

  1. Verstehen und beherrschen des gesamten analog Layout-Design-Flow
  2. Layout Generierung & Verifikation des generierten Layout einer analogen Schaltung

Summersemester

Advanced Analog Intergrated Circuits

Advanced Analog Intergrated Circuits

Associated Courses
Advanced Analog Intergrated Circuits (Vorlesung)
Advanced Analog Intergrated Circuits (Projekt)

Modules
Advanced Analog Integrated Circuits and Systems

Dscription
The continuous progress in the field of integrated nanoelectronic circuits and systems makes it possible to integrate more complex functions with ever-increasing operating speeds in a system-on-chip approach. The module "Advanced Analog Integrated Circuits and Systems" addresses these technological development and focuses on the analog basic circuits and concepts necessary for application areas such as wireless infrastructure applications (eg LTE), transceiver systems for electro-optical applications (eg Silicon Photonics) power dissipation low sensor systems for biomedical applications (eg nerve stimulation) or topics of automotive electronics or Internet-of-Things (IoT) are fundamental.

Teaching content

This course will cover the following topics:
1. High speed transceiver architecture, mode of operation and building blocks
2. Switched capacitor circuits, SC integrator, SC amplifier, SC filter, sampling operation, discrete time operation
3. Fully differential OTA and Opamps, comparators, transfer functions, power supply and common mode rejection, metastability
4. feedback, non-linearities, closed-loop topologies and considerations, common-mode feedback architectures

System-on-Chip

System-on-Chip

Associated courses
System-on-Chip - Entwurf und Programmierung (Vorlesung)
System-on-Chip (Projekt)

Modules
System-on-Chip (SOC) + RISC-V Lab

Learning outcomes
After successful completion of this module, students have gained advanced knowledge about the design of highly complex digital circuits and systems, especially Systems-on-Chip (SoC). Fields of knowledge include: fundamentals of complex SoC design, design flow, IP reuse, hardware-software co-design, SoC architectures, real-time operating systems, processor architectures, memory types and hierarchy, on-chip and off-chip bus systems, test and debug methods.
Furthermore, the students learn following practical skills in the project:
- Use of software tools to design complex digital hardware
- Navigating complex design flows for FPGA and IC development
- Extension of existing digital hardware projects, e. g. by peripheral modules, bus components, interrupt sources, bus masters
- Assessment and evaluation of feasibility and implementation overhead of digital system project ideas
- Successive implementation of digital system project ideas: specification, implementation, verification, demonstration using FPGA prototype.

Teaching content
This module covers advanced concepts and methods of digital hardware design and programming of Systems-on-Chip (SoC) and embedded systems. Contents of the lecture are especially: fundamentals of complex SoC design, design flow, IP reuse, hardware-software co-design, SoC architectures, real-time operating systems, processor architectures, memory types and hierarchy, on-chip and off-chip bus systems, test and debug methods.
In the project, groups of 3 - 4 students learn how to practically apply the lecture contents. The students learn to use complex digital design tools with a comprehensive design flow and hardware-software co-design. A FPGA prototype platform is employed. During the introductory phase, a series of exercise sheets is completed. Afterwards, a self-defined project idea is implemented using the example system as a basis.

 

Projektorientiertes Praktikum

Projektorientiertes Praktikum

more infos regarding ProLab

MMIC4U Chip Class & Project

MMIC4U Chip Class & Project

Associated courses
MMIC4U class (Integrierte LV)
MMIC4U project (Projekt)

Modules
MMIC4U Microwave Chip Project

Learning Outcome

The students are familiar with the essential concepts and, in particular, applied tools for integrated RF circuit design and analysis. Within the scope of a practically oriented training part, they have the ability to independently design, simulate and design (layout) the microchip for production as well as test them experimentally in the laboratory.

Teaching content

Due to increasing chip-integration, especially in communication technology, a fundamental and design-oriented understanding of integrated monolithic high-frequency and ultra-high-frequency circuit systems is becoming increasingly important. Thus, modern receiver and transmitter modules are more frequently used in the microwave and millimeter wave range. For this purpose, classical transistor (MOS, bipolar) circuit design and high-frequency RF design are combined together and applied with industry-standard design software and technologies (CMOS, SiGe). In addition to the analysis, the course teaches and strengthens skills in design synthesis (i.e. the circuit implementation) of high-frequency amplifiers for radio front-ends, including receivers (low-noise amplifiers), and transmitters (power amplifiers). In this context, synthesis also means, in particular, the design flow for the optimization and validation of the mixed-signal RF circuit design, including the layout and post-layout verification methods, to finally give the designed circuits to a semiconductor Fab for production. This will indeed happen thanks to the support of IHP Leibniz Institute, Frankfurt (Oder).

MMIC4U (Microwave Monolithic Integrated Circuit for YOU): Together with the IHP Leibniz Institute, the three events are organized in such a way that the chip designs are produced between the two semesters (February to May). That is, each student group has their own chip design fabricated at the beginning of the second semester. The first semester focuses on applied theory including design calculations, circuit topologies, and design tool tutorials (MMIC4U Chip Class), as well as the actual design project with guidance in our student design lab (MMIC4U Chip Project) – the target is the design and implementation of a 5 GHz WiFi transceiver circuit completed for fabrication. The focus of the second semester is to conduct experimental lab evaluations under guidance. In a natural lab environment, basic analysis and measurement methods can be learned and practiced on their own chip. Thus, the students are getting the experience of a complete design, production and characterization cycle.

High Frequency Data Converters

High Frequency Data Converters

Associated courses
High Frequency Data Converters (Vorlesung)
High Frequency Data Converters (Praktikum)

Modules
High-Frequency Data Converter Techniques

Learning outcomes

The continuous progress in the field of integrated nano-electronic circuits and systems makes it possible to integrate more complex functions with ever-increasing operating speeds in a system-on-chip approach.

The module "High-Frequency Data Converter Techniques" takes up this technological development and focuses on the architecture, design and mode of operation of high-frequency high-precision building blocks such as analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), digital-to-analog converters (DACs), phase-locked loops (PLLs) etc. These building blocks are key for application areas like wireless infrastructure applications (e.g. LTE), transceiver systems for electro-optical applications (e.g. Silicon Photonics), power dissipation low sensor systems for biomedical applications (e.g. nerve stimulation) or topics of automotive electronics and Internet-of-Things (IoT).
 
Teaching content

In this course the following topics are taught
1.    High-speed transceiver architectures, wireline receiver and transmitter, equalizer
2.    Nyquist rate ADC oversampling ADCs, SAR ADCs, Slope ADCs and their pros and cons
3.    SC technology, track - & - Hold Architecturen, Noise Folding, comparators
4.    Nyquist rate DAC, oversampling DACs, current-steering vs voltage mode as well as and their pros and cons
5.    Programmable Amplifier (PGA / VGA), antialiasing filter
6.    Z-transform, discrete fast Fourier transform, resolution, linearity
7.    layout