Teaching IC design with the ARM Cortex-M0 DesignStart processor and Synopsys 90nm Educational Design Kit

Abstract

Teaching IC Design in a university environment presents key challenges that include lack of access to proprietary semiconductor foundry information and real-world designs. These are required to enable students to combine theoretical knowledge and practical skills. This paper presents course development and teaching experience based on the ARM® Cortex™-M0 DesignStart™ [1] micro-processor IP core and the Synopsys 90nm Educational Design Kit [EDK] [2], both available to the university community, to address these challenges. The reference design and laboratory projects are aimed at allowing students to perform complex, real-world IC designs in a university environment, giving students practical experience with a real digital IC design flow. Teaching experience demonstrates the short course is effective as an accompaniment to a full-semester synthesis course.