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This paper describes observations and experiences collected during 14 years of running the "Integrated circuits" course in the framework of a distance learning program. The main objective of the "Integrated circuits" course is to raise the interest in microelectronics, convince the students that IC design is not a "secret science" requiring extraordinary talent and prepare the students for continuation toward M.Sc. degree. The course includes a mixture of teaching materials available online for self-studying, short video files, interactive self-tests, two "hands on" exercises and educational software needed for these exercises. E-mail and/or phone consultations, face-to-face or online meetings with the instructor are possible. About 1/3 of all students enrolled for the distance learning course perceive the "Integrated circuits" course as interesting, praise the design exercises and ask if it would be possible to continue education in microelectronic design at a more advanced level. Unfortunately distance learning at advanced level is not possible, mainly because professional design software can be used only on site, not remotely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Basic analog–digital motion detection circuits with low power consumption were proposed based on the vertebrate retina. The motion sensor based on the retina is constructed with a one- or two-dimensional array of the unit circuits. The proposed unit circuit for motion detection is constructed with an analog circuit for photoelectric conversion and the digital circuit for generating the motion signal. The metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistors utilized to the analog circuits are operated in the subthreshold region. The analog circuit has the characteristic of the low power consumption. The proposed circuit was evaluated by the simulation program with integrated circuit emphasis (SPICE) with the 0.6 μm complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process. The test circuits of basic digital circuits were fabricated with the same process. In the simulation and the experiment, the power supply voltage was set to the low voltage. We found that the digital circuit becomes low power consumption because the MOS transistors was operated in the subthreshold region by setting the low voltage. The proposed circuit is characterized by the simple structure and the low power consumption. In the future, the novel motion detection sensor with low power consumption can be realized by applying the integrated circuits constructed with the array of the proposed unit circuits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Novel basic analog–digital edge detection circuits in this research were proposed based on the vertebrate retina. The vertebrate retina is a pre-processor for image processing in the brain and has superior functions such as edge detection and motion detection. The proposed circuit was evaluated by the simulation program with integrated circuit emphasis (SPICE) with the 0.6 μm complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process. The simulation results with SPICE showed that the proposed circuits can operate normally. The test integrated circuit of the unit circuit was fabricated with a 0.6 μm CMOS process. The measured results showed that the unit circuit can detect the edge position. The test integrated circuits of one-dimensional array of unit circuits were fabricated with the same process. The measured results showed that the one-dimensional circuits can detect the edge position. In the future, the realization of a new vision sensor can be expected using the proposed circuit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present research article, we have proposed an analytical compact model for nanowire Junctionless Gate-All-Around (JLNGAA) MOSFET validated in all transistor's operation regimes. The developed model having an analytical compact form of the current expressions, based on surface potential (ΦS), obtained from approximated solutions of Poisson's equation. The proposed model has implemented in standard Verilog-A language using SMASH circuit simulator in order to be used in various commercial circuit simulators. The proposed model has also validated using ATLAS-TCAD simulation for various physical parameters such as the channel doping concentration (Nd) and the channel radius (R) of JLNGAA MOSFET. Finally, based on the developed Verilog-A JLNGAA MOSFET model, we have tested it in four types of low voltage circuits, CMOS inverter, CMOS NOR-Gate, an amplifier and a Colpitts oscillator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We proposed in this study the simple system for detecting the sound localization based on the biological auditory system. The proposed system is constructed with the simple complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) analog-digital circuit based on the biological auditory system and two microphones. The proposed circuit consists of the delay lines and the comparators. The structure of the proposed circuit is simple. The test circuit and system were developed. The test circuit was fabricated with discrete metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistors on the breadboard. The experimental results of the test system showed that the proposed circuit can generate the output signal for detecting the position of the sound of the target. We can realize a new target tracking system by applying the proposed system in this research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple analog-digital circuits for detecting the motion direction based on the information processing of the vertebrate retina were proposed. A network constructed with an array of proposed circuits was applied to a mobile robot. A test circuit was fabricated using discrete metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistors on a breadboard. The measured results of the test circuit showed that the unit circuit can output a motion signal. The motion sensor for detecting the movement direction, which consists of an array of unit circuits, was connected to the microcomputer introduced in the mobile robot. It was clarified that the proposed circuits can control the mobile robot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 3.6 GHz SPARC T5 processor is Oracle's next generation CMT SoC processor implemented in TSMC's 28 nm process with 1.5 billion transistors. Significant performance improvements were made by doubling the previous generations number of cores to 16 and L3 cache size to 8 MB while increasing bandwidth by nearly 3×. Power efficiency was improved through features like DVFS, core-pair cycle skipping and SerDes power scaling. The SPARC T5 processor has been designed to fit in systems that can scale from 1 to 8 sockets, or 128 to 1024 threads, in glueless fashion. The diverse system-level bandwidth requirements of up to 5.65 TB/sec in these systems are met by advanced SERDES design that handles up to 30 dB loss in an area and power efficient manner. The different thermal envelopes of these systems are addressed by power management features that span software, system and chip design. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We propose an analog-digital circuit for detecting the movement of an object. The proposed unit circuit is a simple structure since the digital part of the circuit is constructed with only one NOT circuit and one NOR circuit. The measured results on a constructed test circuit showed that the proposed circuit can output the pulsed voltage (motion signal) when an object moves on the circuit. We proposed and constructed the system in this study in order to track target. Since the array in the proposed circuits was introduced at the first stage of the system, the circuit for tracking the target became a simple structure. It was clear from the measured results of the test system that it can track and capture a target in the center of the input section. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we propose an analog-digital circuit for sound localization based on the biological auditory system. The proposed circuit is constructed with a delay line and a comparator. The delay line was constructed with the simple analog circuits of the current mode. The NOR circuit was used as the comparator. The current mode delay line was evaluated by a simulation program with integrated circuit emphasis (SPICE). The test circuit was fabricated by discrete metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistors on the breadboard. The result with SPICE and the measured results of the test circuit showed that the time for transmitting a signal on the current mode delay line becomes shorter when the sound of the target is greater. When the sound of the target was small, the time taken to transmit the signal became longer. The proposed circuit for sound localization was evaluated by SPICE. The result with SPICE showed that the circuit can generate a signal to detect the position of the sound of the target. We can realize a new target-tracking system by applying this novel circuit based on the biological auditory system to a previously proposed tracking system based on the biological vision system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of gate oxide breakdown of one MOS transistor on the functionality of simple analog and digital circuits is studied. The main changes in the transistor behavior such as the additional gate current as well as transconductance and threshold voltage degradation are pointed out and their respective impact on circuit characteristics is analyzed. With this approach, it is possible to identify critical transistors during the design stage and implement appropriate countermeasures. Depending on the application, some circuits may be functional even after breakdown of one of their transistors. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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