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VSD - Circuit Design & SPICE Simulations - Part 1 (Udemy.com)

Learn how things got started in VLSI

4.4
712 reviews

Created by: Kunal Ghosh

Last updated January 2017

Our take

Based on the ratings of 712 students and a sample of their written reviews. No course pays to be reviewed.

This is a short course, about 3.9 hours, that starts from the physics of the MOSFET and works up to the CMOS inverter before SPICE enters the picture. The headline promises the story of how VLSI got started, and that is closer to the truth than the SPICE angle. Kunal Ghosh, a former Qualcomm and Cadence engineer, teaches it. The description pitches it at timing analysts who wonder where cell delay comes from, but the reviews read more like a basics refresher for students and working engineers.

Reviewers like the teaching. They mention short lectures, clear diagrams, and equations that get derived rather than just stated. One engineer who has worked with MOSFETs for a long time says it finally gave a firm intuition for how the devices work. The complaints are consistent too. Two low ratings say there is more theory than simulation, and a four-star reviewer wanted much more SPICE. One reviewer says the lecture started very quiet and the instructor talks fast, another mentions a formula pointed at that was not on screen, and a third says there are no downloadable resources.

The last update was in 2017, so expect older material. At under four hours it is a small time investment. Reviewers suggest it suits anyone who wants the fundamentals explained patiently. If the goal is to sit down and run your own simulations, the reviews suggest you will want something else.

Best forStudents or engineers who want CMOS and MOSFET basics explained with derived equations before touching a simulator.
Skip it ifYou want hands-on SPICE simulation work; reviewers say the course is mostly theory.

Pros

  • Derives MOSFET equations instead of just stating them, which reviewers say builds real intuition
  • Short lectures with clear diagrams that first-time learners say are easy to follow
  • Uses a CMOS inverter as the running example, a gentle way into SPICE
  • Only 3.9 hours, so it works as a quick refresher on CMOS basics

Cons

  • Light on actual SPICE simulation, and two low ratings call it mostly theory
  • Last updated in 2017, and there are no downloadable resources to work along with
  • Lectures start quiet and the pace is fast, one reviewer needed real effort to adjust
I've been working with mosfets for a long time, but it wasn't until this course that I finally feel I have an firm intuition into how these devices work. Great work!
Chris Evers, a student

The Beginner label fits: no prerequisites are listed, though engineers refreshing CMOS basics also get value.

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What you will learn

  • Understand, in brief, Physics of MOSFET
  • Run SPICE simulations on your own and test your own circuits
  • Get better understanding of Timing Analysis
  • Learn VLSI from scratch to advanced (this includes my other courses as well)

How it compares

Against the other 335 rated Udemy courses in Engineering on CourseDuck:

  • Rating4.4 out of 5higher than 39% of them
  • Reviews712#119 of 336 by number of reviews
  • Length3.9 hoursshorter than 61% of them
  • Last updatedJanuary 2017earlier than 96% of them

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Course Description

So, you are a professional in VLSI, doing tons of tapeouts and accurate timing analysis.

OR, say, you are a student, who already went through my previous courses on clock tree synthesis, physical design flow and crosstalk,

But, sit back, and give it a thought "Have you done it all?" "Did you know, where does the delay of a cell actually comes from?" "We have learnt about delay models, but are the models accurate?" "How do you verify, if what you are doing in static timing analysis, is correct?" and many more.

These are some of curious questions we wonder about, but hardly find any answers. Even if we found the answers, as a passionate learner, we are still more curious to do some practical things on our own.

And, here's the answer to all of them. SPICE (Simulation Program for Integrated Circuit Emphasis). This course has answers to almost all questions that you might have as a serious timing analyst

So let's get started and keep those questions coming in the forum, and I will answer all of them.

See you in class !!
Who this course is for:
Anyone interested to know, what drives this $Billion VLSI industryAnyone looking to do some practical and hands-on work on SPICE simulationsAny professional already doing Static Timing Analysis and wants to go into details of delay modelsAnyone looking to stay for a long time in VLSI domain
Read More Beginner Beginner Level product length iconTime: 3.9h

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Instructor Details

Kunal Ghosh

Kunal Ghosh is the Director and co-founder of VLSI System Design (VSD) Corp. Pvt. Ltd. Prior to launching VSD in 2017, Kunal held several technical leadership positions at Qualcomm's Test-chip business unit. He joined Qualcomm in 2010. He led the Physical design and STA flow development of 28nm, 16nm test-chips. At 2013, he joined Cadence as Lead Sales Application engineer for Tempus STA tool. Kunal holds a Masters degree in Electrical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay, India and specialized in VLSI Design & Nanotechnology.

Hands on with Technology @
1) MSM (mobile station mode chips) - MSM chips are used for CDMA modulation/demodulation. It consists of DSPs and microprocessors for running applications such as web-browsing, video conferencing, multimedia services, etc.
2) Memory test chips - Memory test chips are used to validate functionality of 28nm custom/compiler memory as well as characterize their timing, power and yield.
3) DDR-PHY test chips - DDR-PHY test chips are basically tested for high speed data transfer

4) Timing and physical design Flow development for 130nm MOSFET technology node till 16nm FinFET technology node.
5)IR aware STA

Read More

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Reviews

4.4

712 ratings on Udemy

Select a bar to show only those reviews.Select the bar again to show every rating.

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By Varun majji on 8/18/2020

basic

By Nitin Raikar on 8/14/2020

Very good informative short lectures , quick reference to HSPICE simulations

By Arun Bhaskar on 7/24/2020

A good introduction to SPICE through the example of a CMOS inverter. No overload of information and could easily follow what was being taught in the course.

By Kangkan das on 7/20/2020

yaa its good

By Claudio on 7/12/2020

Good and complete explanations. I'm very happy with this course. The only pitfall is no resources to be downloaded.

By Rajat Kumar on 7/2/2020

There is nothing related to spice simulation only basic is there, course must have to include more simulation videos rather than theory theory.

By M.V.Kala Sindhuja on 5/26/2020

its grt

By Dhruvajit Ghosh on 5/26/2020

The course gives a lucid explanation of the Mosfet physics along with the practical approach of plotting the graph through SPICE simulation. More examples would be great.
Would recommend for beginners and who want to learn the basics of MOSFET in a comprehensive and quick manner

By Tirumala on 5/22/2020

It is Excellent course which covered all the basics, that are required for Circuit Designer.I recommend personally to freshers as well experience people.We will get brush of all the basics of MOS in this video.
Thank you KUNAL SIR for your hardwork in making the videos and knowledge transfer!!!!

By Yugal Kishore Maheshwari on 5/17/2020

Its not clear whether the size of PMOS and NMOS in inverter are same are not? Generally, we keep PMOS stronger than NMOS. If one is stronger than other, then Id values also changes.
I still confusion about Vdsat and velocity saturation section, but I would find extra resources to make it clear. Overall, this course is very useful to refresh my concepts.
Thank you!

By Tamoghno Das on 5/5/2020

Concepts covered in great detail

By Nanson Kumar Poddar on 5/5/2020

It would be better if you simultaneously we did code on spice....references and resources are not provided...course is quite good nd detailed

Showing 12 of 55 reviews

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Overall Score : 88 / 100

VSD - Circuit Design & SPICE Simulations - Part 1
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  • Video Duration: icon 3.9h
  • Price: $44.99
  • Provider: icon Udemy
  • Updated: icon January 2017
  • Level: Beginner Beginner
  • Language: icon English
  • Certificate: icon Yes
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