Analog CMOS integrated circuit design: research and undergraduateteaching

The authors describe the use of software that was developed as part of a research program in analog CMOS integrated circuit design for an undergraduate course on analog VLSI design. The software includes some unusual uses of readily available, inexpensive, and easy-to-use programs available for microcomputers such as Macintosh or IBM-PC clones. Although initially intended to help with the design of CMOS operational amplifiers, the IC design method used is very general; other possible applications are described. The flexibility of these programs also allows them to be used with other CAD (computer-aided design) software, including circuit simulators and programs for schematic entry and layout. The software tools allow undergraduate students to complete analog CMOS integrated circuit designs using advanced CAD techniques but without being overwhelmed or losing touch with the underlying circuit design principles. Details of the programs and their use are presented together with the resulting analog IC designs fabricated using MOSIS (MOS Implementation Service)     

Reflections on Teaching and Learning in an Advanced Undergraduate Course in Embedded Systems

An integrated series of courses on embedded systems has been developed at Iowa State University, Ames, spanning early undergraduate to graduate levels. The newest course in the series is CPRE 488: Embedded Systems Design, an advanced undergraduate course that fills a gap in the curriculum by providing system-level design experiences and incorporating new technology advancements. CPRE 488 development focused on lecture–lab integration and laboratory learning. Course and lab activities were designed using a learning model that captures lower-order and higher-order cognition levels of Bloom's taxonomy. The learning experience in the laboratory is characterized using a technique to assess cognitive behavior. Results of applying the Florida Taxonomy of Cognitive Behavior are presented to summarize the depth of student learning and the opportunities for students to progress to higher-order thinking in the laboratory. After two years of experience with the new course, the authors reflect on the course design and outcomes, from both disciplinary and pedagogical viewpoints.      

An Undergraduate Integrated Circuit Fabrication Laboratory

Over the last few years an integrated circuit fabrication laboratory intended primarily for use by undergraduates has been developed within the School of Electrical Engineering at Purdue University. Operating under the principle that integrated circuit design and laboratory practice are inseparable, the main objective was to allow the undergraduate student to acquire a working knowledge of how transistors, thin- and thick-film circuits, MOS field-effect transistors, and integrated circuits are fabricated. The emphasis is on how to fabricate the device in the laboratory and then to evaluate the device both electrically and metallurgically. This paper describes in detail how a device laboratory was organized for undergraduates with a minimal background in experimental technique.     

Integrated training program on product design in an undergraduatecourse

An integrated training program on product design is incorporated in an undergraduate course. It is tailor-made to meet the unique socio-economic needs of Hong Kong because product design is of paramount importance to its export-oriented electronics industry. The scheme aims to prepare a student's basic skills in designing a product which is competitive in the world market, it comprises modules taught in regular semesters and practical sessions in two summers. A student is involved in nearly all aspects of the production process. The program has been operational for ten years. Favorable feedback has been received from former students, their employers, industrialists, and accreditation teams     

SPICE applications to an undergraduate electronics program

A plan is presented for integrating SPICE (simulation program with integrated circuit emphasis) into an undergraduate electronics curriculum. Three design projects for students are described: a network theory project, an analog electronics design course, and a senior thesis project. In the first project used in a first course on network theory, the emphasis is on simple programs that can extend basic techniques (such as Thevenin's equivalent circuit) to cases where hand analysis is long and tedious. In the electronics course, the application of the bipolar-junction transistor and field-effect transistor is more clearly understood by the student when he/she constructs an analog amplifier according to a given set of specifications. Creativity is encouraged, since the design of the amplifier is flexible as long as the specifications are met. In the senior thesis project, SPICE, along with other computer design packages, enables the student to analyze and modify a project before it is constructed. This saves valuable construction time and allows for a more thorough theoretical analysis     

An Integrated Course on Experimentation

An integrated undergraduate course dealing with the basic principles of laboratory practices, including instrumentation, measurements, modeling, simulation and design is described. The dual role of the computer for automated data reduction and simulating experiments is emphasized. Under the supervision of a faculty member, the student is guided from a dependent state to the project design stage.     

On the structure of a multipurpose introductory course in computerarchitecture at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute

In this paper, the authors describe the structure and contents of an introductory course in computer architecture that is designed to meet multiple objectives and offered to the first year graduate students and senior undergraduate students at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, USA. The objectives include providing a solid background in computer architecture to senior undergraduate students, providing prerequisite preparation for advanced computer engineering courses to the graduate students, and offering a self sufficient study of the computer architecture field to those students who do not pursue further courses in the field. Appropriate projects integrated into the course and public domain tools that were used to facilitate the project assignments are described. The paper describes important issues that were addressed in designing the course structure and its contents. The effectiveness of the approach presented in this paper is supported from experience that has resulted after multiple offerings of the course over a period of three years     

"Hands-On" Microprocessor Education at the University of Rhode Island

This paper documents the impact of microprocessor technology on electrical engineering education at the University of Rhode Island. Originally introduced as a method of giving computer experience to a larger number of students, it has become a key element in the undergraduate curriculum. "Microprocessor Laboratory" emphasizes hands-on experience by making computers available for "checkout" use at home. It is introduced as a required course at the sophomore level and the textbooks used are manufacturers' manuals. We employ a series of nine basic exercises and couple these to an end-of-semester project. The course is offered each semester and attracts students from other engineering disciplines and from other colleges within the University. It has been successfully adapted to a five-week summer session and a four-day short course for engineering faculty. The course forms the basis for introducing microprocessors into other, more advanced engineering courses.     

An Integrated Approach for Strategic Development of Engineering Curricula: Focus on Students' Design Skills

This paper proposes an integrated approach for developing the engineering curricula with a specific focus on engineering design. The proposed approach allows a continuous and coherent development of engineering students' design skills throughout the entire undergraduate curriculum. This ongoing design experience is delivered at an involvement and complexity level compatible with the students' study year. In the integrated approach, three different stages are identified: Structured Design Experience, Guided Design Experience, and Open-Ended Design Experience. The objectives, implementation mechanism, and the expected outcomes of each stage are outlined. The proposed methodology systematically develops not only design skills but also teamwork, communication skills, project management, and lifelong learning. The implementation of the proposed approach is demonstrated by presenting courses in the Electronics track which shows the gradual, integrated delivery of structured, guided, and open ended design experiences as students progress from the freshman to the final year of study. As a case study, the delivery of design skills using the proposed approach is assessed through the students' survey in the electrical engineering curriculum at the American University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.      

Senior design project: undergraduate thesis

Engineering design has become a critical element of the undergraduate engineering curriculum. To become accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) requires that at least 24 credits of design content be included in the four-year undergraduate engineering curriculum. Senior design is the principal course in which students apply their knowledge in several disciplines to one project assignment and is a significant step towards meeting ABET requirements. Engineering experience acquired in the senior design course is a valuable aid to students as they learn how to apply theory to an actual design project. The senior design course develops project management and oral and written communication skills and enables students to learn scheduling, team coordination and cooperation, parts ordering, and cost/performance tradeoffs. Ten senior design projects that have won IEEE and SME student paper contests are presented herein as a guide in the difficult selection of suitable design topics. The unique nature of the senior design course requires certain departures from usual engineering course organization if students are to derive the maximum benefit. Senior design is nearly equivalent to an industrial internship and may be more valuable as the first step a student takes in making the transition to working engineer     

Preparing students for capstone design [Senior Design]

The senior capstone design course is the culmination of the previous three years of the undergraduate curriculum. The goal of this course is to develop students' communication (oral and written), interpersonal, teamwork, analytical, design, and project management skills through a team-based design experience. Students learn about the product-development process and gain experience solving open-ended problems. Capstone design courses give students insight into what it is like to work as an engineer.     

Integrated circuit teaching through top-down design

This paper describes the organization, development, and results of an integrated circuit design course where the bottom-up teaching approach adopted in textbooks has been managed in conjunction with the top-down strategy of modern design methodologies. The deliverables and milestones established for the teaching, learning, and design activities have been successfully met up to the level of obtaining simulation results demonstrating the functional and/or electrical performance of a number of application specific integrated circuits for communication systems which not only exhibit some innovative solutions but also demonstrate potential practical applicability in industry     

基于四运放LM324的模拟电子设计综合训练

介绍了四运放集成电路运算放大器LM324.根据全国大学生电子设计竞赛的基本技能训练要求,阐述了运用1片含有4个运放的LM324实现三角波信号产生、二输入加法运算、带通滤波、二输入比较4个功能模块电路,得到最终波形.经过认真设计和反复实验,该电路在Multisim中的仿真结果符合综合训练的设计要求,实际制作出来的电路的测试结果也满足设计要求.实践证明,该训练方案能有效地培养学生的模拟电子设计能力,同时提高学生综合运用专业知识的能力.     

Teaching mixed-signal integrated circuit design to undergraduates

A two-course sequence that teaches the basic concepts associated with digital, analog, and mixed-signal integrated circuit design for senior-level undergraduate students has been developed. The use of hands-on experiences using custom integrated circuits is employed to help teach these complex topics. This sequence has been taught for three years, and the affective learning has been assessed through precourse and postcourse surveys, focus groups, and in-class surveys.     

A Microcomputer Interfacing Course

A hands-on undergraduate laboratory course is described in which microcomputer hardware and practical digital integrated circuit design are taught in a motivating and educationally efficient manner. Each student in the course is given the task of designing an interface between an Altair 8800 microcomputer and an input-output or memory device. As a result of two offerings of the course nine input-output devices and three memory types have been interfaced to the system. The educational advantages and the results achieved through this approach to microcomputer hardware education are discussed.     

A tour of the CSM Electronics Prototyping Facility

The Division of Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines has developed a new approach in teaching and using electronic circuit fabrication skills as a standard part of our undergraduate electronics laboratories. We have created a vertically integrated facility with advanced computer-aided design (CAD) tools, quick and cheap printed circuit board (PCB) fabrication machinery and industry-standard electronics assembly tools. This facility has brought a new capability to our undergraduate laboratories for our students to design and fabricate significant circuits that used to be abstract problems because the implementation was too difficult or expensive. Since typical graduates from four-year electrical engineering degree programs have no electronics production skills, they must then learn on the job these necessary skills and industry must cope with the lowering of productivity and quality. Given the needs of the students and industry, it seems only natural that electrical engineering degree programs should give students a basic preparation in electronics production skills to enable their graduates to function better as working engineers. This work discusses the rationale for our approach, the impact these changes have had on our students, and gives a tour of the Electronics Prototyping Facility (EPF)     

Microstrip design laboratory

Design concepts, fabrication, measurements, and optimization of a microstrip filter, directional coupler, and amplifier are presented. The microstrip circuit implementation is simple and easily alterable for optimization. Results from an undergraduate laboratory course are presented which show reasonable agreement with design parameters, and the optimization process adds to the educational experience     

Design, hardware implementation and testing of a soft decisioninformation set decoder

A senior undergraduate project in digital communications combining theory with computer aided design (CAD) and providing hands on experience in the field is considered. The project is suitable for engineering undergraduate students with a background of a first course in digital communications and digital system design. The project consists of the study, computer simulation, design and hardware implementation of a soft decision information set decoder for an (8,4) extended Hamming code. The measured performance correlated well with the performance predicted by theory and computer simulation