Learning, accumulation, communication - the growth path of IC experts

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Learning, accumulation, communication - the growth path of IC experts [Copy link]

How to become an IC design expert? How to improve your design ability? My feeling is that IC design is different from general board-
level electronic design. Since the investment in tape-out is larger, the complexity is higher, and the system is stronger, it is more
interesting . Here I will skip the basic electronic knowledge and express my personal
feelings about some special places.

First of all, as a beginner, you need to understand the basic process of IC design. You should do the following: basically understand
the process of system, front-end, back-end design and verification,
the relationship , understand the basic design process of digital circuits and mixed signals, and figure out the basic industry models such as ASIC and COT. I
think this is very important for cultivating interest and establishing your future technical career plan. To learn basic design
knowledge , it is recommended to read some design textbooks of Taiwan CIC, many of which are classic summaries.

Learning EDA technology: For IC designers, EDA tools are of great significance. Through the recommendation of EDA tool vendors, you can
understand new design concepts. Many domestic IC designers were introduced to the IC design field purely from the perspective of EDA. Many
designers also established basic concepts through the promotion and training of EDA manufacturers before they were exposed to deep submicron processes.
At the same time, for some difficult designs, it is also very important to identify and select tools.
If you want to have a higher level of design, accumulating experience is a necessary process. The efficiency of experience accumulation can be
improved . The following points can be used as a reference:

1. Learn from some classic designs. Many details in them are necessary to make your design a product. Some
may be to adapt to changes in process parameters, some may be to speed up the switching process, and some may be to ensure
the stability of the system. Observing these details carefully through real visits will not only be beneficial but also fun. Frequent communication between project teams, especially
between project team members, can avoid making the same mistakes.

2. Checking literature is a good method. It is also faster to accumulate experience by working on projects with "old masters". If you have the opportunity to participate in
some training given by people with a good design background, it is best to be interactive, and you will also gain a lot.
3. When you initially complete a design, you should do several checks: understand the process of the chip manufacturer, the changes in the device model
parameters , and determine the range of parameter sweep simulation based on this. Understand the actual use environment of the designed product, and correctly
set the input conditions and load model of the system simulation. Strict implementation of design rules and processes is also helpful in reducing design errors.

4. In addition, you need to exchange knowledge, pay attention to communication with the front end or system, and deeply understand the design constraints.
As a beginner, you often don’t know the system very well. In addition to understanding your own design task specifications through design documents and meeting exchanges
, communication with the system and the front end is essential for IC design. The so-called design skills are all based on understanding the constraints
. The system or front-end design engineers can often give beginners a lot of guiding opinions.

5. Pay attention to communication with the back-end and processing lines: IC design is too complex. In addition to relying on the active promotion of EDA tool vendors to
establish concepts, IC designers should also actively communicate and learn with the upstream and downstream of the design process, such as
engineers of back-end design services or processing services, and process engineers. For beginners, back-end processing manufacturers
can bring them some classic basic concepts, some basic rules such as mistakes that cannot be made. Some good back-end service
companies can not only provide very strict Design Kits, but also provide very useful guidance on mixed signal design
to help beginners get started. Knowledge of processing is even more critical for the "productization" of IC design.

6. Pay attention to verification and testing, and be a "paranoid": The risk of IC design is greater than that of board-level electronic design, so
the opportunity for experimentation is very valuable, and the spirit of "paranoid" is crucial to the success of IC design. In addition to relying on the company's mature
design environment, Design Kit and system specifications to ensure success, the emphasis on and deep understanding of verification is
a crucial part of whether an IC designer can withstand pressure and enjoy success. Since there are relatively few opportunities for tape-out, finding
opportunities participate in and understand testing more, and carefully summarizing and analyzing the success and failure of products are
the only way for an IC designer to grow.

The importance of peer communication and work environment: The complexity of IC design and the rapid development of technology make
communication very important. Participating in more discussion groups and industry conferences that are suitable for your own level is also very beneficial to improving your level
. Through communication between peers, you can also find the important impact of the environment on the level of IC design. The company's financial resources, product
direction, and project difficulty can greatly affect the highest level that a designer can achieve. Dialectically
recognizing the relationship between one's own technical improvement and the environment will be a problem that domestic designers will encounter at a certain stage.