Using Open Ended Design Projects In An Open Lab To Teach Lifelong Learning Skills In An Ic Design Course

The ABET criterion, recognition for and the ability to engage in life-long learning, is one of the most important, given that we as engineering educators can not teach every concept that students will encounter over the span of a 20-40 year career as an engineer. We believe that one method to teach and verify this critical skill in the area of Integrated Circuit (IC) design, is to have the students learn IC CAD tools by following well crafted tutorials and then complete open-ended IC design projects in an open lab. The project is supposed to be a full custom design of a digital circuit, with logical, timing and layout specifications using standard CMOS circuits in a .5μm CMOS process (AMI06). The frequency of operation for the circuit is supposed to be 200MHz, and the power density below 23C/cm 2 to avoid the use of active cooling.