Pravin Raghul S

𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚’𝐬 𝐒𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐇𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐬! The semiconductor industry in India is experiencing an unprecedented hiring boom — gradually chipping away at IT placements and opening exciting opportunities for engineers across domains. 🔹 End-to-end hiring: RTL/SoC design, verification, embedded systems, manufacturing (process, packaging, yield). 🔹 Freshers’ salaries: ₹6–12 LPA (vs. ₹3–4 LPA in IT). 🔹 Aggressive campus recruitment from tier-2 & tier-3 colleges, not just IITs. 🔹 Internships: ₹40k–50k/month stipends to build hands-on chip design skills. 🔹 Hiring scale: ~12,000 freshers annually (up from 8,000 last year). 🔹 Career growth: Roles extend up to ₹20–120 LPA for architects & leaders. Fuelled by global supply chain shifts, EVs, telecom, defence, and government initiatives (DLI, PLI, ECMS), this hiring surge is reshaping student aspirations, especially in ECE and core engineering branches. With India projected to hit $103B semiconductor market by 2030, this is the right time for students and professionals to align their skills with VLSI, Embedded Systems, AI/ML hardware, and semiconductor manufacturing. The future is semiconductor — and India is powering ahead as a global hub! https://lnkd.in/gKtU5Gn2 #Semiconductor #VLSI #ChipDesign #EmbeddedSystems #Electronics #SoC #SemiconductorIndia #SemiconductorJobs #SemiconductorTalent #HiringTrends #Careers #ECE #Engineering #SemiconductorEcosystem #MakeInIndia #Innovation #ElectronicsManufacturing #FutureOfWork #AI #ML #Hardware #Manufacturing #IndiaSemiconductorMission

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Memory paging in OS: Memory paging is a memory management scheme that eliminates the need for contiguous allocation of physical memory, thereby making more efficient use of available memory and simplifying memory allocation. 👉 Basic Idea 1️⃣ Paging: Divides the virtual memory into fixed-size blocks called pages and the physical memory into blocks of the same size called frames. 2️⃣ Virtual Memory: An abstraction that provides each process with the illusion of a large, contiguous address space. 3️⃣ Physical Memory: The actual RAM available in the system. 👉Key Components 1️⃣ Pages: Fixed-size blocks of virtual memory. Common sizes are 4 KB, 2 MB, or 1 GB. 2️⃣ Frames: Fixed-size blocks of physical memory that correspond in size to pages. 3️⃣ Page Table: A data structure used by the operating system to keep track of the mapping between virtual pages and physical frames. 👉 How Paging Works 1️⃣ Address Translation: When a program accesses a memory address, the virtual address is translated into a physical address using the page table. The virtual address consists of: Page Number: Indexes into the page table. Offset: Specifies the exact location within the page. 2️⃣ Page Table Lookup: The page table entry (PTE) for the page number provides the frame number. The frame number is combined with the offset to produce the physical address. 3️⃣ Page Faults: A page fault occurs if the required page is not in physical memory (not mapped to any frame). The operating system must bring the page from disk (swap space) into a free frame in physical memory and update the page table. 💪 Benefits of Paging 1️⃣ Eliminates Contiguous Allocation Requirement: Physical memory can be used more efficiently since any free frame can be used for any page. 2️⃣ Isolation and Protection: Each process operates in its own virtual address space, preventing one process from accessing the memory of another process. 3️⃣ Simplifies Memory Management: The operating system can manage memory in fixed-size blocks, simplifying allocation and deallocation. ✅ Summary Memory paging is a powerful technique that provides the benefits of virtual memory without the drawbacks of contiguous physical memory allocation. It allows systems to efficiently manage memory, ensure process isolation, and simplify memory allocation and deallocation through the use of fixed-size pages and frames. #paging #os #kernel #linux #embedded #learning #systemdesign

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#TutorialSeries #130 🚀 𝐒𝐚𝐦𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐇𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐄𝐂𝐄 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬🥇 For many ECE engineers, Samsung Semiconductor is a dream destination. With India becoming a hub for chip design and verification, the opportunities in VLSI are bigger than ever. But the hiring process is intense—and very different from typical software interviews. 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐚 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐚𝐦𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐕𝐋𝐒𝐈 𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐄𝐂𝐄 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 👇 🔹 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞 1: 𝐄𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 & 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 ▶️CGPA Cutoff: ~7.5 or higher. ▶️Branches: ECE, EEE, Instrumentation. 🔗https://lnkd.in/gfRYVJCr 👉 Tip: Highlight VLSI coursework, labs and internship/research projects on your resume. 🔹 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞 2: 𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 / 𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐓𝐞𝐬𝐭 ▶️The biggest screening step. Usually a mix of core + aptitude. ▶️Electronics & VLSI topics: ✅Digital design (counters, FSMs, timing diagrams) ✅CMOS basics (Vt, leakage, scaling effects) ✅Device physics & semiconductor fundamentals ✅Verilog/VHDL coding & debugging STA basics, setup/hold violations ✅Aptitude: Quantitative + logical reasoning. ✅Coding (sometimes): Basic C or scripting (Python/Perl/TCL) for automation roles. 👉 Tip: Prepare from M. Morris Mano, Rabaey, Sedra/Smith and practice HDL problems. 🔹 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞 3: 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐬 (2–3 𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬) ▶️Deep dive into your VLSI knowledge. ▶️Common areas tested: ✅Digital Electronics: Flip-flops, multiplexers, FSMs, hazards, timing analysis. ✅CMOS & Devices: Inverter characteristics, power-delay tradeoff, scaling. ✅HDL (Verilog/VHDL/SystemVerilog): ✅Write RTL code, explain testbenches, debug logic. ✅EDA Tools: Synopsys, Cadence basics; STA, synthesis, simulation. ✅Verification: Assertions, coverage, randomization, UVM basics. ✅Project Discussion: “How did you design/verify this block? What optimizations did you make?” 👉 Tip: Be ready to write code on a whiteboard / online pad (e.g., Verilog module for a priority encoder with testbench). 🔹 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞 4: 𝐇𝐑 / 𝐁𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 ▶️Checks culture-fit, passion, and long-term vision. ▶️Why VLSI? Why Samsung? ▶️How do you see yourself growing in the semiconductor industry? 👉 Tip: Show awareness of Samsung Foundry, 5nm/3nm nodes, AI/automotive chips—connect your interests to their roadmap. 🌟 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 ✅ Master digital + CMOS fundamentals—these are always tested. ✅ Practice HDL coding regularly. ✅ Understand EDA flow. ✅ Talk confidently about projects—even an FPGA mini-project can shine if explained well. 🔁 Follow SAMAGATA SEMICONDUCTORS COMMUNITY in linkdin, join Whatsapp group( https://lnkd.in/g3RCDTvG ) and follow on Instagram(https://lnkd.in/gjJbDcRj) for career tips, VLSI insights and tech updates. #Semiconductors #VLSI #VirtualLabs #IIT #NIT #ECE #BTech #MTech #cfbr #Innovation #AnalogDesign #DigitalDesign #FreeTools #SamagataSemiconductors

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10 must-know CMOS fundamentals questions for VLSI freshers (Interview-ready) If preparing for VLSI roles (design/verification/STA/PD), mastering CMOS basics is a huge differentiator. Here are 10 high-impact, conceptual questions interviewers love to ask freshers—plus what they’re really testing. 1.     Explain how a CMOS inverter works. ·       What happens in different input regions (0, transition, VDD)? ·       Why is CMOS static power ideally near zero? ·       What sets the switching threshold? 2.    Draw and explain the DC transfer characteristics of a CMOS inverter. ·       Define VIH, VIL, VOH, VOL and noise margins. ·       Where is the region of highest gain and why? 3.     What are the main sources of power consumption in CMOS? ·       Dynamic (switching + short-circuit), static (leakage types). ·       How do frequency, capacitance, and VDD impact power? ·       Practical ways to reduce each component. 4.    What is logical effort? ·       How it helps size gates for speed. ·       Parasitic delay vs effort delay; path effort intuition. ·       When not to trust it blindly. 5.     Explain body effect and its impact on VTH. ·       Why source-to-body matters (especially in bulk). ·       How it affects speed, leakage, and corners. ·       Differences in bulk vs SOI/FinFET contexts. 6.    Setup and hold time: what, why, and how violations occur. ·       Metastability and permissible timing windows. ·       Typical fixes (add pipeline, skew, sizing, Vt swap). 7.     Short-channel effects: DIBL, velocity saturation, channel length modulation. ·       How scaling changes I-V behavior and VTH. ·       Impact on delay, noise margins, leakage. 8.    What is PVT variation? How do corners affect design? ·       Process (SS/TT/FF), voltage, temperature. ·       Why timing closure needs best/worst corners and derates. ·       On-chip variation basics. 9.    Design a 2-input CMOS NAND (or NOR): transistor sizing and reasoning. ·       Series vs parallel stacking impact on pull-up/pull-down strength. ·       Matching rise/fall delays and W/L ratios conceptually. 10.  Explain the trade-offs between low-Vt, standard-Vt, and high-Vt cells. ·       Speed vs leakage vs IR/EM vs variability. ·       Multi-Vt strategies in real chips (critical vs non-critical paths). How to use this: ·       Don’t just memorize definitions—tie each question to waveforms, curves, or simple sketches. ·       Practice explaining in 60–90 seconds with clarity and structure. ·       If possible, connect answers to a small project or lab (e.g., “I measured inverter VTC and extracted noise margins…”). Also happy to mock interview for VLSI freshers. #VLSI #CMOS #Semiconductors #Freshers #Design #ASIC #FPGA #STA #PhysicalDesign #FrontEnd #BackEnd #EDA #Interviews

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How to start focussing and preparing for Semiconductor and AI from 3rd year of Engineering in ECE / EEE / CSE: [1] Mathematics: Not only essential for ML and VLSI but helps in Quantum Computing as well. Key concepts: a. Probability and Statistics - Bayes theorem, variance, standard deviation, Distributions, Regression, Bias, etc. b. Linear Algebra - Eigen values, Eigen vectors, Matrix operations. c. Complex Number - Complex Plane, Polar and exponential form, Fourier transform, Euler and De Moivre's theorem, Conjugate. [2] Digital Electronics: The most basic and fundamental subject for VLSI. Key Concepts: Boolean Algebra, Combinational and Sequential Circuit, FSM, Static Timing Analysis. Not covering in depth since already covered in earlier posts. [3] Analog Fundamentals: Key concepts: a.BJT, MOSFET, CMOS, Problems on CC, CE, CB, CS, CG and CD. b. Current Mirror, Amplifier, Oscillator, Implementing stick diagrams of basic gates and custom circuits, Drain calculation, triode and saturation region. [4] Algorithms: This subject is not essential and mandatory but when I look back i personally feel that this subject is a necessity to increase the intuitive thinking and problem solving approach. Key concepts: a. Divide and Conquer, Greedy, Dynamic Programming, Sorting and Searching, travelling Salesman, Dijkstra's, kruskal, etc. b. Complexity theory - P, NP, NP Hard and NP Complete. [5] HDL Coding: Verilog - Coding guidelines, Syntax and Semantics, Coding structure. The best way to learn is to start implementing the digital blocks like multiplexer, flip flops, basic gates, counters. If you don't have any tool use edaplayground. [6] Python: Libraries: Pytorch, pyuvm, NumPy, SciPy, scikit-learn. [7] Machine Learning: Key concepts: a. Supervised, Unsupervised, Reinforcement, Neural Networks, Gradient Descent, Deep learning, Back propagation. b. Frameworks like TPU and PyTorch. [8] SystemVerilog: a. Data types, Interface, Clocking Blocks, Modport, Virtual interface, Synthesizable and Non Synthesizable construct, Testbench infrastructure. [9] Protocols: AHB, APB, FIFO to start with. Interconnect the two domains of VLSI and AI by leveraging ML for Automation in Semiconductor and debug the Chip faster. #vlsi #asic #electricalengineering #electronics

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7 key branches of semiconductors with leading companies & Applications 1. VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration): Leading Companies: Intel, Samsung, TSMC Applications: Microprocessors, Memory chips , ASICs 2. Power Semiconductors: Leading Companies: Infineon, STMicroelectronics Texas Instruments Applications: Electric vehicles (inverters, converters), Renewable energy 3. Analog Semiconductors: Leading Companies: Analog Devices, Texas Instruments, Maxim Integrated Applications: Audio & Video processing, Communication systems and RF circuits 4. Digital Semiconductors: Leading Companies: Intel, Qualcomm, Broadcom Applications:Microprocessors and microcontrollers, Memory chips (Flash memory, SSDs) 5. MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems): Leading Companies:Bosch Sensortec, STM, Analog Devices Applications:Accelerometers and gyroscopes in smartphones, Pressure sensors for automotive applications, Inkjet printer heads and microphones 6. Optoelectronics: Leading Companies:Cree, Nichia, Osram Applications:LEDs for displays, Optical communication, Photodetectors 7. Compound Semiconductors: Leading Companies:Cree, Qorvo, GaN Systems Applications:High-frequency RF (Radio Frequency) devices, Power amplifiers for wireless communication For all Semiconductors and AI related content, follow TechoVedas Add more branches in the comments. If you are looking to invest in semiconductors and looking for consulting, drop us a DM. #VLSI #AI #semiconductorindustry

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Understanding Device Drivers & Device Trees in Embedded Linux 🔧 What are Device Drivers? Device drivers are kernel components that act as a bridge between the operating system and hardware. They manage resources like: - I/O registers - Interrupts - Clocks, DMA, GPIOs They translate generic OS commands into hardware-specific instructions. Without drivers, your OS doesn’t know how to talk to your board! 🌲 What is a Device Tree (DT)? A device tree is a data structure that describes your hardware configuration to the Linux kernel. It outlines details such as: - Which peripherals are connected - Memory addresses - Interrupt lines - GPIO assignments It enables kernel portability—so the same kernel can support multiple hardware platforms just by changing the DT. 🔄 How They Work Together Device Tree defines the what and where (compatible string, memory map) Driver uses that to match and initialize the actual hardware Flow: Device Tree (.dts/.dtb) ➡️ passed during boot ➡️ Kernel parses it ➡️ Matches with Driver ➡️ Probe() executes This makes embedded Linux development modular, scalable, and maintainable. 🧠 Tips to Explore: - Use dtc (Device Tree Compiler) to inspect .dtb files - Read dmesg logs during boot to trace how drivers get loaded - Check out real-world DTS files (like Raspberry Pi) to understand structure - Practice writing a minimal LED/GPIO driver + corresponding DT node #EmbeddedLinux #DeviceTree #DeviceDrivers #LinuxKernel #100DaysOfEmbedded #IoTDevelopment #EmbeddedEngineering #LinuxDev #FirmwareEngineering #TechForEngineers

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Day 125:Sanity Checks in VLSI 🔍 Sanity checks are a set of basic verification steps performed to ensure that a design is functional and meets the required specifications. What are Sanity Checks? Sanity checks are simple, yet crucial, checks that verify the design's integrity and functionality. These checks help identify obvious errors or inconsistencies in the design. Types of Sanity Checks: 1. *Connectivity checks*: Verify that components are properly connected. 2. *Power and ground checks*: Ensure that power and ground nets are correctly connected. 3. *Clock domain checks*: Verify that clock signals are properly handled. 4. *Reset checks*: Ensure that reset signals are correctly implemented. Why are Sanity Checks important? 1. *Early error detection*: Sanity checks help detect errors early in the design flow. 2. *Reduced debugging time*: By identifying obvious errors, sanity checks reduce debugging time. 3. *Improved design quality*: Sanity checks ensure that the design meets basic functionality and performance requirements. When to perform Sanity Checks: 1. *During design entry*: Perform sanity checks during design entry to catch errors early. 2. *After synthesis*: Perform sanity checks after synthesis to ensure that the netlist is correct. 3. *Before simulation*: Perform sanity checks before simulation to ensure that the design is functional. By performing sanity checks, designers can ensure that their designs are functional, reliable, and meet the required specifications 🔍. #SanityChecks #VLSI #DesignVerification #ConnectivityChecks #PowerAndGroundChecks #ClockDomainChecks #ResetChecks #EarlyErrorDetection #Debugging #DesignQuality #DesignEntry #Synthesis #Simulation #ICDesign #ChipDesign #SemiconductorDesign #DesignAutomation #Verification #Validation #DesignIntegrity #FunctionalVerification

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