III-II - ECE - VLSI Design Unit 2
III-II - ECE - VLSI Design Unit 2
COURSE MATERIAL
UNIT 1
COURSE B.TECH
DEPARTMENT ECE
SEMESTER 32
PREPARED BY
Dr. G. Sujatha
(Faculty Name/s) Professor
Version V-2
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10 ASSIGNMENTS 35
12 PART B QUESTIONS 38
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17 MINI PROJECT SUGGESTION 40
Course Objectives
2. Prerequisites
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3. Syllabus
UNIT I
The pass transistor, nMOS Inverter, Pull-up to Pull down Ratio of different cases,
The CMOS Inverter, Latch-up in CMOS circuits, MOS Layers, Stick Diagrams-Nmos
and CMOS design styles, Design Rules and Layout-Lambda –based design rules,
2µm Double Metal , Double poly, CMOS/BiCMOS rules and Layout Diagrams.
4. Course outcomes
2. Design digital systems using MOS circuits (Static and Switching characteristics
of inverters)
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5. CO-PO / PSO Mapping
COs/
PO1 PO2 PO3 PO4 PO5 PO6 PO7 PO8 PO9 PSO1 PSO2
POs
2 3
CO1 3
CO2 3 3 3
3
CO3 3
3 3 3
C04 3
6. Lesson Plan
Lecture No. Weeks Topics to be covered References
2 NMOS inverter
T1, R1
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7. Activity Based Learning
8. Lecture Notes
The nMOS transistors pass '0's well but ‘1’s poorly. Figure 1.19 (a) shows an
nMOS transistor with the gate and drain tied to VDD. Imagine that the
source is initially at Vs = 0. Vgs > Vtn, so the transistor is ON and current
flows. If the voltage on the source rises to Vs = VDD - Vtn, Vgs falls to Vtn
and the transistor cuts itself OFF. Therefore, nMOS transistors attempting
to pass a '1' never pull the source above VDD - Vtn. This loss is sometimes
called a threshold drop. Moreover, when the source of the nMOS
transistor rises, Vsb becomes nonzero and this nonzero source to body
potential introduces the body effect that increases the threshold
voltage. Similarly, pMOS transistors pass ‘1`s well but ‘0’s poorly. If the
pMOS source drops belo w |Vtp|, the transistor cuts off. Hence, pMOS
transistors only pull down to within a threshold above GND, as shown in
Figure 1.19(b). As the source can rise to within a threshold voltage of the
gate, the output of several transistors in series is no more degraded than
that of a single transistor Figure 1.19c. However, if a degraded output
drives the gate of another transistor, the second transistor can produce
an even further degraded output Figure 1.19d.
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Figure 1.19: Pass transistor
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Figure 1.17: nMOS inverter
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For equal margins around the inverter threshold, we set Vinv = 0.5VDD ·
At this point both transistors are in saturation and we can write that
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where Wp.d, Lp.d , Wp.u. and Lp.u are the widths and lengths of
the pull-down and pull-up transistors respectively.
Substituting these values in the above equation, we get This is the ratio
for pull-up to pull down ratio for an inverter directly driven by another
inverter.
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The connection of pass transistors in series will degrade the logic 1 level /
into inverter 2 so that the output will not be a proper logic 0 level. The
critical condition is , when point A is at 0 volts and B is thus at VDD but
the voltage into inverter2 at point C is now reduced from VDD by the
threshold voltage of the series pass transistor. With all pass transistor
gates connected to VDD there is a loss of Vtp, however many are
connected in series, since no static current flows through them and
there can be no voltage drop in the channels. Therefore, the input
voltage to inverter 2 is Vin2 = VDD - Vtd where Vtp = threshold voltage for a
pass transistor.
Let us consider the inverter 1 shown in Fig. (a) with input = VDD· If the
input is at VDD, then the Pull-down transistor T2 is conducting but with a
low voltage across it; therefore, it is in its resistive region represented by
R1 in below. Meanwhile, the pull up transistor T1 is in saturation and is
represented as a current source.
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For the pull down transistor Since Vds is small, Vds/2 can be neglected in
the above expression.
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Let us now consider the inverter 2 Fig. b.
Hence,
Therefore
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An inverter driven through one or more pass transistors should have a
Zp.u./Zp.d ratio of ≥8/1
a) Dissipation is high, since rail to rail current flows when Vin = logical 1.
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iii. nMOS enhancement mode pull-up: This arrangement consists of a n-MOS
enhancement mode transistor as pull-up. The arrangement and the
transfer characteristic are shown below.
b) Vout can never reach VDD (logical I) if VGG = VDD as is normally the
case.
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c) VGG may be derived from a switching source, for example, one phase
of a clock, so that dissipation can be greatly reduced.
The inverter is the very important part of all digital designs. Once its
operation and properties are clearly understood, Complex structures like
NAND gates, adders, multipliers, and microprocessors can also be easily
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done. The electrical behavior of these complex circuits can be almost
completely derived by extrapolating the results obtained for inverters. As
shown in the Figure 1.22 the CMOS transistor is designed using p-MOS
and n-MOS transistors.
In the inverter circuit, if the input is high .the lower n-MOS device closes
to discharge the capacitive load. Similarly, if the input is low, the top p-
MOS device is turned on to charge the capacitive load. At no time both
the devices are on, which prevents the DC current flowing from positive
power supply to ground. Qualitatively this circuit acts like the switching
circuit, since the p-channel transistor has exactly the opposite
characteristics of the n-channel transistor. In the transition region both
transistors are saturated and the circuit operates with a large voltage
gain. The C-MOS transfer characteristic is shown in Figure 1.21.
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Considering the static conditions first, it may be Seen that in region 1 for
which Vi,. = logic 0, we have the p-transistor fully turned on while the n-
transistor is fully turned off. Thus no current flows through the inverter and
the output is directly connected to VDD through the p-transistor. Hence
the output voltage is logic 1. In region 5, Vin = logic 1 and the n-transistor
is fully on while the p-transistor is fully off. So, no current flows and a logic
0 appears at the output.
In region 2 the input voltage has increased to a level which just
exceeds the threshold voltage of the n-transistor. The n-transistor
conducts and has a large voltage between source and drain; so it is in
saturation. The p-transistor is also conducting but with only a small
voltage across it, it operates in the unsaturated resistive region. A small
current now flows through the inverter from VDD to VSS. If we wish to
analyze the behavior in this region, we equate the p-device resistive
region current with the n-device saturation current and thus obtain the
voltage and current relationships.
Region 4 is similar to region 2 but with the roles of the p- and n-
transistors reversed. However, the current magnitudes in regions 2 and 4
are small and most of the energy consumed in switching from one state
to the other is due to the larger current which flows in region 3.
Region 3 is the region in which the inverter exhibits gain and in which
both transistors are in saturation. The currents in each device must be
the same, since the transistors are in series. So, we can write that
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between VDD and Vss with the output voltage coming from their
common point. The region is inherently unstable in consequence and
the changeover from one logic level to the other is rapid.
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2.6 MOS LAYERS
MOS circuits are formed on four basic layers:
N-diffusion
P-diffusion
Poly silicon
Metal
These layers are isolated by one another by thick or thin silicon dioxide
insulating layers. Thin oxide mask region includes n-diffusion / p-
diffusion and transistor channel.
Design rules include width rules and spacing rules. Mead and Conway
developed a set of simplified scalable λ -based design rules, which are
valid for a range of fabrication technologies. In these rules, the
minimum feature size of a technology is characterized as 2 λ . All width
and spacing rules are specified in terms of the parameter λ . Suppose
we have design rules that call for a minimum width of 2 λ , and a
minimum spacing of 3 λ . If we select a 2 um technology (i.e., λ = 1
um), the above rules are translated to a minimum width of 2 um and a
minimum spacing of 3 um. On the other hand, if a 1 um technology
(i.e., λ = 0.5 um) is selected, then the same width and spacing rules are
now specified as 1um nd 1.5 um, respectively Figure 1.28 shows the
design rule n diffusion, p diffusion, poly, metal1 and metal 2. The n and
p diffusion lines are having a minimum width of 2λand a minimum
spacing of 3λ. Similarly we are showing for other layers
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Fig 1.28: Design Rules for Wires (nMOS and CMOS)
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Figure 1.29 shows the design rule for the transistor, and it also shows that
the poly should extend for a minimum of 2λbeyond the diffusion
boundaries.(gate over hang distance)
VIA
It is used to connect higher level metals from metal1 connection. The
cross section and layout view given explain via in a better way.
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Figure 1.31 shows the design rules for contact cuts and Vias. The design
rule for contact is minimum 2λx2λand same is applicable for a Via.
Buried contact: The contact cut is made down each layer to be joined
and it is shown in figure 1.32.
Butting contact: The layers are butted together in such a way the two
contact cuts become contiguous. We can better under the butting
contact from figure 1.33
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2.8 LAMBDA BASED DESIGN RULES, CONTACT CUTS
Till now we have studied the design rules with respect to only
NMOS, what are the rules to be followed if we have the both p and
n transistor on the same chip will be made clear with the diagram.
Figure 1.32 shows the rules to be followed in CMOS well processes to
accommodate both n and p transistors.
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Fig 1.35: BiCMOS Design Rules
The following is the example stick and layouts for 2 way selector with enable
(2:1 MUX).
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2.10 STICK DIAGRAMS (NMOS AND CMOS DESIGN STYLES) and LAYOUT
DIAGRAMS
Stick diagrams may be used to convey layer information through the
use of a color code.
For example:
N-diffusion -green poly -- red
Blue -- metal
yellow --implant
Black --contact area
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Figure shows the way of representing different layers in stick diagram
notation and mask layout using nmos style.
Figure 1.37 shows when a n-transistor is formed: a transistor is formed
when a green line (n+ diffusion) crosses a red line (poly) completely.
Figure also shows how a depletion mode transistor is represented in the
stick forma
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Figure 1.38 shows when a n-transistor is formed: a transistor is formed
when a green line (n+ diffusion) crosses a red line (poly) completely.
Figure 1.38 also shows when a p-transistor is formed: a transistor is formed
when a yellow line (p+ diffusion) crosses a red line (poly) completely.
Fig 1.39: Additional encodings for a double metal double poly. BiCMOS n-well
process
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There are several layers in an nMOS chip:
Paths of metal (usually aluminum) a further thick layer of silicon
dioxide with contact cuts through the silicon dioxide where connections
are required. The three layers carrying paths can be considered as
independent conductors that only interact where polysilicon crosses
diffusion to form a transistor. These tracks can be drawn as stick
diagrams with
o Diffusion in green
o Polysilicon in red
o Metal in blue
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Fig 1.40: nMOS depletion load inverter
Fig 1.41 shows the schematic, stick diagram and corresponding layout of
CMOS Inverter
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Fig 1.42: nMOS depletion load NAND and NOR Stick Diagram
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Figure 1.44 shows the stick diagram CMOS NOR and NAND, where we
can see that the p diffusion line never touched the n diffusion directly, it
is always joined using a blue color metal line.
Figure 1.45 shows the stick diagram of dynamic shift register using CMOS
style. Here the output of the TG is connected as the input to the inverter
and the same chain continues depending on the number of bits.
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9. Practice Quiz
1. The colour of demarcation line is
a) brown
b) yellow
c) black
d) None
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7. what is the value of Metal in lambda based design rules
a) 3 lambda
b) 2 lambda
c) 1lambda
d) None
8. In Pull up to pull down ratio for nMOS inverter driven by another Nmos transitor
is
a) 1:8
b) 4:1
c) 1:4
d) 8:1
8. In Pull up to pull down ratio for nMOS inverter driven by pass transistor
a) 1:8
b) 4:1
c) 1:4
d) 8:1
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10. Assignments
S.No Question BL Co
2 1 1
Explain the Double metal Mos process rules and
CMOS Lambda based design rules
E xpl a in L am bd a ba se d de s ig n r ul e s .
5 1 2
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11. Part A- Question & Answers
Oxidation , photolithography
Metallization
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What are the steps involved in twin-tub process?
Tub Formation
3 Thin-oxide Construction 1
1
Source & Drain Implantation
Metallization
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What is Body effect?
S.No Question BL C
O
Design a CMOS inverter circuit and explain about its various
1 regions of operation in detail with the necessary diagrams. 3 1
2 2 1
Explain the Double metal Mos process rules and CMOS
Lambda based design rules
5 E xpl a in L am bd a ba se d de s ig n r ul e s . 2 1
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13. Supportive Online Certification Courses
1. Digital circuits By Prof. Santanu Chattopdhayay, conducted by IIT Kharagpur
on NPTEL – 12 weeks
2. Digital Electronic Circuits By Prof. Goutam Saha, conducted IIT Kharagpur on
NPTEL – 12 weeks
S.No Application CO
Low Power Design for safety Critical applications: safe operation constraints vs
low-power techniques, Unsuitable low power design techniques for safety critical
applications, Low-power and safe-operating circuits
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References:
2. Wayne Wolf, “Modern VLSI Design”, Pearson Education, 3rd Edition, 1997.
3. John P. Uyemura, “Chip Design for Submicron VLSI: CMOS layout and
Simulation”, Thomson Learning.
This project aims to enhance the visual quality of images and to avoid
chances of being corrupted by impulse noise by implementing an efficient
VLSI architecture using edge preserving filter.
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