“More practical relevance is needed” is a well-known phrase when it comes to STEM students and their skills development during their studies. This has also been an issue in the Silicon Saxony IC Design working group for some time. A group of committed employees from a total of 15 companies and Fraunhofer Institutes therefore joined forces in 2022 and developed a concept for the lecture series “Methods for the design of integrated circuits from an industrial production perspective”.
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In the summer semester of 2024, this lecture series took place for the second time at the Technical University of Dresden as part of the English-language Master’s course “Nanoelectronic Systems”. 31 students took part, including three from the University of Applied Sciences. Chip design is one of the most sought-after skills in the semiconductor industry, not only in Saxony but worldwide. However, chip design is still more of a marginal topic in certain degree courses such as electrical engineering, microelectronics, information systems technology or physics and nanoelectronic systems.
The idea behind the lecture series is to raise awareness of this career profile at Saxon colleges and universities in order to motivate students to focus on this area when choosing their major. And, of course, it is also about making local companies better known among students. What applications do they develop circuits for? What job opportunities are there for young talent? All of this is conveyed alongside the course content and through direct networking with the students. As a result of the lecture series in 2023, Racyics GmbH has recruited a working student who will be writing his thesis as part of a research collaboration from the fall. Bosch Sensortec has also recruited young students in this way, as has Fraunhofer IIS/EAS, where a student will be writing his Master’s thesis.
The lecture provides an overview of the entire life cycle of an integrated circuit, from the initial idea, the system and circuit design phase, prototype evaluation and test development through to ramp-up and application support. The special requirements for integrated circuits for the automotive industry are also presented, such as thorough methods for verification, reliability and functional safety. An insight into methods for error analysis is also given. The lecture content is strongly application-oriented and gives a deep insight into the daily work of IC designers, but also into the complexity of IC design projects and certain specializations. In his introductory lecture, Dr. Achim Graupner from Bosch Sensortec GmbH gives an overview of “the profound influence IC has on all areas of life, that IC designers are actively shaping the world of tomorrow through their work, so to speak.”
Dr. Achim Graupner coordinates the project and also heads the Silicon Saxony IC Design working group, in which the other participating companies also network with each other. “The students gain a deep insight into all specializations of IC design and get an overview of current design methods and the associated tools as well as the problems that need to be solved for future projects,” he explains. The companies based in Dresden and the surrounding area in the field of IC design mainly develop application-specific circuits, sometimes for very innovative applications: For example, they are working on a next generation of non-volatile memory, radar, AI, components for electromobility & autonomous driving, motion sensors for Advanced Gesture Recognition etc.
This is how one student summed up the IC Design lecture series in the summer semester of 2024. Overall, the participants once again gave very positive feedback this year, particularly on the live demonstrations and detailed insights into various aspects of chip design. Achim Graupner comments: “I received feedback that there were often in-depth discussions with individual interested parties after the lectures. It was repeatedly expressed that the specific design methods and tools are only mentioned to a limited extent in the traditional lectures and that the students find the exchange with experts from the field very valuable.”
The lecture series is to be offered again in 2025
At the end of the lecture series, students will receive a certificate.
A new English-language Master’s degree course, which offers chip design not only as a specialization but also as a main subject, will start in the winter semester 2024/2025 at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology at Chemnitz University of Technology. It was conceived by the Chair of Circuit and System Design, is entitled “Design and Test for Integrated Circuits” and covers the entire chain from design to production support and testing. Test runs for chips and other practical insights are provided by two fully-fledged production test machines from Advantest in the practical laboratory. In addition, students can also use the clean rooms and special equipment of the Center for Microtechnologies and the neighboring Smart Systems Campus with the Fraunhofer Institute for Electronic Nano Systems ENAS. Here, too, a strong industrial connection is sought through guest lectures, excursions and internships.
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