Overview

This unit of study aims to introduce students to electronics design in micro and nano electronic systems. Students will learn, to design, analyse, implement and test analog, digital and mixed signal circuits. Students will learn to use of advanced industry standard Electronic Design Automation Tools for schematic entry, simulation, layout and verification. Students will understand tradeoffs between low power, speed of operation, chip area and noise. At the end of the unit students will be able to apply design principles to build verify different Integrated Circuit subsystems.

Requisites

Prerequisites

Assumed Knowledge
HDL Coding , Analogue and Digital Electronics

Teaching periods
Location
Start and end dates
Last self-enrolment date
Census date
Last withdraw without fail date
Results released date
Semester 1
Location
Hawthorn
Start and end dates
02-March-2026
31-May-2026
Last self-enrolment date
15-March-2026
Census date
31-March-2026
Last withdraw without fail date
21-April-2026
Results released date
07-July-2026

Learning outcomes

Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:

  • Apply CMOS technology principles to transistor-level circuit design
  • Design and implement analogue building blocks such as amplifiers, bias circuits, current mirrors.
  • Design and verify digital logic using standard cells and custom layouts.
  • Identify, analyse and address layout-related issues (e.g. parasitics, latch-up, mismatch).
  • Design and Implement a complete mixed-signal IC subsystem using modern design flows.

Teaching methods

Hawthorn

Type Hours per week Number of weeks Total (number of hours)

Live Online
Lecture

1.00 12 weeks 12
On-campus
Lab
3.00 12 weeks 36
Unspecified Activities 
Independent Learning
8.50 12 weeks 102
Total     150

Assessment

Type Task Weighting ULOs
Laboratory Practicals Individual 50 - 60% 1,2,3,4
Applied Project Individual/Group 40 - 50% 1,2,3,4,5

Content

  • Synopsys Digital Front End
  • Synopsys Digital Back End
  • Synopsys Custom Design 
  • CMOS Design Pr
  • CMOS Analog Circuits 
  • CMOS Digital Circuits 
  • CMOS Mixed Signal Circuits

Study resources

Reading materials

A list of reading materials and/or required textbooks will be available in the Unit Outline on Canvas.