Unit #0

Lecture 2

Evolution of VLSI

CMOS VLSI Design: A Circuits and Systems Perspective, 4th Edition

by N. Weste and D. Harris, Addison-Wesley Computing (0321547748)
Digital Integrated Circuits: A Design Perspective, 2nd Edition
by J. Rabaey, A. Chandrakasan, and B. Nikolic, Prentice Hall (0130909963)
Highlight

 History, today, and tomorrow

 Moore’s law
 Design hierarchy
 Reading: Chapter 1.1

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The First Computing System

Abacus
(3000 B.C. – 300 A. D.)
by Chinese
and Mesoamerican

Size: > 10cm

Speed: your finger-run
Power: no sweating
Cost: home made
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The First Computer

The Babbage Difference Engine

(1832)
Designed by Charles Babbage

Size: 11 feet long, 7 feet tall,

25,000 parts
Speed: mechanical
Power: mechanical
Cost: £17,470
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The First Electronic Computer

ENIAC
(1946)
by U.S.A.

Size: 1800 ft2

Speed: 40 div./sec.
Power: 160kW
Cost: $486, 804.22

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The First Transistor: A Revolution

Transistor
(1948)
by Bell Labs

Nobel Prize, 1951

Shockley, Bardeen, and
Brattain

Much better scalability and reliability than vacuum tubes

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The First Integrated Circuit

Integrated Circuit
(1958)
by TI

Nobel Prize, 2000

Kilby

1 transistor, 3 resistors, and 1 capacitor

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The First Microprocessor Chip

4004 CPU
(1971)
by Intel

Size: ~ 9mm2
2.3 K transistors @10μm
Speed: 1MHz
Design team: 3

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The Pentium 4 CPU
MOSFET

Interconnect

P4 CPU (2002)
Size: ~217mm2, 42M @ 0.18μm
Speed: 2GHz
Design team: 1000
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The Cell Processor
Used in PS3 and other
applications
8 processor cores
Low-power and high-
speed

Cell BE (2006)
Size: ~221mm2, 234M @ 90nm
Speed: 4GHz
Design team: STIR
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Moore’s Law

 In 1965, Gordon Moore (Intel) noted that the number of

transistors on a chip doubled every 18 to 24 months
 Prediction: semiconductor technology will double its
effectiveness every 18 months
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COMPONENTS PER INTEGRATED FUNCTION

15
14
13
LOG2 OF THE NUMBER OF

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11
10
9
8
7
6

Electronics Magazine
5
4
3
2
1
0 April 19, 1965
1959
1960
1961
1962
1963
1964
1965
1966
1967
1968
1969
1970
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975

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VLSI Today

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Evolution in Complexity

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Driving Forces

 Technology scaling
‒ Semiconductor device shrinks by 0.7x / generation
 Circuit and design
 “Cleverness”
 Functions per chip doubles every generation; chip cost
does not increase significantly
‒ Cost of a function decreases by 2x
 On the other hand:
‒ Design population does not double every two years…
‒ Productivity per designer decreases due to complexities
of design and team management

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Productivity Trends
Logic Transistor per Chip (M)
10,000
10,000,000 100,000
100,000,000
Logic Tr./Chip Source: Sematech
1,000
1,000,000 10,000
10,000,000

(K) Trans./Staff - Mo.

Tr./Staff Month.
100 1,000
Complexity

100,000 1,000,000

Productivity
10 58%/Yr. compounded 100
10,000 Complexity growth rate 100,000

1,0001 10
10,000
x x
0.1
100 1
1,000
xx
x
21%/Yr. compound
xx Productivity growth rate
x
0.01
10 0.1
100
0.001
1 0.01
10
1981
1983
1985
1987
1989
1991
1993
1995
1997
1999
2001
2003
2005
2007
2009
 Profound impact on the way VLSI is designed
‒ Exploit different levels of abstraction
‒ Automated design with CAD tools
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Design Abstraction
SYSTEM

Out
put M h=
2 3; BL
BL#
MODULE k = h; h
k
>3; h<
+ Y S Eh
LT
M 3; W R IT E E N
1
sapchg#

GATE W R IT E
DATA

SAE DATA OUT

LA TC H
s a b it
CIRCUIT s a b it #

YSELB

DEVICE
G
S D
n+ n+

 Tool capability is limited and exploited by our physical

and design understanding
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Summary

 Moore’s law has governed the evolution of

microprocessor design for 50 years
 The driving forces include technology scaling,
design techniques, and engineering innovation
 But…
‒ We are approaching the end of Moore’s law
‒ Tremendous challenges ahead

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Quiz 2

 Is Moore’s law a natural law or a rule-of-thumb of

semiconductor development?

Answer
 Moore’s law is NOT a natural law. It only gives an overall
picture and guidance to our VLSI industry. Limited by
fundamental physics and economics, Moore’s law may
become invalid soon.

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