1.8 Bibliography

The Addison-Wesley VLSI Design Series covers all aspects of VLSI design. Mead and Conway [1980] is an introduction to VLSI design. Glasser and Dobberpuhl [1985] deal primarily with NMOS technology, but their book is still a valuable circuit design reference. Bakoglu’s book [1990] concentrates on system interconnect issues. Both editions of Weste and Eshraghian [1993] describe full-custom VLSI design.

Other books on CMOS design include books by Kang and Leblebici [1996], Wolf [1994], Price [1994], Hurst [1992], and Shoji [1988]. Alvarez [1993] covers BiCMOS, but concentrates more on technology than design. Embabi, Bellaouar, and Elmasry [1993] also cover BiCMOS design from a similar perspective. Elmasry’s book [1994] contains a collection of papers on BiCMOS design. Einspruch and Hilbert [1991]; Huber and Rosneck [1991]; and Veendrick [1992] are introductions to ASIC design for nontechnical readers. Long and Butner [1990] cover gallium arsenide (GaAs) IC design. Most books on CMOS and ASIC design are classified in the TK7874 section of the Library of Congress catalog (T is for technology).

Several journals and magazines publish articles on ASICs and ASIC design. The IEEE Transactions on Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) Systems (ISSN 1063-8210, TK7874.I3273, 1993–) is dedicated to VLSI design. The IEEE Custom Integrated Circuits Conference (ISSN 0886-5930, TK7874.C865, 1979–) and the IEEE International ASIC Conference (TK7874.6.I34a, 1988–1991; TK7874.6.I35, ISSN 1063-0988, 1991–) both cover the design and use of ASICs. EE Times (ISSN 0192-1541, http://techweb.cmp.com/eet ) is a newsletter that includes a wide-ranging coverage of system design, ASICs, and ASIC design. Integrated System Design (ISSN 1080-2797), formerly ASIC & EDA ) is a monthly publication that includes ASIC design topics. High Performance Systems (ISSN 0887-9664), formerly VLSI Design (ISSN 0279-2834), deals with system design including the use of ASICs. EDN (ISSN 0012-7515, http://www.ednmag.com ) has broader coverage of the electronics industry, including articles on VLSI and systems design. Computer Design (ISSN 0010-4566) is targeted at systems-level design but includes coverage of ASICs (for example, a special issue in August 1996 was devoted to ASIC design).

The Electronic Industries Association (EIA) has produced a standard, JESD12-1B, “Terms and definitions for gate arrays and cell-based digital integrated circuits,” to define terms and definitions.

University Video Communication ( http://www.uvc.com ) produces several videotapes on computer science and engineering topics including ASIC design. Maly’s book [1987] is a picture book containing drawings and cross-sections of devices, and shows how a transistor is fabricated.

It is difficult to obtain detailed technical information from ASIC companies and vendors apart from the glossy brochures ( sparkle sheets ). It used to be possible to obtain data books on cell libraries (now these are large and difficult to produce, and are often only available in electronic form) as well as design guidelines and handbooks. Fortunately there are now many resources available on the World Wide Web, which are, of course, constantly changing. EDAC (Electronic Design Automation Companies) has a Web page ( http://www.edac.org ) with links to most of the EDA companies. The Electrical Engineering page on the World Wide Web (E2W3) ( http://www.e2w3.com ) contains links to many ASIC related areas, including distributors, ASIC companies, and semiconductor companies. SEMATECH (Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology) is a nonprofit consortium of U.S. semiconductor companies and has a Web page ( http://www.sematech.org ) that includes links to major semiconductor manufacturers. The MIT Semiconductor Subway ( http://www-mtl.mit.edu ) is more oriented toward devices, processes, and materials but contains links to other VLSI industrial and academic areas. There is a list of EDA companies at http://www.yahoo.com under Business_and_Economy in Companies/Computers/Software/Graphics/CAD/IC_Design .

The MOS Implementation Service (MOSIS), located at the Information Sciences Institute (ISI) at the University of Southern California (USC), is a “silicon broker” for universities in the United States and also provides commercial access to fabrication facilities ( http://www.isi.edu ). Professor Don Bouldin maintains The Microelectronic Systems Newsletter, formerly the MOSIS Users Group (MUG) Newsletter, at http://www-ece.engr.utk.edu/ece .

NASA ( http://nppp.jpl.nasa.gov/dmg/jpl/loc/asic ) has an extensive online ASIC guide, developed by the Office of Safety and Mission Assurance, that covers ASIC management, vendor evaluation, design, and part acceptance.