VSD Intern - DAC IP design using Sky130 PDKs - Part 1

Name: VSD Intern - DAC IP design using Sky130 PDKs - Part 1
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Overview of DAC Theory, Circuit and project flow

Created byKunal Ghosh, Skandha Deepsita S

Last updated 5/2021

English

English [Auto],

What you'll learn

Overview of DAC
Background and Principle of Operation
Implementation Aspects and Challenges
Evaluation Parameters
Expected Input Output Characteristics

Course content

5 sections • 17 lectures • 1h 44m total length

Introduction To DAC Project And Applications4:44
Introduction to a DAC IP design using Sky130 PDKs and open source tools, covering specs, deck, and the analog-to-digital processing path from input to output.
Background And Principle Of Operation2:46
Analyze how binary digital input and switches feed a network with a voltage reference to set an analog output from zero to full-scale, illustrating ideal versus practical, stepwise dac responses.
Reference Voltage Resolution And Linearity Aspects Of DAC4:27
Evaluate reference voltage, resolution, linearity, settling time, and output step response when selecting a DAC, tailored to your application; run trials to verify stability.
Monotonicity, Settling Time And Speed Of DAC4:02
Define monotonic behavior in DACs where the output is equal to or greater than the previous code, and note how non monotonic conversions and settling time guide architecture choices.

DAC Architectures, Applications, Decoding Method And Switching Network6:51
Examine three DAC architectures and how scaling current, voltage, or charge affects the output. Evaluate decoding methods and the switching network with transmission gates for monotonic outputs and reduced parasitics.
DAC Non-Linearity And Output Voltage Level Parameters7:39
Examine dac output levels and tradeoffs in resolution, and analyze differential non-linearity and integral non-linearity, including offset and gain errors, to achieve monotonic, linear conversions.
DAC Interface Specs And Operating Modes4:05
Explore the DAC interface specs and operating modes, detailing 1.8 V digital inputs, 3.3 V supply and ground, and a 10-bit 0–1023 mapping to 0–3.3 V with LSB steps.
DAC DNL and INL Specs3:44
Analyze dac dnl and inl specs, describing positive or negative step deviations per code, and note verification and conversion time considerations.

Fundamental DAC Circuit6:17
Explore the fundamental DAC circuit using a resistor string and switching network to ensure the output connects to a single resistor path per input, with a divide-and-conquer approach for scalability.
10-bit DAC Implementation Strategy - Divide And Conquer5:09
Adopt a divide and conquer, bottom-up approach to a 10-bit DAC by modularizing transmission gates and mux-like switches, iteratively connecting subsets to achieve scalable, controlled outputs.
From 2-bit DAC to10-bit DAC8:11
Learn how to extend a 2-bit DAC to a 10-bit DAC by routing two inputs, and follow project flow from schematic capture to layout and spice verification using sky130 pdk.

Detailed Steps To Install Latest NGSpice From Scratch7:56
Install latest ngspice from scratch while configuring Sky130 PDK tools and open source libraries; follow step-by-step setup, generating frequency files, integrating with spice nets, and validating installations.
Detailed Steps To Install And Configure Magic With Sky130 PDKs10:15
Install and configure magic with sky130 pdks, clone the repository, run make and make install, then load sky130/sky150 libraries to view and edit layout layers in magic.
Detailed Steps To Install And Configure Xshem With Sky130PDKs9:42
Install and configure xshem with sky130 pdks by building dependencies, cloning skywater libraries, and setting up the schematic editor for drag-and-drop circuit design.
Simple Inverter Design Using Xschem And Sky130 Models to confirm tool install8:08
Design a simple inverter in xschem using sky130 models, verify tool installation, configure input and output pins, connect nets, save the schematic, and generate the netlist for simulation.
Simple Pre-Layout Simulation Steps Using NGSpice6:46
Master simple pre-layout simulation steps using NGSpice by setting up libraries and stimuli, driving simulations from the schematic, and troubleshooting misconfigurations to obtain in-space results.

Requirements

VSD - Circuit Design and SPICE simulations
VSD - Custom Layout
VSD Intern - Bandgap IP Design

Description

The webinar aims to design a 10-bit potentiometric Digital to Analog Converter using end-to-end Open-source EDA tools. The target is to design 10-bit potentiometric DAC with 3.3v analog voltage, 1.8v digital voltage and 1 off-chip external voltage reference using sky130nm technology node.

In real world, most of the data available is in the form of analog in nature. We have two types of converters analog to digital converter and digital to analog converter. These two converting interfaces are essential to obtain the required operations of a processor to manipulate the data of digital electronic equipment and an analog electric equipment. Digital to Analog Converter (DAC) is a device that transforms digital data into an analog signal in order to interact with the real world. The digital signal is represented with a binary code, which is a combination of bits 0’s and 1’s. The digital data can be produced from a microprocessor, Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or Application Specified Integrated Circuit (ASIC). There are two commonly used DAC conversions – Weighed resistors method and R-2R ladder network method. Applications of a DAC: audio amplifier, video encoder, display electronics, data acquisition systems, calibration, Digital potentiometer.

This webinar will cover

1) Overview of DAC

Why DAC?
Background and Principle of Operation.
Implementation Aspects and Challenges.
Evaluation Parameters.

2) Project Design Specs and DAC Circuit

Circuit Behaviour
Expected Input Output Characteristics.

3) Project Flow –Analog IP – Hands-on

Flow of Steps for Analog IP design.
Tools Required
Setup of Tools
Libraries Required
e) Setup and linking Libraries.

All the best and happy learning

Who this course is for:

Curious freshers looking to enter into analog and mixed-signal VLSI design
Beginner or Professional Physical Design Engineers looking to know more about IPs and Macros

VSD Intern - DAC IP design using Sky130 PDKs - Part 1

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Introduction and DAC Overview4 lectures • 16min

DAC Specs, Implementation Aspects and Challenges4 lectures • 22min

10-bit DAC Implementation strategy3 lectures • 20min

Tool Setup steps5 lectures • 43min

Conclusion1 lecture • 4min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: