ECE/CS 5750/6750 Handout #1
Fall 2006
Myers
ECE/CS 5750/6750: Asynchronous Circuit Design
Chris J. Myers
Course description
In recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in the design of asynchronous circuits
due to their ability to eliminate clock skew problems, achieve average case performance, adapt to
environmental and processing variations, provide component modularity, and lower system power
requirements. There is, however, a widely held belief that asynchronous design is difficult and leads
to inefficient and unreliable designs. The goal of this course is to dispel this belief by introducing a
systematic approach to the design of asynchronous VLSI systems from a high-level specification to
an efficient and reliable circuit implementation. This course will include both hands-on experience
with existing CAD tools as well as learn the algorithms within them. Topics will include: specifi-
cation, synthesis, optimization with timing information, performance analysis, and verification.
Prerequisites
Students should have a familiarity with computer programming (CS 2010-2020) and digital logic de-
sign (ECE/CS 3700). Courses in algorithms and data structures (CS 3510), computer organization
(ECE/CS 3810 and ECE/CS 3710) and integrated circuit design (ECE/CS 6710) are recommended.
Textbook
Asynchronous Circuit Design by Chris J. Myers published by Wiley.
Grading policy
Participation 10 percent
Homework 30 percent
Project 30 percent
Final 30 percent
Project
A major emphasis of this course will be a final individual pro ject. Students will choose one topic
from the course, find research papers on that topic, and implement a computer aided design (CAD)
tool. Each student must present the project both in a written report and an oral presentation.
ECE/CS 6750
Students taking ECE/CS 6750 will be expected to solve extra homework problems and complete a
more extensive project.
