VLSI design is crucial for developing integrated circuits and involves several stages including architecture and fabrication, while integrating advancements in AI, ML, and 5G technology. The document outlines various career opportunities in VLSI such as SOC verification engineers and CAD engineers, along with challenges like power consumption and timing closure. Hardware security is emphasized as essential for protecting devices from attacks and enhancing system efficiency through dedicated hardware solutions.

1. VLSI Design for Secure Communication
Systems

2. What is VLSI Design?
VLSI design is a complex process that includes the development of integrated circuits with
thousands of transistors on a single chip. To work in this field, you need knowledge of
electronics engineering and computer science, as you need to design high-performing and
reliable circuits that have low power consumption and are small in size without compromising
performance.
It is interesting to know that the design of a VLSI chip includes different stages — specification,
architecture, logic design, verification, physical design and fabrication.
Now, here, in this blog, you will learn about the opportunities and challenges of VLSI design.

3. Current Scenario of VLSI Industry
Hardware is a general term that refers to the physical artifacts of a technology. It
may also mean the physical components of a computer system, in the form of
computer hardware.
Typical PC hardware:
• Motherboard
• CPU
• RAM
• ROM
• Power Supply
• Removable media devices
• Internal storage
• Networking, etc.

4. Current Scenario of VLSI Industry
• VLSI Design with AI and ML: With the advancement of AI and ML, VLSI design
engineers are finding new opportunities and challenges to build integrated
circuits. The ML algorithms analyse huge datasets and identify the patterns
and trends that help optimise chip architectures. As a result, the design
process accelerates the feasibility and performance of the integrated circuits.
Moreover, expert AI systems can streamline the design verification and
validation processes, which reduces time to market and human intervention.
Thus, VLSI engineers should be updated with the latest AI and ML trends to
get more opportunities.
• 5G Technology and Beyond : With the rapid advancement of
telecommunication, 5G technology has become a game changer in the field
of Digital VLSI design. Now, 5G is creating limitless opportunities in the VLSI
design industry. Now, the VLSI engineers are getting trained in They are
already implementing 6G technology to foster VLSI design with high-speed
communication.

5. designing the microchips to empower the 5 G-enabled systems like smartphones,
IoT gadgets and network infrastructure. Furthermore, the engineers are not only
depending on 5G, they are now working on 6G which promises more innovation
and job opportunities in VLSI design.
• IoT and Edge Computing : The convergence of IoT (Internet of Things) and edge
computing is revolutionising the industry of VLSI design. IoT is an approach of
interconnecting different devices and sensors to generate a huge volume of data.
In contrast, edge computing is a decentralised approach that helps in data
processing. Both these technologies help to construct power-efficient chips that
easily operate data processing, improve real-time decision-making, and reduce
latency.
• Quantum Computing : Quantum computing utilises the aspects of
multidisciplinary fields like maths, physics, and computer science and ultimately
uses quantum mechanics to solve complex challenges faster than traditional
computers.

6. • Cybersecurity : To protect the hardware from potential cyberattacks, secured
chips must be developed. For instance, IoT devices need secure firmware
updates, hardware-based attestation, and secure booting. Hackers can inject
malicious elements into AI-based systems that can be infected to access sensitive
information. For these reasons, the VLSI engineers specialise in hardware
security to protect the chips from potential attacks.

7. VLSI Technology and Its Applications
• The technology of VLSI started in the late 1950s during the
advancement of integrated circuits (ICs). Then by the 1980s, the ICs
evolved from small-scale integrations to very large-scale integration
(VLSI). VLSI enabled multiple transistors within a single chip that
introduced compound ‘systems-on-chips’ (SoCs). Also, the
transformations in design methodologies and lithography have set a
revolution across industries.
• Different applications of VLSI design :
1. Consumer electronics 4. Telecommunications
2. Automotive industry 5. Computing capabilities:
3. Healthcare and biotechnology

8. Prospective Career Opportunities in VLSI
Designing Industry
• SoC Verification Engineer : The SoC verification engineers verify the functionalities
of the VLSI design. They have to verify the designs using high-level verification
languages (HLVL), such as UVM and SystemVerilog. So, they need a strong
knowledge of designing protocols, Logic Design, scripting language and SV/UVM
programming. Moreover, the SoC verification engineers collaborate and coordinate
with the RTL verification engineers to verify and report the bugs in the designs.
• Front end RTL Design Engineer : RTL design engineers create VLSI designs using
Verilog. They must have a strong concept of digital VLSI design and read and
comprehend design specifications. Also, they need to translate the design
specifications into the Verilog code with the help of RTL design and coding
guidelines. For these, they need a complete understanding of ASIC/SoC design flow
and they must be able to debug the codes.

9. • Application Engineer : Application engineers help customers to understand a
product’s functionalities and features after they have purchased it. Significantly,
they help before selling the products when the customers ask questions about
the use/application of the products. Thus, an application engineer requires
strong communication, representation and customer management skills. Also,
they need a good understanding of VLSI technology and expertise in customer
analysis.
• CAD Engineer : IC designs include different steps and tools. Every step requires
an iterative design process and multiple input files. The VLSI industry requires
CAD engineers to handle these procedures and input files. They automate the
repetitive steps of the design workflow and need expertise in scripting, QA and
EDA tools.

10. • Corporate Application Engineer (CAE) : The CAEs master the microchip products to
assist the clients and the production team with their applications. They also guide
the users in choosing the right products based on their requirements. The CAEs also
write user guides and knowledge-based articles and conduct training sessions and
webinars/seminars. Apart from these, they work with the sales and marketing team.

11. Key Aspects to Know About a Career in VLSI
Industry
• Skills to Succeed in the VLSI Field
• Which Types of Companies Should You Prefer to Get a VLSI Design Job?
The list includes the following:
1. IP companies like HDL ensign House, Cadence, etc.
2. Product companies like Qualcomm, Intel, etc.
3. EDA companies like Semiconductor Complex Ltd., eInfochips Ltd., etc.
4. Service companies such as FrenusTech, ASIC North, etc.
5. Foundries such as UMC, TSMC, etc

12. What are the Expected Challenges in the VLSI Field?
• Power consumption becomes a huge concern for VLSI professionals. So, it’s better to
overcome this problem by using power gating.
• Physical design creates challenges as it requires balancing between the circuit’s area
and performance. This design includes routing and placements of elements on a chip
with factors like area, performance and power. Thus, the designers need to use
sophisticated tools and algorithms to overcome this challenge.
• Timing closure becomes another challenge in VLSI design. It’s the process that
ensures all the paths of the circuits fulfil the essential timing constraints. So, it’s
necessary to establish synchronisation between the different elements of the circuits
to ensure seamless operation and avoid time delays. However, synchronisation
becomes challenging in the case of complex circuits. Thus, the designers should
utilise techniques like clock tree synthesis, pipelining and retiming to overcome these
challenges.

13. Computer security
• Computer security have two types:
Software security: Software security is an idea implemented to
protect software against malicious attack and other hacker risks so that
the software continues to function correctly under such potential risks.
Hardware security: Hardware security is vulnerability protection that comes
in the form of a physical device rather than software that is installed on
the hardware of a computer system.

14. Hardware security
• Physical device that provides a layer
of security.
• Protects data from unwanted accesses.
• Helps prevent exploits of specific
vulnerabilities.
• Provides some advantages over
security via software.
• Power supply security.

15. Why do we need?
• Modern security work is largely focused on either protecting or attacking target
operating systems.
• Software is not enough to fully protect a system. Security in hardware offers
performance and power consumption advantages over its software equivalents.
• Increasing amounts of data being processed and the complexity of encryption
algorithms slows down security implementations severely.
• Often times these same encryption algorithms can be implemented in hardware.

16. What does hardware security do?
• Implements encryption algorithms to secure data.
• Store encrypted data in a difficult to access fashion.
• Prevents unencrypted data from existing in an idle state on the system.
• In the US, Hardware security conforms to the Federal Information
Processing Standards (FIPS).
• Provides life to the system so that software used on it can be saved for
larger time.

17. Attacks
• Insider Attack
e.g. Laid-off employee.
• Invasive Attacks
e.g. Hardware reverse engineering
• Semi-invasive Attacks
e.g. Heating
• Non-Invasive Attacks
e.g. EM radiation observation

18. Types of Hardware Security
• Four types of hardware security:
Cryptoprocessor
Power protection
Heat maintenance
Hardware security modules

19. Cryptoprocessor
A secure cryptoprocessor is a dedicated
computer-on-a-chip or microprocessor for carrying out
cryptographic operations, embedded in a packaging with
multiple physical security measures, which give it a degree
of tamper resistance. Unlike cryptographic processors that
output decrypted data onto a bus in a secure environment, a
secure cryptoprocessor does not output decrypted data or
decrypted program instructions in an environment where
security cannot always be maintained.

20. Power protection
• A computer requires steady voltage of 110V or 220V. The
fluctuations in electric voltage or frequent power failure
can damage computer hardware
• Power protection devices
UPS
Volt Guard
Spike guard

21. Heat Maintenance
We should maintain suitable temperature, moisture
and circulation of air in the computer system.
Fluctuations in temperature in computer may cause
unexpected crashes. There should be proper air
condition to maintain suitable temperature in the
computer system. Heat can break down contracts or
junctions with the chip or other devices.

22. Hardware security modules(HSMs)
A hardware security module (HSM) is a physical computing
device that safeguards and manages digital keys,
performs encryption and decryption functions for digital
signatures, strong authentication and other cryptographic
functions. These modules traditionally come in the form of a
plug-in card or an external device that attaches directly to
a computer or network server. A hardware security module
contains one or more secure cryptoprocessor chips.