Programme Schedule 2024/25

The MTD (Advanced IC Design and Technology) is a one-year full-time coursework-based Master programme. It comprises eight courses (96 credits): two core design courses and six specialised courses, organised as follows:

Term 1 (Sep - Dec)
Course Title Credit Points Course Type
Innovation by Design 12 Design Core
Semiconductor Device Technology and Design: Silicon and Beyond 12 Specialisation Core
Digital IC Design 12 Specialisation Core

Term 2 (Jan - Apr)
Course Title Credit Points Course Type
Design Science 12 Design Core
Materials and Design for Semiconductor Technology 12 Specialisation Core
Reliability Engineering and Failure Analysis of Advanced CMOS Devices 12 Specialisation Core

Term 3 (May - Aug)
Course Title Credit Points Course Type
Advanced Topics in IC Design 12 Specialisation Core
AI for Semiconductor Manufacturing 12 Specialisation Core

Course Descriptions

Innovation by Design (Term 1)

The focus of this course is the integration of marketing, design, engineering and manufacturing functions in creating and developing a new product, system or service. The course will go through the different phases of designing a new product, system or service using the four Ds of the four-phase Design Innovation Cycle of "Discover-Define-Develop-Deliver". The course will focus on some of the critical success factors for new product development, with an early emphasis on design thinking. Students will be given a design challenge to complete.

Semiconductor Device Technology and Design: Silicon and Beyond (Term 1)

This course introduces basic semiconductor device physics and design, semiconductor materials and their applications in semiconductor device technology. Bottleneck of silicon technology at the sub-10-nm regime will be discussed. Additionally, it will introduce new materials and device architectures that may overcome the challenges of silicon technology. Upon completion of this module, students will be familiar with the basic device physics and operation of semiconductor devices as well as understanding on the challenges and prospects of next-generation semiconductor technology.

Digital IC Design (Term 1)

Topics relating to the design and analysis of digital circuits implemented in integrated circuits, including transistor-level design and simulation, combinational and sequential logic, memory circuits, and timing analysis, will be covered. Techniques for testing and verification of digital circuits will also be discussed and there will be hands-on experience with electronic design automation (EDA) tools and integrated circuit (IC) fabrication processes.

Design Science (Term 2)

This course introduces students to design science where many design principles and methods will be reviewed, applied and analysed. Students will learn to make connections between design science and other fields, such as engineering, and how principles in design science can be used to advance these fields. The class will cover a broad set of design methods such as customer needs analysis, methods in creativity, functional modelling, design for X and design for testing and verification.

Materials and Design for Semiconductor Technology (Term 2)

This course covers the use of different TCAD device modelling and simulation software tools to guide in the choice of materials for logic and memory devices and assess the electrical–mechanical–thermal co-design of devices, circuits, and packages through the use of multiphysics simulation tools.

Reliability Engineering and Failure Analysis of Advanced CMOS Devices (Term 2)

The reliability study of advanced complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) devices requires detailed study on the working and performance to ensure their usability in electronics industry. The reliability analysis highlighting electrical and physical properties may reveal device performance and reliability concern on the use of these devices in electronics applications. At the end of the course, students will get in-depth knowledge on the reliability and failure mechanisms in CMOS devices and the technical background to identify and solve reliability/failure issues.

Advanced Topics in IC Design (Term 3)

The Advanced Topics in Integrated Circuits Design course is designed specifically for graduate-level study, with a specialised focus on RFIC (Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits) design. This course is structured to deliver a thorough and meticulous examination of RFIC design principles, methodologies and applications. Through this course, students will delve deeply into advanced concepts in CMOS technology, device modeling, and design techniques tailored for RFICs, enabling them to cultivate a comprehensive understanding of RFIC design.

AI for Semiconductor Manufacturing (Term 3)

This course empowers students with the expertise, tools and strategies to apply machine learning effectively on real fab foundry data for process advancements. It aims to boost yield and streamline operations, considering factors like process complexity and cost optimisation. Students will learn to automate semiconductor device characterisation and detect defects in lithography and process metrology equipment using machine learning tools. Through hands-on learning, they will gain insights into enhancing manufacturing processes with data and image-based machine learning techniques. They will also explore real-world scenarios using Python, Keras, TensorFlow and PyTorch.

Contact Us

For enquiries, please email: MTD@sutd.edu.sg

For applicants residing in China, please email: MTD_CN@sutd.edu.sg

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