Over the years there has been an increased demand for skilled VLSI engineers at IC design companies. This is due to the huge advances in AI, EV, and smartphone technologies, all of which rely on smart ICs. Chip design and manufacturing are collectively called VLSI design where VLSI stands for Very-Large-Scale-Integration. The current technology in use is sub 10 nanometer. This enables designers to pack billions of transistors on a single IC. With large transistor densities, electronic gadgets can be made very compact yet powerful and rich in features.

Almost every electronic Hdevice we use today has chips with multi-million transistors in them. Mobile phones, televisions, medical electronic and monitoring devices, and all electronic equipment have these chips in them. Amplifiers, Sensors, Phase-Locked Loops, Processors, etc. are all VLSI designs. VLSI ICs can be classified as Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), FPGA- Field-programmable Gate arrays, and custom Analog IC's. There are many job openings for trained ASIC engineers, FPGA designer engineers, and Analog designers, each of these areas needs a specialized skillset.

Who can be a VLSI Engineer?

Typically, only applicants with an engineering degree in electronics or related circuit branches may enter the semiconductor industry. Computer science/IT software developers can also pursue it if they have a strong knowledge of digital fundamentals, semiconductor physics, and software programming. VLSI engineers carve the future of automation and industry 4.0. VLSI engineers are responsible for designing the latest and greatest Graphics Processor Units (GPU) which are the backbone for advancements in AI and many other domains. It is a lucrative field that is resilient to automation. ASIC and SOCs are leading the innovation in the Automotive Electronics and Electric Vehicle sector.

VLSI design involves using special hardware description languages (HDLs) such as VHDL and Verilog. For jobs in the industry, one should be good with Verilog, System Verilog, and UVM. They should also be well versed in OOPs concepts. Scripting language skills are also helpful. In addition, a VLSI engineer needs to be a strong team player, agile, competent, hard-working, optimistic, and enthusiastic, regardless of the job/work.

Where can VLSI Knowledge be Applied?

VLSI design knowledge can be applied in the design of Large Digital ICs, Analog Mixed Signal ICs and custom Analog ICs

• ASIC or SoC or Digital ICs: Consist of Logic gates and memories as building blocks- RTL Design Engineers, SoC Verification Engineers and Physical Design Engineers work as a team to design them.
• AMS ICs: Consists of Analog and Digital blocks- Full Custom Engineers, Memory designers, RTL Design Engineers, SoC Verification Engineers and Physical Design Engineers work as a team to design them.
• Analog ICs: Consist of a few tens of transistors-Full Custom Circuit Designers, Full Custom Layout designers work as a team to design them.
• Works with senior executives to help them analytics bringing

VLSI Companies

• Product companies – Intel, Qualcomm, Nvidia, Texas Instrument
• IP companies – Cadence, HDL Design House, Imagination Technologies, Mixel, Rambus.
• Foundries – TSMC, Globalfoundries, and UMC
• Service Companies – FrenusTech, RFIC Solutions, Presto Engineering, ASIC North
• EDA companies – eInfochips Ltd, Sancom Technologies, Semiconductor Complex Ltd. Agilent Technologies