Framework for Integrated Circuit Design Teaching
Laboratory for Characterisation and Testing of Integrated Circuits
To establish international credibility in teaching, training, and research in Analog Microelectronics, a dedicated laboratory infrastructure is essential. This includes high-quality, computer-controlled instrumentation for electrical parameter measurement, functional testing of integrated circuits, and an on-chip testing station. Given the high investment required, this infrastructure was only made possible through funding from scientific research projects, particularly international ones.
The lab supports ongoing teaching activities such as undergraduate theses, course projects, and practical assignments. It is also used by other research groups within the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (DEEC).
CAD Laboratory
As with the experimental infrastructure, teaching and research in Analog Microelectronics require a specialized computational environment to support computer-aided design (CAD) of electronic circuits. The development of this infrastructure was also made possible through international research project funding.
Committed to integrating this environment into standard coursework, a dedicated CAD laboratory with 14 individual workstations was established in 1998. It is regularly used by undergraduate students from the third year onward.
International Access to Silicon Technologies
The fabrication of integrated circuit prototypes plays a crucial role in hands-on training in microelectronics and is essential for international recognition of teaching and research in the field — particularly in analog microelectronics.
Aware of this, he was instrumental in establishing early partnerships between IST and several European semiconductor manufacturers, such as Austria Mikro Systeme and ES2 (later Atmel ES2), to ensure access to state-of-the-art semiconductor technologies, particularly CMOS. These agreements enabled consistent alignment with evolving technological standards — from 2 μm technology in the late 1980s to the more advanced 0.25 μm nodes.
Notably, the first protocol with AMS was established even before the European Commission launched its “EUROCHIP” initiative to support university-level microelectronics education. As a result, IST’s Integrated Circuits and Systems Group had independent access to fabrication technologies, offering greater flexibility in managing design and manufacturing cycles and benefiting from closer technical support from industry partners.
Today, the fabrication of integrated circuit prototypes is commonplace for undergraduate theses and remains fundamental to ongoing scientific research. As with other teaching-supporting infrastructures, funding for fabrication services is entirely secured through international research projects.
Teaching Methodologies
He developed a teaching/learning approach that aligns knowledge acquisition with modern methodologies in integrated systems design. This framework, along with its pedagogical results, was presented at a European conference on integrated circuit education:
J. E. Franca, “Managing the Teaching in an Integrated Circuit Design Course”, Proc. 2nd EUROCHIP Workshop on VLSI Design Training, Grenoble, France, pp. 237–242, September 1991.
A more detailed analysis was later published in a peer-reviewed journal:
J. E. Franca, “Integrated Circuit Teaching Through Top-Down Design”, IEEE Transactions on Education, Vol. 37, pp. 351–357, November 1994.
Computer-Assisted Instruction
In the context of supervising master’s and doctoral theses, he also focused on developing computer-assisted methodologies to support the teaching and learning of analog-digital integrated circuit design. The most relevant work in this domain was presented at a European conference:
J. E. Franca, “Using Design Tools to Teach”, Proc. 3rd EUROCHIP Workshop on VLSI Design Training, Grenoble, France, pp. 142–148, October 1992.
Among the tools developed, the most noteworthy are:
AZTECA, developed in a master’s thesis;
CATALYST, developed during a doctoral project.
These programs support various courses, including Analog-Digital Integrated Circuits, Signal Converters, Telecommunications Microelectronics, and Microelectronics.