– TRAINING COURSES
WHY CHOOSE IC MASK DESIGN

IC Mask Design training courses are focused entirely on IC Layout. There are courses available from Introduction to Analog Layout up to FinFet Layout Techniques, and these will suit Engineers with any level of experience.

They are also suitable for Designer Engineers that wish to gain better understanding of layout. Course attendees will learn about the Layout Methodology developed by IC Mask Design which is based on best practice and which eliminates bad habits and common mistakes often made in Layout. Experience has also taught, that whilst many engineers have been trained how to do layout, it is often the case that they don’t understand the reasons why they are doing it that way. Understanding why makes Layout Engineers more effective, particularly when moving to smaller technology nodes. IC Mask Design courses focus on the why.

As the courses are methodology based, they are EDA tool and foundry independent.

– BENEFITS AND SOLUTIONS

Courses are delivered in a classroom setting and are designed to make sure there is lots of interaction between the trainer and you the attendee.

IC Mask ‘Design’s trainer is Ciaran Whyte – Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder, he has been a Layout Engineer for over 25 years and has completed Layout projects with more than 100 companies. For those who prefer a more hands-on experience some IC Mask Design courses offer “Labs”, this allows attendees to put into practice what they have learned, either in their own design environment or in a design environment we will set up for the course.

– BRANDS WE WORKED WITH
– TRAINING TESTIMONIALS

  • “We were very pleased with the content and presentation of the IC Mask RF Layout training course. Various topics from design for parasitics, to effective layout planning, were organized in a systematic way, providing a nice platform for learning RF layout. Ciaran was very clear and concise in his training, expanding the mind of all who participated. Even many of our most senior layout designers commented on new approaches and techniques they learned that they had not considered in their many years of experience. We found the content very applicable to our current layout needs, and efforts are underway to incorporate IC Mask layout techniques into ON Semiconductor flows and best practices.”

    CRAIG REMUND, ENGINEERING MANAGER, INDUSTRIAL AND TIMING PRODUCTS DIVISION, ON SEMICONDUCTOR

  • “Thank you very much for your support, training and help on our first 65nm project.We taped out in October, as we had scheduled. Beginning of this month we received the packaged silicon and analysed it in our lab.Proudly we can say: It’s not only alive, it’s functional. With your training and your support you’re a very important part of this success story.Thank you very much again. Now we’re looking forward for our next challenge, 28nm”

    MICHAEL LORTZ, MANAGER PHYSICAL DESIGN, IDT EUROPE GMBH

  • “We can’t recommend IC Mask Design courses enough! At Pulsic, our software looks to accelerate the analog design process, by enabling analog designers visualise their designs as they develop their circuits, optimising them for layout and ultimately leading to reduced design and layout times. Our development team have participated in two training courses now with IC Mask Design, most recently their new FinFET course, which was delivered remotely. These courses have proven very valuable in terms of providing a solid technical grounding for the techniques that are applied in analog layout and ultimately, implemented by our tools. We really appreciated the interactive delivery style and the freedom we had to take the discussion into more depth, in areas that are of relevance to Pulsic. The content and structure were great, and we appreciated the attitude of not just explaining best practice but making sure it is backed up with engineering theory.

    PAUL CLEWES, VP RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT, PULSIC

  • “Even though some of the layout engineers attending had more than five years of experience in analog layout and had a master degree in electrical engineering, the course had plenty of useful information for them and, in many cases, it provided a much deeper understanding on subjects we already knew.
    Once back in office, we called a meeting so they could share their experience with the rest of the layout and design communities, everything resulted in a much longer than scheduled meeting full of very interesting technical discussions. In summary, I would not only strongly recommend the IC-Mask Design courses to all IC Layout Engineers community, I’ll also be trying to repeat the experience within my teams soon.”

    DANIEL E. MUSCIANO, SADC LAYOUT ENGINEERING GENERAL MANAGER, ALLEGRO MICROSYSTEMS ARGENTINA

  • “Being from a circuit design background I was looking for a course that covered the practical issues associated with RF CMOS layout. IC Mask Design’s RF layout course was very useful as it covered a wide range of practical topics not found in books or basic level courses. Theoretical reasoning for difficult concepts was provided which helped to better understand the practical concepts. The delivery was very clear and the presenter’s vast experience in RF CMOS designs was useful in carrying out discussions of practical scenarios. The course was mainly targeted at industry level layout engineers but would also be useful for circuit designers as it covers how design constraints carry over into layout and vice versa. I would also recommend this course to anyone in CMOS research wanting to improve their RF layout skills .”

    DR. CHRIS GAMLATH, PHD RESEARCHERT

  • “IC Mask Design’s training courses have enabled Skyworks Solutions to deliver physical designs of higher quality and reliability than previously experienced. Their training team, with their direct experience, is the key to the entire learning experience. IC Mask Design has provided the additional tools necessary for Skyworks Solutions to be the best solutions provider possible.”

    ALFRED CARL, SENIOR ENGINEER MANAGER, ENGINEERING SERVICES, SKYWORKS SOLUTIONS INC.

  • “The Advanced Analog and VDSM courses were interesting and pertinent. The content covered the basics of component composition on silicon and metal build up to an increased understanding of matching. Detail was given to the multiple effects of placing artifacts (implant, poly, metal, component or interconnect) on substrate with new insights on guard rings and parasitic capacitance. Having members of the design team together with the layout team led to detailed discussions and added to the sense of unity and a nurturing of a common approach to layout methodologies. The courses were well structured, thought out and prepared.”

    CATENA

  • “We realized that in order to scale the company and deliver successful products to the market right first time, we needed to make sure all of our analogue designers and layout engineers really understood the impact of layout on RF and analogue circuit performance. This is becoming even more important as we move down the process geometry curve. The IC Mask Design RF layout course provides a structured approach to understanding the challenges involved in RF layout. This is coupled with lots of real world examples of the choices and techniques available to produce predictable, repeatable RF layout.”

    PAUL EGAN, DIRECTOR OF PHYSICAL DESIGN, CAMBRIDGE SILICON RADIO

  • “IC Mask Design prepared a custom 3-day course for our layout team based on their Analog Layout Course (1 day) and their Advanced Analog Layout Course with some additions (2 day). This course proved to hold a vast amount of useful information even for layout engineers with more than 10 years of experience in analog layout. They were very enthusiastic about the way the course was given and about the physical insight they gained. The course has led to useful internal discussions between designers and layouters which resulted in a more optimized way of doing parts of our layouts. I would recommend the course to all layouters but also to designers who would like to get a detailed understanding of the physical implementation of analog circuits. People at IC Mask Design have been very flexible in preparing this custom course and have provided great value for money.”

    BRAM DE MUER, CEO, IC SENSE, BELGIUM
  • HDL Logo

    “We would definitely recommend this course to all engineers that do analog layout. The Analog Layout Advanced Techniques training was excellent. I especially liked the lab exercises and found the discussion among participants to find the best solution a very valuable part of the training. The trainer is an outstanding and dedicated lecturer and the content of the course was ideal for our needs. Overall impression is that this is one very useful and excellent course and I wish we had taken it sooner. We look forward to future dealings with IC Mask Design.”

    HDL

  • “Training was useful to us. Fundamental bases and features of design of topology of protection against ESD from basic elements to the top level of the project are in detail explained and shown on real examples. Professional level of the teacher is high and there are no doubts in his highest qualification.”

    OLEG LASTOCHKIN, PH.D., HEAD OF LABORATORY STD/IO LIBRARIES DEVELOPMENT – JSC MIKRON

  • “We took part in the Layout for ESD course with IC Mask Design to renew and improve our knowledge on the subject. The course content was exactly what we wanted. Some of the topics covered in the course included: reasons for ESD protection, ESD failures , methods to improve ESD protection and full chip ESD strategies. The trainer presented the course very professionally, with a great knowledge of the course content and always able to backup layout recommendations with sound reasoning based on his industrial experience. The course was of great benefit to all Powervation staff and will help us in all layout related ESD issues in the future.”

    MICHAEL O’REILLY, POWERVATION

  • “IC Mask Design did an excellent job in providing us with a possibility of attending their course “Analog Layout, Advanced Techniques.” The content of this course is extremely useful and covers a lot of technical questions which help attendees to understand the main issues of Integrated Circuits and the possibilities for layout improvements. Both beginners and experienced Layout Engineers will find a lot of interesting ideas to create more perfect designs. Thank you very much IC Mask Design for this opportunity to increase our level of expertise. Strongly recommended.”

    ALEXANDER BATUREVICH, SENIOR ANALOG/MIXED SIGNAL LAYOUT ENGINEER, MICRONAS GMBH

  • “The Advanced Analog Layout Techniques course enhanced my layout skills and improved my daily efficiency. The course provided a good recap for veteran layout artists. Nowadays, in a design environment filled with automation we sometime lose touch with the fundamentals. In that respect the training provided a fresh approach for layout drawing, the three dimensions approach. I would like to commend the course instructor Ciaran. Both his profound layout knowledge AND teaching skills are inspiring.””

    EYAL OFFIR, LAYOUT GROUP MANAGER, ZORAN ISRAEL

  • “I took the Very Deep Sub Micron Layout course focussing on 28nm. The instructor was very passionate and patient with all kind of questions that were asked. He was very clear in his communication and didn’t mind repeating to get his message across. I definitely learned a few tricks from the course and am implementing them in my layouts.”

    ANIL JAIN, RESEARCHER, TYNDALL NATIONAL INSTITUTE
  • Amtek Logo

    “A couple of us attended IC Mask Design’s CMOS Layout course in October 2014. We entered this without really knowing much at all about the basic considerations for layout or the options for us to actually implement in a project at an affordable price. We left the course not only with a basic knowledge of CMOS layout, but also seeing that some of our future project ideas would actually be feasible for investigation. Ciaran was excellent at delivering the course, and was especially helpful in discuss the ways in which we could implement future plans in an affordable manner. I recommend this course for anyone starting out with CMOS layout design, and for any company considering the venture into CMOS based projects.”

    MATTHEW HOBBS, DESIGN ENGINEER, AMTEK
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