Abstract
This document deals with the Integrated Circuit (IC) design of an optical FM transmitter, by making use of Cadence software. The project started with the drawing up of the VHDL code and it ended with the layout of the whole system.
The aim of this work of thesis is to have a clearer and complete idea of how to approach to an IC design: this concept brought to the division of the document into four parts, corresponding to as many phases.
In the first chapter, the general architecture of the system is illustrated. Each block is presented and analyzed from a theoretical point of view, briefly describing some mathematical consideration about the signals that play an important role inside the system.
In the second chapter is provided the reference model that will be the line guide of the entire project. Indeed, during this second phase, starting from the mathematical expression (transfer function), the VHDL code of the whole transmitter chain has been developed. This provides indications about the behavior of each block of the system in exam.
The third chapter is the nub of the problem where the circuit schematic of each block is presented. After the testing of each part of the chain, the entire system is evaluated, making a comparison of the results with that one’s obtained in the previous phase with the VHDL code, in order to verify the well-made of the circuit.
The final phase, which is explained in the fourth chapter, deals with the design of the layout of the transmitter. This procedure starts from the inner block and it ends with the top one, checking, step by step, the matching between the layout and the schematic level illustrated in chapter 3.
In order to achieve this goal, two important tests are conducted: Design Rule Checking (DRC) and Layout Versus Schematic (LVS), whose meaning are briefly explained too.
To sum up, some conclusions are given, providing at the same time a personal assessment about this work of thesis.
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