Impact of an SoC research project on microelectronics education: a case study

Microelectronics systems design is a collaborative, multidisciplinary activity, involving the combined efforts of system architects, circuit designers, device engineers, software developers, and process engineers. Semiconductor products are vital to today's $1 trillion/year electronic industry. There is a need for educational programs that prepare engineers for the semiconductor industry. This paper presents the impact of an RF-SoC research project on the career choices of students involved and its broader impact on the microelectronics education in the participating universities. Teaching students the design and test at the physical level is valuable in that it provides the understanding and skills they will need to perform these functions in their subsequent employment.