Suggested courses for Electronic Circuits and Systems

Analog and Radio-Frequency Integrated Circuits (ICs)

Analog, mixed-signal, and RF integrated circuit designers create solutions for today’s communication and computation systems, such as radio transceivers, data converters, phased locked loops, and high-speed I/O systems. Jobs include IC design, layout, and verification; application engineers; system architect.

Suggested 500-level courses

ECE 511 – Analog Electronics
ECE 524 – Radio Systems Design
ECE 540 – Electromagnetic Fields
ECE 549 – RF Design for Wireless
ECE 546 – VLSI Systems Design
ECE 592 – Antennas & Arrays (offered alternating years)

Suggested 700-level courses

ECE 712 – IC Design for Wireless Communications
ECE 714 – Advanced IC Design: Data Converters
ECE 718 – Computer-Aided Circuit Analysis
ECE 719 – Advanced Microwave Design
ECE 733 – Digital Electronics
ECE 734 – Power Management ICs
ECE 792 – Millimeter-Wave Circuits & Systems (offered alternating years)

Suggested courses for breadth

ECE 513 – Digital Signal Processing
ECE 514 – Random Processes
ECE 515 – Digital Communications
ECE 530 – Physical Electronics
ECE 534 – Power Electronics
ECE 538 – IC Technology and Fabrication
ECE 542 – Neural Networks
ECE 553 – Semiconductor Power Devices
ECE 557 – Principles of MOS Transistors
ECE 568 – Conventional and Emerging Nanomanufacturing Techniques and their Applications in Nanosystems
ECE 575 – Introduction to Wireless Networking
ECE 582 – Wireless Communication Systems
ECE 578 – LTE and 5G Communications
ECE 762 – Advanced Digital Communication Systems
ECE 766 – Signal Processing for Communications & Networking

Suggested non-ECE courses

MA 501 – Advanced Mathematics for Engineers and Scientists I
MA 502 – Advanced Mathematics for Engineers and Scientists II

VLSI Systems

Very-large-scale integration (VLSI) is the process of creating integrated circuits by combining thousands of transistor-based circuits into a single chip. VLSI began in the 1970s when complex semiconductor and communication technologies were being developed.

The first semiconductor chips held one transistor each. Subsequent advances added more and more transistors, and as a consequence more individual functions or systems were integrated over time. The microprocessor is a VLSI device.

Suggested 500-level courses

ECE 544 – Design of Electronic Packaging and Interconnects
ECE 546 – VLSI Systems Design
ECE 564 – ASIC and FPGA Design with Verilog

Suggested 700-level courses

ECE 720 – Electronic System Level and Physical Design
ECE 733 – Digital Electronics
ECE 745 – ASIC Verification
ECE 748 – Advanced Functional Verification with Universal Verification Methodology

Suggested courses for breadth

ECE 506 – Architecture of Parallel Computers
ECE 513 – Digital Signal Processing
ECE 515 – Digital Communications
ECE 530 – Physical Electronics
ECE 538 – IC Technology and Fabrication
ECE 542 – Neural Networks
ECE 557 – Principles of MOS Transistors
ECE 560 – Embedded System Architectures
ECE 563 – Microprocessor Architecture
ECE 568 – Conventional and Emerging Nanomanufacturing Techniques and their Applications in Nanosystems