AI and Intelligent IC Design/Manufacturing

Artificial intelligence (AI) studies the theory and development of computing systems able to learn, reason, act and adapt. Integrated circuit (ICs), powered by the semiconductor technology, enable all modern computing systems with an amazing level of integration, e.g., a small chip (<1cm2) nowadays can integrate billions of transistors. As the semiconductor technology enters the era of extreme scaling (1x nm), IC design and manufacturing complexities are extremely high. Intelligent cross-layer design and manufacturing co-optimizations are in critical demand for better performance, power, yield, reliability, security, time-to-market, and so on. This talk will discuss the synergy between modern AI technologies (e.g., deep learning) with intelligent deep-nanoscale IC design and manufacturing. Several case studies will be presented in terms of AI for IC, including advanced lithography modeling, mask synthesis, physical design, and security. Meanwhile, customized ICs for AI can further improve the training and inference performance-energy efficiency by orders of magnitude. Thus, the co-evolution of AI algorithms and IC technologies shall be investigated jointly to enhance the research and development of each other.