IC Layout Basics : A Practical Guide

Good book for someone staring out IC layout.

Easy to understand. Good purchase

Highly recommended especially for any one who has no previous knowledge if IC's.. This book goes to explain the fundamentals of the workings of semiconductors. This knowledge helps one to understand the layout and subsequent manufacture of an IC chip.

Unless you know nothing about layout, this book is too basic for you. If you know nothing about layout, then it is probably ok.

Great book!

Great coverage of basic layout concepts. This book explains things in clear, easy to digest terms. The authors also put a sprinkling of humour here and there. Very well written.

'IC Layout Basics' is a great book for beginners. There is no doubt about this. I give it 4 star but not 5, why? Because I think there are rooms for improvement (hoping I can see these improvements in the next edition). Below are my comments (good and bad):(1) You don't need to know much about electronics before you can start reading this book, fine! On the other hand, you will know quite something after reading this book, perfect!(2) This book uses plan English plus lots and lots of graphics. This is great for people like me (I live in Hong Kong, a Chinese).(3) This book is well edited. You can hardly find errors in this book even in this first edition. OK, you can find some (e.g. the units on p.172, the graph on p.209).(4) This book is a bit longwinded in some area. I can condense the book by 25% without missing any information. For example, there is no need to use 29 pages (from p.72 to p.100) just to show the steps in a typical CMOS process (two diagrams can be squished into one page).(5) There are topics that can be explained with more insight. For example, why we build transistors on P- EPI but not directly from P Substrate? Epitaxy layer has been described/used through out the book, just missing a bit of explanation.As a whole, this book is a great self-study guide and is the gateway to another master piece: 'IC Mask Design' from the same authors.

I bought this book to see what "competition" thinks about IC Layout subject. Here are my personal comments on IC Layout Basics book:1. The book represents a very simple but detailed explanation of all the basic structures required by an IC Layout Designer to understand if s/he wants to know "why" and "how" devices are built and used in the industry. From the basic transistor and up to inductors all the details are very clear explained. I will recommend this book to any IC Layout Designer who wants to now more than just pushing polygons to achieve a circuit representation in mask layers.2. The book advertise herself as a book to be put near the bed and used as an easy reading. Sorry to disappoint you but once I started reading I could not sleep. From page to page, from concept to concept I've got more and more captivated by the style and vocabulary of the text. I finished the book in one week but my sleeping had to suffer. It is written in a very easy to read vocabulary, with some light jokes and with a fine touch to make you more curious from chapter to chapter. After more than 15 years in this profession I really enjoyed reading your book.Writing a book of my own, I know the size of the effort required and I would like to personally thank you for such a nice presentation.3. When I wrote my book "CMOS IC Layout Concepts, Methodologies and Tools" I thought that I covered all the basic information that an IC Layout Designer needs to become effective and efficient in doing his/her job. I thought that I cover all the basic training required from grade 1 to grade 12. Reading this book I found that Christopher and Judy Saint are covering much deeper than me, with a lot more process information, the knowledge needed from grade 1 through 4. Thank you for help in clarifying all the basics.Only one complain about the book: I have found in many chapter references about contacting the author for comments but I could not find any contact information. If you want readers' feedback please post an Email or any other meanings of communication. I personally received many feedback Emails from readers and I am sure you can benefit from such idea. Please feel free to contact me for comments.Yours really devoted readerDan Clein...

ICレイアウトの基礎を学びたくて読みました。英語も平易で、とても読みやすいです。（あまり笑えない？）ギャグも満載です。本当に入門的な事ばかり書いてありました。個人的には、価格もそこそこなのですから、もっと内容を濃くしても良いのではないかと思います。なんにせよ、本書の続編であるIC Mask Design も購入しました。

英語もすらすら読めるし、とてもわかりやすいです。トランジスタの式など、ぜんぜん出てこないので物語を読んでいるような、そんな気分でICレイアウトの基本について学べる本です。ただ、詳しく知りたい人には不向きかと思います。