For the first time participating in the Universalization of IC Design from CASS (UNIC-CASS 2024) program organized by the IEEE Circuits and Systems Society (CASS), the team of students from VKU – including Ly Huu Loc, Le Trong Quyen, Dang Anh Cuong, Luu Quang Vu (Class of 2021 – Computer Engineering) and Ho Minh Phi (Class of 2021 – IoT Robotics), under the guidance of faculty members from the Faculty of Computer Engineering and Electronics, Vietnam-Korea University of Information and Communication Technology (VKU), the University of Danang, and experts from Information Technology Institute (ITI) – Vietnam National University, Hanoi, actively researched and developed a proposal for an IC design project titled “High-Speed Implementation of Ascon for Image Encryption and Decryption.” This proposal was reviewed and approved by the UNIC-CASS 2024 judging panel.

VKU students’ project titled “High-Speed Implementation of Ascon for Image Encryption and Decryption” was selected for further consideration

The Universalization of IC Design from CASS (UNIC-CASS) 2024 – the second edition organized by IEEE Circuits and Systems Society (CASS) – featured 72 student teams from 19 countries, including Vietnam. VKU was honored to be one of the four teams from Vietnam to advance past the proposal selection stage. The IC design proposal was written entirely in English, utilizing the reliable and secure lightweight ASCON-128 algorithm for image encryption, with several technical improvements suggested to optimize the algorithm’s performance.

The student team is discussing their project

Participating in this program offers a valuable opportunity for VKU’s Computer Engineering students, especially those specializing in IC Design, to engage in a complete chip design and manufacturing process from conceptualization and specification through design and verification to fabrication and testing. Students will experience design work using open-source Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools and PDKs.

UNIC-CASS 2024 also provides students with the opportunity to interact with IC design experts through online meetings, where they can learn and refine their submitted designs. This helps enhance their expertise in this exciting and challenging field, transforming design ideas into actual semiconductor chips.

VKU congratulates the Computer Engineering students for their hard work on their IC design proposal. Ahead lies both opportunity and challenge, VKU hopes and wishes these students to remain confident as they continue their journey of knowledge in semiconductor IC design.

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Information about UNIC-CASS 2024

The Universalization of IC Design from CASS (UNIC-CASS), organized by the IEEE Circuits and Systems Society (CASS), is a comprehensive educational program covering IC design through testing. This program aims to enhance knowledge and access to IC design technologies for enthusiasts and the global design community, particularly in low-to-middle-income countries and/or regions with limited opportunities.

There are no restrictions on chip design complexity or type (digital, analog/RF, or mixed-signal). Based on the quality of the submitted chip design proposals, selected participants will have the opportunity to learn from carefully curated materials on the CASS MiLe platform, receive practical design mentoring from field experts, submit designs to manufacturing units sponsored by CASS through the Efabless chipIgnite program, and test the fabricated chips at selected testing facilities.

Program duration: June 19^th, 2024, to April 2025 (announcement of results for fabricated chips).

Link: https://ieee-cas.org/universalization-ic-design-cass-unic-cass

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