Innovation in the undergraduate microelectronics programmes at the University of Southampton

Abstract

Abstract-This paper offers a programme-level discussion of the innovations that underpin the undergraduate microelectronics and related programmes in the department of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) at the University of Southampton (UoS). These innovations include novel courses, laboratories and design projects, international education at The UoS Malaysia Campus (USMC), as well as the use of multimedia. Following this, the enhancement of the student experience and collaboration with industry is discussed.

Enhancing microelectronics education with large-student projects: Using the example of the University of Southampton Small Satellite

“…A ground station is used to create a radio link with the telecommunication subsystem of the satellite, in order to receive data from and send commands to the satellite. The ground station forms an essential part of the satellite system, and is, thus, deemed one of the subsystems of UoS 3 . Dividing the overall system into subsystems allows allocation of subsystem projects to individual student teams.…”

“…When new students start to work on their tasks, the first priority is to ensure that they understand the overall system and how their task applies to it, thus, allowing them to understand the implications of their design choices. For UoS 3 , this meant having introductory meetings at the start of each subproject and sharing contact information to potential interface partners. Ideally, these initial meetings include all potential interface partners and aim to initiate communication between the interface stakeholders and to share expert advice on interface requirements.…”

“…Building a small satellite falls into the category of a large, multidisciplinary project. The cubesat standard was released in 1999 and specifies design requirements for a class of very small satellites -the Pico satellite group of cubesats [1] that is distinguished by its 10x10x10cm 3 general dimensions. The appeal of using the cubesat standard stems from the reduced cost of building and launching a cubesat through standardisation of overall dimensions, and interfaces to the satellite launch vehicle.…”

Design of digital testbeds for undergraduate microelectronics teaching

“…More specifically, an AVR microcontroller board and an Altera Complex Programmable Logic Device (CPLD) [1] board are used in laboratory teaching and these boards share similar connectors for power and data. The digital testbed boards therefore share these similar connectors, allowing connections between boards to be made quickly, and to give the students familiarity between different boards.…”

“…Typically, this takes the form of a 'digital testbed,' which will typically comprise digital inputs driven by switches, Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) to show the status of outputs, and a square wave generator for use as a clock. For the microelectronics programmes at Southampton [1], the existing aging digital testbeds were in need of being replaced. Although replacements are available commercially and aimed at the microelectronics teaching market, they were deemed unsuitable for the programme at the University of Southampton, and so a custom solution was developed, which is also available for others to use [2].…”