Chip design

Circuits:
VLSI

Design circuits in silicon.

Draw metal, polysilicon, and silicon to build working circuits. Follow guided puzzles, inspect the output waveforms, and experiment in an open Sandbox.

Explore the puzzles Release information

Windows · macOS · Linux · iPhone · iPad

A clocked circuit in Perspective View, with raised metal paths, polysilicon gates, silicon regions, and labeled pads. — See how the layers connect.A working circuit, viewed in perspective.

100: guided puzzles
10: chapters
6: starting materials in Sandbox

Guided puzzles

From a metal path
to a clocked circuit.

Begin by connecting two pads. Learn how layers cross, how a transistor switches, and how small circuits become gates, memory, and arithmetic.

The first puzzle displays a guide on the left, an isometric chip layout in the center, and input and output waveforms on the right. — The guide explains the task. The oscilloscope compares the output with its target.

Draw the connections

Place materials on a grid. Use contacts and a second metal layer to connect paths at different heights.

Check the signals

Run the circuit and compare its output with the target waveform. Revise the drawing with Undo and Redo.

Understand each step

Read concept cards, follow checked guide steps, and use hints or a reference drawing when you need help.

Sandbox

Build your own circuits.

Start an independent project with every material available. Draw on a canvas that extends in every direction, place input and output pads, and test your design.

Inspect waveforms, add probes, check design rules, and save projects for another session. Copy a puzzle drawing into Sandbox to continue experimenting.

Layers, contacts, and an optional second metal layer
Adjustable inputs and named internal probes
Measurements and waveform CSV exports
Reusable cells and saved projects

A CMOS inverter in Sandbox Top View, with metal supply rails, a polysilicon gate, two silicon regions, contacts, and the pad properties panel. — A CMOS inverter in Sandbox, with the material layers shown from above.

Inspect the design

Look above, around,
and through the chip.

Switch between Top, Isometric, and Perspective Views. Isolate a material or inspect a cross section to understand how the drawing forms a circuit.

Top View

Place materials precisely on the grid and compare the patterns that form each device.

Isometric and Perspective Views

Rotate the camera, separate the layers, and follow connections through the design.

Cross section and circuit

Look beneath the surface and inspect the extracted transistor circuit alongside its measured behavior.

Circuits: VLSI uses a simplified teaching process to explain chip layout and circuit behavior. It does not produce manufacturing files.

Release information

Desktop and mobile editions.

Circuits: VLSI is in development for Windows, macOS, Linux, iPhone, and iPad. Public store links will be added here when they are available.

Contact Chilling Moose

Circuits:VLSI