The Nibbler teaching microprocessor project

Nibbler is a simple microprocessor designed as the basis of a third year undergraduate VLSI fabrication project. Nibbler is not a high performance processor-wherever possible the hardware has been simplified to reduce the opportunity for design errors. The resulting design requires about 2-3,000 transistors for a CMOS full custom implementation. A cross-assembler and behavioural simulator are available. Approximately 30 undergraduates take the VLSI design course annually. In 1990 about two-thirds of the projects have been based on the Nibbler architecture implemented using three different toolsets and various design strategies. Teams of up to six students have collaborated in the larger projects in an attempt to simulate industrial working practices