What comes after most semiconductor fabs are "outsourced" to Asia? Major challenges in educating future RF/analog IC designers in the U.S

Abstract

What comes after most state-of-the-art semiconductor fabs are moved to Asia? Would this trend fundamentally change the educational needs of students in the U.S. majoring in electrical engineering (E.E.)? This paper lists several major challenges for educating future RF/analog integrated circuit (IC) designers in the U.S in light of this "outsourcing" trend. The outline of a 3-quarter graduate-level RF/analog IC design series (ECE265ABC) that the author has been privileged to teach at UC San Diego (UCSD) is discussed to address some of those specific challenges.