Building a RISC-V CPU Core

About

Building a RISC-V CPU Core is designed for anyone with a technical inclination who is interested in learning more about hardware. Whether you are new to digital logic or are a seasoned veteran, students will take away new skills that can be applied immediately. No prior knowledge of digital logic design is required.

LFD111x is a crash course in digital logic design and basic CPU microarchitecture. Using the Makerchip online integrated development environment (IDE), you will implement everything from logic gates to a simple, but complete, RISC-V CPU core. You will be amazed by what you can do using freely-available online tools for open source development. You will familiarize yourself with a number of emerging technologies supporting an open-source hardware ecosystem, including RISC-V, Transaction-Level Verilog, and the online Makerchip IDE.

This course is a hands-on experience with RISC-V and modern circuit design tools. You will walk away with fundamental skills for a career in logic design, and you will position yourself on the forefront by learning to use the emerging Transaction-Level Verilog language extension (even if you don't already know Verilog).

What you will learn

• Digital logic design (combinational and sequential logic)
• RISC-V (RV32I) instruction set architecture
• Basic CPU microarchitecture
• Transaction-Level Verilog basics
• Makerchip online IDE

Skills you learn

• Open Source Development
• Emerging Technologies
• Reduced Instruction Set Computing
• Verilog
• Digital Logic
• Microarchitecture
• Logic Synthesis
• Circuit Design
• Integrated Development Environments

Syllabus

• Welcome!
• Chapter 1: Learning Platform
• Chapter 2: Digital Logic
• Chapter 3: The Role of RISC-V
• Chapter 4: RISC-V-Subset CPU
• Chapter 5: Completing Your RISC-V CPU
• Final Exam (Verified Certificate track only)

Auto Summary

Enhance your IT and Computer Science skills by building a RISC-V CPU core using modern open-source tools and methodologies. Offered by edX, this foundational 9-week course is perfect for beginners and available through Professional and Starter subscriptions. Join now and start designing microarchitecture right from your browser!