CRYSTALSIM

initializing lattice

Meet Your AI Copilot

Lesson 5 of 6·15 min read·+70 XP
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Your AI lab partner

The AI Copilot reads your full chip design — every node, every wire, every test result — and helps you reason about it. Treat it like a senior engineer down the hall: ask short, specific questions, implement one suggestion at a time, re-measure.

Copilot = lab partner, not autopilot
It can spot tradeoffs you missed and suggest experiments. It cannot run the experiments for you. The loop is yours: ask → change the design → re-test → ask again.

Step 1 — Open the Copilot with your design attached

From the Chip Builder, open the Copilot tab. Your current design is automatically attached as context — the AI sees what you see.

Step 2 — Ask 'Review my design'

Type 'Review my design' and read the response carefully. Look for: strengths called out, weak spots flagged, and any specific numbers cited (mobility, threshold, power). This is your starting baseline.

Step 3 — Ask 'How can I improve switching speed?'

Now ask one focused optimization question. The Copilot will suggest something specific (a material swap, a parameter change, an extra wrapper). Implement exactly one suggestion in the Chip Builder.

Step 4 — Re-test and compare

Run the Switching Speed test again on the modified design. Compare the new max frequency to the number you wrote down in Lesson 4. Did it go up? By how much? Tell the Copilot the result.

Step 5 — Ask for a documentation summary

Final ask: 'Give me a summary of this design suitable for documentation.' The Copilot will produce a structured paragraph you can paste into a notebook, a slide, or a whitepaper. That's your loop closed: build → test → optimize → document.

Checkpoint · +5 XP
What's the right way to use the Copilot?

Exercise: before moving on, have a 5-turn conversation with the Copilot. Each turn: implement one suggestion, re-test, paste the new metric back. Watch your numbers move. This is the build-test-optimize loop in action.

Lesson Summary
  • Hand your design to the AI Copilot for review.
  • Iterate: ask → implement → re-test → ask again.
  • Learn the build-test-optimize feedback loop.
  • End with a documentation-ready summary.
Test Your Knowledge · +70 XP
1
What does the Copilot see when you open it from the Chip Builder?
2
Why implement only one suggestion at a time?
3
When should you re-test?
4
Good Copilot questions are…
5
Why ask for a documentation summary at the end?