Any suggestions on where to find good learning materials? Books? Online Courses?
First get a cheap FPGA and learn verilog. Also I just googled it and Khan academy has a digital logic course.
Once he can build a functional ALU in verilog then have him do bigger projects. Digital logic books have lots of projects in them.
Then there is a fork: 1) go deeper down the logic synthesis route, 2) go into semiconductors, manufacturing, 3) computer architecture and operating systems.
it’s a choose your own adventure book
I saw this awhile back, don't know anymore: https://www.zerotoasiccourse.com/
How about having a family photomask tapeout? I wonder if anyone makes scanner software for old masks.
Google have a foss prouction flow for 130nm
https://github.com/google/skywater-pdk?tab=readme-ov-file
You have to know a lot before you can know what you're looking at.
I only know Tiny Tapeout.
CMOS: Circuit Design, Layout, and Simulation by R. Jacob Baker
https://www.amazon.com/CMOS-Circuit-Simulation-Microelectron...
I'd looks like there have been many revisions. I've got the first edition from 1998 which covers LASI, a small layout tool for integrated circuits. Seems like it is still a thing: https://cmosedu.com/