Introduction to Open-Source Chip Design and Tiny Tapeout

Open-source has come to chip design - like it did for software 20 years ago.

The ecosystem is still young but moving fast; we already have complete EDA offerings and are looking into lots of ways to disrupt the old-school, slow-moving way of designing microchips.

We will get a general introduction to the processes of designing microchips. And get a deep dive into how Tiny Tapeout has short circuited this process.

If you want to get started with chip design, this is the perfect opportunity. Whether you have a background in Electrical Engineering (EE) or Computer Science (CS), but have never had the chance to work as an analog full-custom designer or digital physical designer, this workshop is for you. Traditionally, these roles required tools far beyond most budgets, but that’s no longer the case.

Good News:

All the necessary EDA tools are now available as open-source offerings in both the analog and digital design domains. Thanks to Google’s significant contributions, we now have three mature open-source PDKs (Process Design Kits) that are well-integrated into the open-source ecosystem.

Practical infos:

Please bring at labtop with Linux installed or Windows Subsystem for Linux enabled. Any questions please reach out to Jørgen - jkj@icworks.dk or +4551947707  

About Tiny Tapeout:

Tiny Tapeout was created by Matt Venn three years ago as an effort to maximize the number of designs per MPW (Multi-Project Wafer) tapeout. The platform lowers onboarding barriers, reduces costs, and simplifies backend work. Matt Venn and his team have developed systems that streamline the tapeout process for more than 200 individual designs into a single chip—making it as easy as a walk in the park.

About the host:

The workshop will be hosted by Jørgen Kragh Jakobsen, a key figure in the open-source chip design ecosystem for the past four years.

In 2020, Jørgen left the successful Merus Audio design team, which redefined integrated Class D amplifiers and was acquired by Infineon in 2017. Their chips have sold in millions.

Prior to that, he worked on chips for Bluetooth RF frontends and pioneered wireless system circuits for hearing aids at Oticon for several years.

For the past four years, Jørgen has been working at IC Works, solving chip-related problems for customers and collaborating with universities and industry to rebuild Denmark's footprint in this global sector.