Libre Silicon aims to take an active role in driving forward the change and reaching the objectives outlined before. Considering the fact that the free and open-source silicon ecosystem is growing explosively since the second half of the 2010s, many of the objectives are addressed already by others. In these cases, Libre Silicon wants to support their effort and adapt their results, without aiming at realizing the same goal differently, thus preventing the fragmentation of the ecosystem. In other topics, however, there is either no progress or the progress is not going in the desirable direction. In these cases, Libre Silicon takes a leading role, using the fullest possible extent of our expertise, commitment and resources. Our focus topics, without particular order, are the following:
- Develop free technology nodes, including manufacturing recipes, test structures, primitive devices, logic, padrings, analog and other libraries, characterization methodology, and PDK support.
- Drive the adoption of these nodes, by providing the necessary documentation, consulting and technical support. Libre Silicon also aims to set the example to follow by being early adopters of our own technology nodes, including the provision of actual manufacturing service.
- Elaborate novel business models to support the emergence of universal and affordable access to semiconductor technologies. This includes, among others, novel manufacturing operation organization concepts, throughput optimization for low-volume or high-volume production, and the introduction of new, connected manufacturing concepts and equipment.
- Develop novel manufacturing equipment enabling low-volume-capable, high-flexibility manufacturing, with primary focus on maskless lithographic technologies.
In addition to these efforts, Libre Silicon also aims at providing valuable contribution to the efforts of others with shared goals, including:
- Drive the necessary paradigm shift by advocating for free and open-source silicon solutions in real-life applications
- Support the education on IC design-related skillset by taking active role in the formation of training materials, supporting and organizing events like Hackathons or workshops and mentoring
- Support the development of EDA tools by advising on, and contributing to, the development of FOSS IC design software
- Increase the scope and quality of available free silicon IP libraries by developing our own libraries and contributing to the development of others
- Establishment of LibreSilicon Foundation in Europe
- Finish LS1U technology node (incl. SPICE parameter extraction)
- Development of ESD protection and pad cell library for LS1U
- Development of a maskless lithography stepper
- Tech Demo: LS555 (design, MLL fabrication, testing)
- Digital cell library for 1u MFS + digital tools (maybe parallel to LS1U/LS555)
- Tech demo II: 8-bit Arduino-compatible MCU
- To open Libresilicon Fabrication Service in EU
- Development of LS130 technology node (incl. MLL capability)
- Tech demo III: 130nm System-on-Chip
- Development of sub-100nm technology node (incl. MLL capability)
- Tech demo IV: SOC made on LibreSilicon runs GNU/Linux
- Successful tapeout of the Danube with Global Foundries. The first successful tapeout of the new autogenerated process verification wafer Danube River
Contact -> Lebre Silicon
