Open-source Toolchain in RF and Digital Design
08:30 - 12:50; Monday 5 October 2026
European Microwave Week
The European Chips Act serves as a strategic roadmap to secure technological sovereignty by aiming for a 20% global market share in semiconductors by 2030. The goal is to minimize the geopolitical supply chain risks and foster a self-sufficient ecosystem. Democratization of hardware development through the development of open-source EDA tools is a key pillar in these aspects. This would lower the entry barriers for SMEs and researchers and ultimately accelerate a collaborative and transparent era of European silicon innovation. There are multiple EU funded projects have started from last few years. These projects are set to offer robust process design kits (PDK) for open-source tools. In parallel, existing open-source tools for IC design are being further enhanced to include necessary functionalities for complete design flow for digital, analogue and RF design. Aligning with above mentioned goals, multiple private, academic, and commercial entities have stepped up towards the development. This workshop aims to share a glimpse of activities in open-source EDA tools developments and chip design activities in Europe. It would begin with a talk about current EU projects and the statuses in open-source EDA development. Then there will be two talks about digital and RF design flow using open-source tools. The final talk is about electro-magnetic simulation for RF circuits. Overall, this workshop is targets to publicize the open-source activities towards the building of a collaborative society in chip design domain.
The event is aimed at IC designers, researchers, PhD candidates and engineers who already have a basic understanding of chip design and EDA workflows. Familiarity with digital, analogue or RF design will help you get the most from the sessions.
This workshop, chaired by the IHP Team: Corrado Carta, Sergei Andreev, and Farabi Ibne Jamal, gives you a practical view on the following Open-Source R&D Topics:
- European Open-Source EDA projects currently stand
- Sergei Andreev, IHP
- How digital design flows can be built with Open-Source tools
- Frank Kagan Gurkaynak, ETH Zürich
- How Open-Source tools are being applied to RF design
- Harald Pretl, Johannes Kepler Universität Linz
- How Open-Source EM simulation fits into RF circuit development
- Giovanni Di Pietrantonio, IHP and Volker Mühlhaus, MCS, GmbH
Join the IHP OpenPDK Team if you want to understand where open-source chip design is heading, what is already usable today, and how these tools could complement your own work. Register at the EuMW website.
