OpenFabs, OpenHW, OpenAudit - OpenPower Libre SOC Goes to Print

grarpamp grarpamp at gmail.com
Sat Jul 10 21:03:39 PDT 2021


https://openpowerfoundation.org/libre-soc-180nm-power-isa-asic-submitted-to-imec-for-fabrication/

https://libre-soc.org/
http://git.libre-soc.org/
https://libre-soc.org/openpower/sv/svp64/
https://github.com/antonblanchard/microwatt/
https://openpowerfoundation.org/openpower-foundation-provides-microwatt-for-fabrication-on-skywater-open-pdk-shuttle/
https://github.com/The-OpenROAD-Project/OpenLane
http://coriolis.lip6.fr/
https://gitlab.com/Chips4Makers/c4m-pdk-freepdk45
https://chips4makers.io/
https://www.ngi.eu/ngi-projects/ngi-pointer/
https://openpower.foundation/groups/isa/


ProTip: Doesn't matter how your OpenHW is, unless you're
printing it in an #OpenFab operating under an #OpenAudit
environment whatever comes off the line is still untrustable.


"We're building a chip. A fast chip. A safe chip. A trusted chip,"
explains the web page at Libre-SOC.org. "A chip with lots of
peripherals. And it's VPU. And it's a 3D GPU... Oh and here, have the
source code."

Libre-SOC's entirely Libre 180nm ASIC, which can be replicated down to
symbolic level GDS-II with no NDAs of any kind, has been submitted to
IMEC for fabrication.

It is the first wholly-independent Power ISA ASIC outside of IBM to go
Silicon in 12 years. Microwatt went to Skywater 130nm in March;
however, it is also developed by IBM, as an exceptionally well-made
Reference Design, which Libre-SOC used for verification.

Whilst it would seem that Libre-SOC is jumping on the chip-shortage
era's innovation bandwagon, Libre-SOC has actually been in development
for over three and a half years so far. It even pre-dates the OpenLane
initiative, and has the same objectives: fully automated HDL to
GDS-II, full transparency and auditability with Libre VLSI tools
Coriolis2 and Libre Cell Libraries from Chips4Makers.

With €400,000 in funding from the NLNet Foundation [a long-standing
non-profit supporting privacy, security, and the "open internet"],
plus an application to NGI Pointer under consideration, the next steps
are to continue development of Draft Cray-style Vectors (SVP64) to the
already supercomputer-level Power ISA, under the watchful eye of the
upcoming OpenPOWER ISA Workgroup.

https://patents.google.com/patent/US8664047B2/en


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