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Comment by jauntywundrkind | Hacker News Reader

We really need a silicon foundry model again, somewhere somehow, where folks can get experienced deigning chips.

America's such a technology hub because of our silicon foundry, because of MOSIS. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MOSIS

Carver Mead & Lynn Conway got countless students & interested parties out there, making chips. Introduction to VLSI Design was a book, but also a whole practice of getting out there and doing the thing for real. So so so much innovation & creativity followed.

Efabless felt like such a great hope that the tradition could continue, that maybe perhaps we could have a new age of newcomers also starting to make chips.

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It’s still possible to get a chip made, via MPW, from SkyWater.

And you can still use all the open source stuff, like the eFabless pad frame, if you want. But you’ll have to work with SkyWater directly which does require various business agreements to be in place.

See more here:

https://www.skywatertechnology.com/technology-and-design-ena...

> require various business agreements to be in place.

I assume they require an NDA for their PDK? Or can projects still be meaningfully open-source with the existing one?

SkyWater's 130nm has been used for all (most?) of the Efabless × Google MPW (multi project wafer) runs. That PDK was open sourced as part of that initial effort.

https://www.skywatertechnology.com/first-google-sponsored-mp...

https://github.com/google/skywater-pdk

There's a bunch of other PDKs running around now too. But progress does seem to have distinctly tapered off.

A bunch? I've only seen three—but that's still a huge improvement over zero pre-Skywater.

Most PDKs have an NDA, but Skywater is an exception. Also, most PDKs have some software restrictions on their standard cells because they never tested them with the open-source tools, but with difficulty you can use their design rules in software like MAGIC.

Muse semi is an easier path. For Europe there is Europractice which gives access to pretty much any technology.

The problem is access to software and fabs. EDA is expensive and nobody will give access to individuals. Same for fabs. They don't want to give access to a lot of people due to IP theft risks. Anyone can be a North Korean hacker. Plus they operate under US export controls which makes the paperwork daunting.

MOSIS still exists, and Skywater has an MPW service that's easy to order from.

If you know the right person, TSMC also has an MPW service (as do most other foundries). Most of the slots on these services go toward high-volume customers and universities, especially at the high-tech PDKs.

https://themosisservice.com/

RIP Lynn Conway. Huge loss to the industry. I hadn't realized she had passed until now.

China has one, apparently.

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