ICsprout 55nm Open Source PDK Officially Released!

The ECOS Team is proud to announce the official release of the world's first open-source PDK based on 55nm process technology! We are deeply grateful to ICsprout for contributing the world's most advanced, tapeout-ready open-source PDK at the time of release, marking a significant milestone in the history of open-source chips (glory to ICsprout). The open-source nature of ICsprout 55nm Open Source PDK (hereinafter referred to as this PDK) completely changes the high-barrier, high-cost predicament of traditional chip design. It provides universities, research institutions, and the open-source community with a complete pathway from chip design to tapeout manufacturing through open sharing, enabling researchers and developers to transform their imaginative design ideas into actual physical silicon wafers. Furthermore, thanks to the advanced nature of the 55nm process node in the open-source chip field, the complexity and flexibility of future open-source chip design will significantly increase, providing strong support for promoting the construction of the open-source chip ecosystem and the cultivation of chip talent.The following are important notes regarding the release of this PDK:

• The PDK repository URL is: https://github.com/openecos-projects/icsprout55-pdk, and the PDK documentation URL is: https://icsprout55-pdk.rtfd.io. This PDK currently only includes IO and STD Cells (excluding GDS files), and LEF files for placement and routing. Other content not yet open-source will be released gradually in subsequent version updates.
• The ECOS Team is currently organizing and writing documentation for this PDK to ensure users can clearly understand its content composition and related technical details. Finally, we welcome everyone to download and try this PDK. Please feel free to contact the ECOS Team at any time if you encounter any problems (contact information can be found in the PDK repository README or the documentation homepage).

As a key maintainer of this PDK and one of the main providers of open-source chip design services, the ECOS Team will actively assist ICsprout in maintaining the 55nm open-source PDK. Simultaneously, we will deploy more open-source IPs, refine open-source EDA tools, and continuously improve the functionality and performance of open-source chip design solutions. The ECOS Team's ultimate goal is to complete the tapeout of an open-source SoC chip based on open-source IP, open-source SoC, open-source EDA, and open-source PDK (this PDK). Building upon this foundation, the team will continuously optimize the EDA toolchain and integrated platform, actively developing or introducing more high-performance open-source IP components to revitalize the open-source chip and make it truly usable by users.

The ECOS Team firmly believes that while most people perceive chip development as extremely costly, including tool expenses (EDA tools and IP licensing), personnel costs, and manufacturing costs (tapeout and packaging), often reaching hundreds of millions of dollars, the increasing maturity of open-source chip design solutions (open-source IP + open-source SoC + open-source EDA + open-source PDK) has significantly reduced the barriers to entry and the cost of designing and verifying a chip. This is an inevitable trend of the technological age and a natural progression of history.

Finally, please allow the ECOS Team to introduce ICsprout. ICsprout is a semiconductor foundry co-founded in 2021 by the Zhejiang Provincial Government and Zhejiang University. Leveraging an advanced 12-inch wafer pilot line, the company has built a process portfolio covering multiple nodes and categories. It not only offers mature 180nm and 55nm CMOS processes but also possesses specialized process capabilities such as 55nm embedded Flash (eFlash) and 180nm BCD (Bipolar-CMOS-DMOS), these can extensively meet diverse manufacturing needs for analog, mixed-signal, power devices, IoT chips, etc. As a rising star and key player in China's domestic semiconductor ecosystem, ICsprout is actively promoting in-depth communication and collaboration among universities, research institutions, and open source communities in the fields of open source PDK and chip foundry services. Guided by the principles of open-source sharing and independent innovation, the company is committed to building a comprehensive technology platform centered on talent development and scientific research , contributing significantly to addressing the shortage of semiconductor talent and leading the development of the open source chip ecosystem.