April 2019 - Libresilicon-developers

"555" Repository + Schematic
by Hagen SANKOWSKI 03 May '19

03 May '19

Hello List! Today on our weekly Mumble session we talked about the "triple-5" once more. So I got itchy fingers and set up my personal repository for that on github (https://github.com/chipforge/CMOS-555). Well, no repository without content - please check the README file and see the Schematic I already draw now. For everybody which is lazy to install Lepton-EDA (as describted in the README) I attached a fency screenshot. Please check the Schematic, based on the Wikimedia SVG drawing, for mistakes I did. All dimensions for the transistors (Width, Length) and the restistors (Resistance) are still just generic. This task I suppose will do someone of you which is more an analog guy than me :-) BTW, Tatzelbrumm and Ference, do you like to clone the repository and we're merging each other? Or, otherwise I can shift the repository to the github.com/libresilicon group and we are working there. What do you prefer? Best Regards, Hagen. P.S.: Other versions of the CMOS "555" circuit I saw, will follow soon as schematics - one e.g. even has on BJT. -- "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." Benjamin Franklin (1775)

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GoFundMe campaign for the clean room
by David Lanzendörfer 02 May '19

02 May '19

Hi folks So Andreas and I were brain storming on how we could ensure the next years rent without relying solely on the private money of a few individuals and came up with the idea of a gofundme-campaign. Seems to work for a lot of people with much less important financial problems, so we figured, it's worth a shot. In case you've got some cash to spare, it would be fantastic if you could contribute a bit to our campaign goal. The more you help out, the less we've gotta stem privately from loans and so. Also please share with everyone you know, in order to spread the message and help us finalize the PDK. Even if lots of you folks are too busy to actively participate on the mailing list, this is a chance to contribute something to the project. And it's only a few minutes of your time. Here is the campaign link: https://www.gofundme.com/libresilicon-cleanroom-rent Thanks David

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Status update: Silicide
by David Lanzendörfer 26 Apr '19

26 Apr '19

Hi everyone So this week was pretty productive. It turns out, that RCA-1 at room temperature removes all the unreacted material perfectly within 20 minutes. No more halo this time, anywhere and no more unwanted conductive residue. However: The polysilicon expands also laterally when reacted with titanium, which leads to a short circuit with the junctions. In order to prevent it, we've prepared a second sample wafer, where we will deposit around 20 nm of silicon nitride and form the spacers using a dry etcher. For people not owning a dry etcher (wet-etching-only folks) an additional mask will be required unfortunately, in order to cover the poly silicon and silicon first with a thin LTO layer and then opening the LTO up only above the poly and the to-be-reacted junction areas. Unfortunately, next week there is a public holiday (1st May) and Thursday and Friday the stepper aligner is offline, so the opening holes and interconnect tests with switching report can only be done, Monday in two weeks... :-/ Cheers David

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FSiC2019 Lecture recordings are online
by Hagen SANKOWSKI 22 Apr '19

22 Apr '19

Hello List! Last month happen the Free Silicon Conference in Paris. It was a very familiar, intensive Conference stuffed with VLSI talks from the Open Source community. Now over 40 video recordings are online here https://peertube.f-si.org/video-channels/fsic2019/videos All of them are very interesting. Enjoy! Hagen.

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555 Easter Egg?
by Hagen SANKOWSKI 21 Apr '19

21 Apr '19

Hello List! Since our Mumble Session today, I am searching for more en-detail information about the "555".. Well, I still remember that the EEVblog guy was addicted to the 555 and found this video on youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZ4r8Rc5aus Very nice :-) Happy Easter! Hagen.

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Reminder - next Mumble Session on Sunday (April 21, 2019) 13.00 UTC
by Hagen SANKOWSKI 21 Apr '19

21 Apr '19

Hello List! Just a small reminder for our next Mumble Sessions on this Sunday, April 21 at 9 p.m. Hong Kong Time - this is 13:00 UTC. Please join us as usual at our Mumble Server murmur.libresilicon.com at Port 64738, the Channel is IC. On the agenda are (at least) this topics - test wafer status - our plan for CCC camp August 21-25, 2019 in Mildenberg - other stuff around Happy to hear from you! Hagen

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Reminder - next Mumble Session on Sunday (April 14, 2019) 13:00 UTC
by Hagen SANKOWSKI 16 Apr '19

16 Apr '19

Hello List! Just a small reminder for our next Mumble Sessions on this Sunday, April 14 at 9 p.m. Hong Kong Time - this is 13:00 UTC. Please join us as usual at our Mumble Server murmur.libresilicon.com at Port 64738, the Channel is IC. On the agenda are (at least) this topics - test wafer status - popcorn - other stuff around Happy to hear from you! Hagen

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Status update
by David Lanzendörfer 12 Apr '19

12 Apr '19

Hi all We've now figured out the thin film formation procedure for forming 77nm TiSi2 films. We're right now working on a wafer with the bare minimum of manufacturing steps for making switching transistors. With this step we will calibrate the junction implant energies and annealing times for the junctions. Stay tuned. The project is *not* dead! ;-) -lev

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NLnet 2019 grant approved for Libre RISC-V SoC development, CFP
by lkcl＠lkcl.net 09 Apr '19

09 Apr '19

i'm delighted to be able to say that we've passed the review process to receive a grant for development of the Libre RISC-V SoC [1] under the 2019 NLnet "Enhanced Privacy and Trust" Programme [2]. the SoC is specifically to be designed in a fully transparent fashion at all times (HDL and software), so that there is absolutely no possibility of claims that it contains, for example, NSA spying backdoor co-processors [3] or other hidden means and methods by which user privacy is routinely violated by the technology that they legitimately purchase. in addition to that the full software and hardware stack transparency (including in the VPU and GPU) not only aids learning and understanding in educational circles, the business case for full transparency is very clear: it's a simple matter of drastically reducing time spent on debugging hard to track down errors in extremely complex bug-ridden proprietary drivers [4] examples abound of 3D or proprietary video decoders that have hard-coded assumptions that, due to the highly-integrated nature of SoCs, can eliminate a SoC entirely from consideration based not on the capabilities of the *hardware* but on the total lack of *software transparency*. basically after ten years we got fed up of waiting around for the Industry Incumbents to design something that allows a fully transparent software stack... so, insanely, we have to make one [5] we aim to bust through as many of the triple-layers of NDAs involved in ASIC development as we can get and still have a viable successful mass-volume embedded product, suitable for use in low-power products such as tablets, smartphones, mid-range netbooks and chromebooks, industrial devices and more. in technical terms, that means a hybrid CPU / VPU / GPU and a SMP quad-core 800mhz dual/quad-issue out-of-order execution engine (based around the 58-year-old CDC 6600 design), with 1/2/4/8-wide SIMD ALUs hidden transparently behind a Vector Processing front-end, and custom instructions created where needed to give the software 3D and VPU drivers the performance and power-saving boost needed to meet the modest target of 3D and video 720p at 25fps, in an under *2.5* watt power budget for the entire SoC. it is extremely ambitious for a libre-licensed project (OR1200 tops out at around 250mhz and is not SMP) and we have Mitch Alsup (the designer of the Motorola 68000) to thank for the discussions that made understanding OoO possible. so that is some background. the reason i am writing is to invite anyone who would like to help out - and receive some financial incentive (cash or shares [6]) for doing so - to get in touch and participate as we sort out the list of tasks to be done [7]. the grant is limited to $EUR 50,000 in this first round, and the final amount will depend on what milestones are agreed with the NLnet Foundation, hence why it is important to reach out *now* and invite people to help clarify the tasks, and make it clear which ones they would like to tackle. do bear in mind that the conditions required by the NLnet Foundation are payment on *completion* of agreed Milestones, so if they are particularly large tasks, subdivision will be crucial. it's worth noting that the two main developers have circumstances that leads them to only require around USD $1000-1500 a month each, and that, after this first funding round is successfully completed it will be possible to apply for a much larger grant next year. so we cannot go completely financially mad: the NLnet Foundation will just say "no" to anything such as a $25k proposal to develop a given peripheral, for example, however there is definitely room for e.g.: * students who are doing a software or hardware engineering degree, always wanted to develop a processor and would like a way to supplement their income as an additional bonus, or * people already working full-time or part-time: one person is already donating their time at weekends to develop the TLB, Virtual Memory, and L1 and L2 Cache infrastructure for example (and doing a really good job of it, too). and many others. so here's the conditions: * the project is developed under the Libre-RISCV Charter, which you will need to agree to: http://libre-riscv.org/charter/discussion/ * full transparency means: no aspect of the SoC is to be developed by engaging in private or secret discussions. this constitutes "having something to hide" and would seriously undermine user trust (and would violate the terms of the NLnet grant). * in turn, that means that, as things stand, given that we are pushing the boundaries of innovation in RISC-V, if you have signed the RISC-V Membership Agreement there will be a conflict of interest that may prevent you from meeting the "full transparency" requirements, given that the RISC-V lists are *closed and secret*. * the code is being developed as a python "nmigen" application. you will need to be willing to learn nmigen as well as python. there are plenty of tutorials and a lot of code, now. * the coding standards are to meet pep8 (all of it, using autopep8, so it is not burdensome: just run a command), and for the code to be *readable and understandable*. examples are here [8] and here [9]. * good engineering development practices such as working out and writing specifications and agreeing them with the team, writing unit tests *at the time of developing the code*, and not engaging in "I Will Commit It When It's Finished" will be required. python is hairy enough as it is. basically we are applying all the best aspects of team-based libre *software* development to *hardware*, and for anyone who wanted to know what that's like, but never encountered it before in a comprehensive multi-person *hardware* project before, now's your chance. so if that sounds of interest, do get in touch, and join the mailing list [10]. also, if there is anyone who knows of "Social Enterprise" or "Benefit Corporation" style VC funding, or, recognising the benefits that a libre/open design approach brings to SoCs and to users, if you would like to sponsor the project, we'd love to hear from you too. yes we have a crowdsupply page in the pre-pre-launch phase [11]. l. [1] https://libre-riscv.org/3d_gpu/ [2] NLnet.nl/PET/ [3] or, if there are, the full source of said NSA spying backdoor co-processor is made available, by the NSA, under a libre license, including associated private crypto keys, so that anyone can learn all about spying on *themselves*. this is what is termed "a humorous joke". [4] http://www.h-online.com/open/news/item/Intel-and-Valve-collaborate-to-devel… [5] https://www.crowdsupply.com/eoma68/micro-desktop/updates/picking-a-processor [6] https://slicingpie.com [7] http://lists.libre-riscv.org/pipermail/libre-riscv-dev/2019-April/001019.ht… [8] https://git.libre-riscv.org/?p=ieee754fpu.git;a=blob;f=src/add/singlepipe.p… [9] https://git.libre-riscv.org/?p=soc.git;a=blob;f=TLB/src/TLB.py;h=3538bdc1dc… [10] http://lists.libre-riscv.org/mailman/listinfo/libre-riscv-dev [11] https://www.crowdsupply.com/libre-risc-v/m-class

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Libresilicon-developers April 2019