Libre Silicon

A open source project to build free microchips (semiconductors) in Hong Kong

一個在香港製作半導體的開源計劃

-We make free silicon
+Breaking the monopoly of big semiconductor manufacturers
+Eliminating the vendor lock-in to big semiconductor manufacturers
+Making semiconductor development super quick and inexpensive
+Introducing the LSPL (LibreSilicon public license)
+Attracting commercial design houses to develop free silicon

What is the origin of this Project?

The need for affordable and generally available means of creating semiconductors.

我們發現社會上對可負擔的半導體晶片有極大需求。

https://github.com/leviathanch/libresiliconlightning/blob/master/talk.pdf

What social problem are you trying to solve?

At the moment there are only the big semiconductor manufacturers which play their monopoly of manufacturing chips, which makes ASIC prototyping too cost intensive and painful for small start ups, SMEs and hobbyists.

Also the NDAs make it impossible to actually exchange and review each others designs and build it in another fab if one would wish so.

Why is this solution an innovation? is it because the current solutions are not efficient?

Problems:

MPWs cost around 20’000 USD nowadays

MPWs take around 2-9 months nowadays

All manufacturers want NDAs (some NDAs even have NDAs!)

Your design for a vendor process contains process specific design quirks (also under NDA!)

No manufacturer provides the GDS2 files in order to manufacture the designs in your basement

You can't even publish your own designs!

現時不健康的市場生態使技術突破的動力極低。

In the graph we can see that the new technologies mainly are being used to spear head into the market with a new product once and then just try to amortize their seed investment into the R&D of the product.

Small companies don’t even try to push into the market which results in semiconductor manufacturing always peaking at the introduction of a new node until all the big brands have developed their product and then sit on the design and just manufacture demand-based until a new node for a new product comes out and they can deprecate the old product.

How did we begin from scratch

（讓大家知道您是如何有這個念頭，以及如何實踐。）And also how you intent to implement it

By introducing an open source chip manufacturing process standard specification and introducing a fully integrated free EDA for ASIC design.

We’re renting the clean room and manufacturing equipment at HKUST for developing said technology node and process.

-> https://photos.app.goo.gl/zxsVn41fz9fPZAUv2

The tool for development is called QtFlow, which is an EDA suite written in C++ using the Qt5 library.

The Challenges we face

（分享您的故事可以使其他人更容易明白您做的事，不妨讓他們感受到您或您的團隊對這個項目的熱誠。）Sharing your stories can make your project more accessible, and others can feel your passion

High R&D costs (clean room rent 51’000 USD/year)

-> https://photos.app.goo.gl/zxsVn41fz9fPZAUv2

We need to figure out the last details of our LibreSilicon public license and establish our brand as a company while staying free and open source and ensuring to the community that this stays this way forever.

What resource do you need?

（說出您遇到的所有問題，以及尋求的資源（不論是人力、技術、資金、物資以及意見）。）

Please state all the problems you encounter along the way, and the resources you are looking for (such as people, technologies, investments, materials or opinion

Help with the work on developing QtFlow

Help with working on the LibreSilicon process and technologies

Help with working on the standard logic cells

Help with working on developing FreeFLASH

Help with working on developing FreeDRAM

We need ADCs and other hard cells

Financial contributions/Investments

Please join us every Sunday, 9pm, Hong Kong Time for our Mumble group call on murmur.lanceville.hk in the channel #IC

Who are we?

（介紹一下您自己、您的團隊，以及其他和您有關的背景。）introduce yourself, your team and whatever you deem relevant.

CEO and founder of Lanceville Technologies

Full name: David Lanzendörfer