ihp-sg13g2 LibreLane Template

A LibreLane template to implement a full chip design using the ihp-sg13g2 PDK.

Prerequisites

Until all changes are upstreamed, this template uses a fork of the ihp-sg13g2 PDK.

To clone the latest PDK version, simply run make clone-pdk.

In the next step, install LibreLane by following the Nix-based installation instructions: https://librelane.readthedocs.io/en/latest/installation/nix_installation/index.html

Implement the Design

This repository contains a Nix flake that provides a shell with the leo/ihp-sg13g2 branch of LibreLane.

Simply run nix-shell in the root of this repository.

Note

Since we are working on a branch of LibreLane, OpenROAD needs to be compiled locally. This will be done automatically by Nix, and the binary will be cached locally.

With this shell enabled, run the implementation:

make librelane

View the Design

After completion, you can view the design using the OpenROAD GUI:

make librelane-openroad

Or using KLayout:

make librelane-klayout

Copying the Design to the Final Folder

To copy your latest run to the final/ folder in the root directory of the repository, run the following command:

make copy-final

This will only work if the last run was completed without errors.

Verification and Simulation

We use cocotb, a Python-based testbench environment, for the verification of the chip. The underlying simulator is Icarus Verilog (https://github.com/steveicarus/iverilog).

The testbench is located in cocotb/chip_top_tb.py. To run the RTL simulation, run the following command:

make sim

To run the GL (gate-level) simulation, run the following command:

make sim-gl

Note

You need to have the latest implementation of your design in the final/ folder. After implementing the design, execute 'make copy-final' to copy all necessary files.

In both cases, a waveform file will be generated under cocotb/sim_build/chip_top.fst. You can view it using a waveform viewer, for example, GTKWave.

make sim-view

You can now update the testbench according to your design.

Implementing Your Own Design

The source files for this template can be found in the src/ directory. chip_top.sv defines the top-level ports and instantiates chip_core. To change the number of power/ground pads of the core domain, change the NUM_VDD_PADS/NUM_VSS_PADS parameters. To change the number of power/ground pads of the I/O domain, change the NUM_IOVDD_PADS/NUM_IOVSS_PADS parameters. In order to change the number and types of the signal pads, use NUM_INPUT_PADS, NUM_OUTPUT_PADS, NUM_BIDIR_PADS and NUM_ANALOG_PADS.

The actual pad positions are defined in the LibreLane configuration file under librelane/config.yaml. The variables PAD_SOUTH/PAD_EAST/PAD_NORTH/PAD_WEST determine the respective pad placement. The LibreLane configuration also allows you to customize the flow (enable or disable steps), specify the source files, set various variables for the steps, and instantiate macros. For more information about the configuration, please refer to the LibreLane documentation: https://librelane.readthedocs.io/en/latest/

To implement your own design, simply edit chip_core.sv. The chip_core module receives the clock and reset, as well as the signals from the pads defined in chip_top. As an example, a counter is implemented.

Note

For more comprehensive SystemVerilog support, enable the USE_SLANG variable in the LibreLane configuration.