Open-source process design kits (PDK) and electronic design automation (EDA) tools are creating new opportunities for companies to accelerate chip design, lower the barriers to innovation, and explore new product ideas more cost-effectively.
To support companies in navigating the rapidly evolving open-source design landscape, EuroCDP has analysed the current state of open-source EDA tools in the domains of digital, analog, mixed-signal, radio frequency (RF), and photonics design. The primary aim of this analysis is to help designers assess whether open-source EDA tools are suitable for their projects, given their functional maturity and limitations. At the same time, the identified gaps serve as guidance for prioritizing improvements in the open-source EDA ecosystem.
The analysis revealed that the open PDKs, of which one is European, are making chip design more accessible than before. Today, manufacturable open PDKs are available for technology nodes down to 130 nm, enabling companies and research teams to design real integrated circuits using openly available process information.
The maturity of open-source EDA tools varies by design domain. Digital design is currently the most advanced area, and analog design also has a usable end-to-end toolchain. In contrast, mixed-signal, RF, and photonics design still face significant gaps in tool availability, performance, and workflow integration compared with commercial solutions.
For companies, open-source EDA offers new opportunities for prototyping, education, research, and selected product development use cases. At the same time, tool limitations must be considered carefully when planning more demanding designs or advanced process node projects.
As open-source design ecosystems mature, companies increasingly need practical guidance on where these tools are already ready for use and where further development is still needed.
Based on the gap analysis, EuroCDP has prepared recommendations on open-source tools to be used in digital, analog, mixed signal, RF and photonics design flows. These recommendations help companies identify suitable tools for their needs, understand the current maturity of the ecosystem, and make more informed decisions when evaluating open-source design approaches.
The recommended tools will be made available for evaluation and testing through the central EuroCDP platform. A cloud-based test environment is already available for the first users, and additional recommended tools will be integrated on a regular basis. This document and the recommended tool list will be maintained and regularly updated as the open-source ecosystem evolves and new tools become available.
The report and the recommended tool list will be continuously updated on our website as the open-source ecosystem evolves and new technologies become available.
Find it here: https://github.com/IHP-GmbH/EuroCDP
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