Licensing and access

An open kit#

Most process kits are confidential. Getting one means signing an agreement with the foundry, and you may not share what is in it.

The SkyWater sky130 kit is different. It was released publicly as open source, under the Apache 2.0 licence. Anyone may read it, use it and build tools around it. That is what makes a lab like this possible: there is nothing to sign, and nothing about the process is hidden from you. The GF180MCU and IHP SG13G2 kits are open under the same licence. ASAP7, the learning kit, is under the BSD 3-Clause licence.

The tools are open too#

The simulator, the synthesis tool, the place-and-route flow and the layout viewers behind the lab are all open-source projects. See Toolchain overview and versions. Each tool and process kit, with its licence, is listed in our Open-source notices.

What you need to use the lab#

A Nelix account. No licence, no agreement with a foundry, and nothing installed on your computer.

Your own designs#

Designs you create in the lab are yours. A public share page shows results and a picture of the layout, not your source code.

A layout you download contains the process kit's own cell layouts: the standard cells, and the memory block when you use one. Those remain under the kit's licence. The Open-source notices list each kit and memory library with its licence. Keep that notice with any layout you pass on.

What open does not mean#

• It does not mean free manufacturing. Making a chip costs money and goes through a foundry or a shuttle programme with its own terms.
• It does not mean any design can be made. A manufacturer applies its own checks.
• It does not extend to other processes. A design made here is for the process its project was made for. A process not offered here needs its own kit, usually under agreement.