Open Silicon Bootcamp
Resources.

Start with the core digital design learning path:

• Digital Design Fundamentals
  vulkos.co.uk/learn/digital-design-fundamentals
• Introduction to ASIC Design
  vulkos.co.uk/learn/intro-to-asic-design
• Introduction to Verilog
  vulkos.co.uk/learn/intro-to-verilog

These courses provide an excellent foundation in digital design, ASIC development, and hardware description languages.

Once you’ve completed the introductory material, continue with the highly recommended RISC-V CPU design course:

• Building a RISC-V CPU Core — zero to hero
  github.com/stevehoover/LF-Building-a-RISC-V-CPU-Core-Course

This „zero-to-hero” course walks you through the complete process of designing a CPU based on the RISC-V architecture. It is normally valued at approximately €170, but is available free of charge on the course author’s GitHub site.

The Tiny Tapeout workshops form the foundation of the IEEE Open Silicon Bootcamp curriculum.

• Basic Workshop — learn the gate-level design flow
  tinytapeout.com/guides/workshop
• Advanced Workshop — Verilog-driven design flows
  tinytapeout.com/guides/advanced-workshop

The Basic Workshop teaches the complete gate-level design flow and how digital circuits are transformed into silicon. The Advanced Workshop moves beyond basic logic design and works with Verilog-driven design flows and more advanced implementation techniques.

To work with professional-grade semiconductor design tools, we recommend installing the IIC Open-Source IC tools environment:

• IIC Open-Source IC Tools
  github.com/iic-jku/iic-osic-tools

The preferred setup is:

• Linux
• Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)

The toolset also works on Windows when using Docker.

For those interested in analog and mixed-signal design, the IHP Analog Academy provides an excellent starting point:

• IHP Analog Academy
  github.com/IHP-GmbH/IHP-AnalogAcademy

This course introduces analog design concepts and practical workflows used in semiconductor development.

For quick experiments and concept validation, we personally recommend:

• Falstad Circuit Simulator
  falstad.com/circuit/circuitjs.html

Don’t let the simple interface fool you. Falstad includes an impressive range of circuit architectures and concepts that professional chip designers encounter in everyday work.

To explore system modeling, simulation, and signal processing workflows, start with PathSim:

• PathSim — Main Website
  pathsim.org
• FMCW Radar Example
  pathsim.readthedocs.io/en/v0.16.7/examples/fmcw_radar.html

PathSim is a great platform for understanding system-level behavior before moving into hardware implementation. The FMCW radar example is particularly useful for those interested in sensing, communications, and dual-use technology applications.

1. Vulkos Digital Design Fundamentals
2. Intro to ASIC Design
3. Intro to Verilog
4. Tiny Tapeout Basic Workshop
5. Tiny Tapeout Advanced Workshop
6. Build a RISC-V CPU Core
7. Install the Open Source EDA Tool Suite
8. Explore Analog Design with IHP Analog Academy
9. Experiment with the Falstad Circuit Simulator
10. Learn System-Level Modeling with PathSim