Available in Cadence’s CMOS VLSI design course, PDK aids semiconductor education programs, supporting workforce development initiatives

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — November 3, 2023 — SkyWater Technology, (Nasdaq: SKYT), the trusted technology realization partner today announced a new SkyWater open-source 130 nm process design kit (PDK) from Cadence Design Systems, Inc., which will be available in the Cadence^® VLSI (very large-scale integration) Fundamentals Education Kit. The kit teaches students how theories and concepts can be applied in the design of simple logic circuits and in the physical implementation of a simplified microprocessor.

Semiconductor foundries offer PDKs to aid design on a manufacturing process, but due to restricted access and the need for NDAs, this has created a barrier to access by academia. To overcome this issue, SkyWater collaborated with Cadence to create an open-source chip manufacturing program on 130 nm CMOS process (SKY130). The SKY130 process has gained popularity among academia and researchers and can be easily accessed from GitHub with no NDA necessary.

Semiconductor design and manufacturing courses are becoming increasingly important as the U.S. focuses on building a domestic semiconductor workforce by investing in manufacturing facilities, partnering with industry, educators, and training providers, supporting semiconductor education and training, and fueling research and development.

The SKY130 open-source offering has implications for accelerating and multiplying collaboration in semiconductor chip design. Verification results can be easily and cost-effectively replicated by other designers and idea generation can be amplified to feed product development that is ongoing in IoT, automotive, industrial, medical and defense applications.

“We are extremely pleased that Cadence chose to create a PDK based on SKY130. It will soon be available to all Cadence licensees, which extends our reach to thousands of designers. It’s a vast expansion for SkyWater’s serviceable available market for SKY130 and speaks to the power of the open-source model,” said SkyWater CTO Steve Kosier. “Access for students to the open-source PDK will support curricula in semiconductor degree programs, helping to build the workforce critically needed for reshoring the semiconductor ecosystem.”

“We are glad to be working with SkyWater to provide an open-source PDK that works with the same tools that our customers utilize,” said David Junkin, academic network program director, Cadence. “An open-source commercial-quality PDK removes one more barrier that limits the ability for students to realize and test their ideas in silicon. With the SKY130 library that will soon be integrated with Cadence Education Kits, students will be empowered with more flow-based training material to develop the skills required by the semiconductor industry.”

The Cadence VLSI Fundamentals Education Kit is a CMOS VLSI Design course structured to enhance academic curriculum, which contains several lecture presentations to teach the fundamental theoretical knowledge of VLSI design. It also contains four labs that explain the design of a mixed-signal IC using Cadence’s latest tools: Virtuoso Studio, Genus Synthesis Solution, Innovus Implementation System, Xcelium Logic Simulator, Pegasus Verification System, and Spectre Simulation Platform. The design is based on a simple Arm-based microprocessor and is being migrated to the SKY130 PDK.

About SkyWater Technology

SkyWater (Nasdaq: SKYT) is a U.S.-based semiconductor manufacturer and a DMEA-accredited Category 1A Trusted Foundry. SkyWater’s Technology as a Service model streamlines the path to production for customers with development services, volume production and heterogeneous integration solutions in its world-class U.S. facilities. This pioneering model enables innovators to co-create the next wave of technology with diverse categories including mixed-signal CMOS, read-out ICs, rad-hard ICs, power management, MEMS, superconducting ICs, photonics, carbon nanotubes and interposers. SkyWater serves growing markets including aerospace & defense, automotive, biomedical, cloud & computing, consumer, industrial and IoT. For more information, visit: www.skywatertechnology.com.

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SkyWater Company Contact: Tara Luther | tara.luther@skywatertechnology.com
SkyWater Media Contact: Lauri Julian | lauri.julian@skywatertechnology.com