OpenLane is a powerful and versatile infrastructure library that enables the construction of digital ASIC implementation flows based on open-source and commercial EDA tools. It includes a reference flow (Classic) that is built entirely using open-source EDA tools, and it allows designers to abstract the underlying tools and configure their behavior with a single configuration file. OpenLane also supports the ability to freely extend or modify the flow using Python scripts and utilities.
Here are some of the key benefits of using OpenLane:
Flexibility and extensibility: OpenLane is designed to be flexible and extensible, allowing designers to cust
omize the flow to meet their specific needs. This can be done by writing Python scripts and utilities, or by modifying the existing configuration file.
Open source: OpenLane is an open-source project, which means that it is freely available to use and modify. This makes it a good choice for designers who are looking for a cost-effective and transparent solution.
Community support: OpenLane capitalizes on OpenLane’s existing community of users and contributors. This means that there is a wealth of resources available to help designers get started and troubleshoot any problems they encounter.
You can find the documentation here to get started. You can discuss OpenLane 2 in the #openlane-2 channel of the Efabless Open Source Silicon Slack.
You can try OpenLane right in your browser, free-of-charge, using Google Colaboratory by following this link.
You will need the following:
Works for macOS and Linux (x86-64). Recommended, as it is more integrated with your filesystem and overall has less upload and download deltas.
See Nix-based installation in the docs.
Works for Windows, macOS and Linux (x86-64, aarch64 with emulation).
See Docker-based installation in the docs.
Do note you'll need to add --dockerized right after openlane in most CLI invocations.
You'll need to bring your own compiled utilities, but otherwise, simply install OpenLane as follows:
python3 -m pip install --upgrade openlane
In the root folder of the repository, you may invoke:
python3 -m openlane --pdk-root <path/to/pdk> </path/to/config.json>
To start with, you can try:
python3 -m openlane --pdk-root $HOME/.volare ./designs/spm/config.json
If you use OpenLane in your research, please cite the following paper.
M. Shalan and T. Edwards, “Building OpenLANE: A 130nm OpenROAD-based Tapeout-Proven Flow: Invited Paper,” 2020 IEEE/ACM International Conference On Computer Aided Design (ICCAD), San Diego, CA, USA, 2020, pp. 1-6. Paper
@INPROCEEDINGS{9256623, author={Shalan, Mohamed and Edwards, Tim}, booktitle={2020 IEEE/ACM International Conference On Computer Aided Design (ICCAD)}, title={Building OpenLANE: A 130nm OpenROAD-based Tapeout- Proven Flow : Invited Paper}, year={2020}, volume={}, number={}, pages={1-6}, doi={}}
The Apache License, version 2.0.
Docker images distributed by Efabless Corporation under the same license.
Binaries bundled with OpenLane either via Cachix or Docker are distributed by Efabless Corporation and may fall under stricter open source licenses.
OPENLANE 2
Vendor
Efabless
Digital EDA
Free