This is a maze game played with tools using semiconductor chips before bonding. Specifically, the game is to use a 5um Tungsten Needle while looking into a semiconductor chip with a stereo microscope to go through a maze drawn with pads on the semiconductor chip.At this time, when the needle touches the maze wall, the LED for the crash judgment glows. The purpose of creating this game is to destroy the conventional wisdom that this is how semiconductor design and manufacturing should be done. The Maker movement has created works that would not have been possible as product manufacturing until then, as the cost of 3D printers and PCB manufacturing has become cheaper. As a result, new possibilities were born there. I wanted to start this trend in semiconductors. | https://github.com/noritsuna/micro_irritating_maze
This is a maze game played with tools using semiconductor chips before bonding.
Specifically, the game is to use a 5um Tungsten Needle while looking into a semiconductor chip with a stereo microscope to go through a maze drawn with pads on the semiconductor chip.At this time, when the needle touches the maze wall, the LED for the crash judgment glows.
Purpose of Micro Irritating Maze
The purpose of creating this game is to destroy the conventional wisdom that this is how semiconductor design and manufacturing should be done.
The Maker movement has created works that would not have been possible as product manufacturing until then, as the cost of 3D printers and PCB manufacturing has become cheaper. As a result, new possibilities were born there.
I wanted to start this trend in semiconductors.
System Configurations
As a semiconductor, it is a mixed analog-digital circuit that combines analog and digital circuits.
Digital Circuit
This digital circuit consists of two circuits: a circuit in which the walls of the maze are pads that count up when Needle touches them, and a circuit in which the timer starts when Needle touches the start pad (circle shape) and stops when Needle touches the goal pad (cross shape) to measure the time spent. The timer starts when the start pad is touched and stops when the goal pad is touched.
Analog Circuit
This analog circuit connects the various pads to the pins of the digital circuit section.
When Needle touches each pad, it is connected to VSS, which allows each digital circuit pin to operate with a negative logic.
The final Layout was created by editing the digital circuit Layout generated by OpenLANE in Klayout to incorporate analog circuits such as mazes and pads.
I want to create pads on the Metal5 layer, so we remove unnecessary VDD and VSS to make empty area.
Place the following pads on the Metal5 layer, which has an empty area, and perform the necessary wiring.
Maze Wall Pad
This pad connect to Crash pin in Digital Circuit.
Start Pad
This pad connect to RST pin in Digital Circuit.
Goal Pad
This pad connect to Goal pin in Digital Circuit.
VDD Pad
This pad connect to VDD in Digital Circuit.
VSS Pad
This pad connect to VSS in Digital Circuit.
Since the Needle tip is 5um, the pad size was set to 800um.
Generate the maze. The path width of the maze was set at 300um.
Place pads and mazes on the layout and wire them to the digital circuit.
Peripheral Systems
This semiconductor circuit does not work by itself. To work, you need an um-class Needle that you can buy at a home improvement store, a stereo microscope that costs tens of thousands of yen, and a power supply.
/verilog/rtl/micro_irritating_maze.v
This is a digital circuit that measures the number of times the maze wall is hit and the time from the start of the maze to the goal.
/gds/maze_Small.gds
This is a small maze with a path width of 100um. It is used when a stereo microscope with high magnification is used.
/gds/maze_Complex.gds
This is a slightly complex shaped maze with a path width of 100um. It is used when a stereo microscope with high magnification is used.
/xschem/maze.sch
This is an analog circuit diagram for connecting the maze section to the digital circuit section.
/gds/pad_and_resistor.gds
VDD pad, VSS pad and pad for pins for each maze operation./xschem/maze.sch is implemented.
Two types of pads are available: one for DIY probers (800um x 800um) and one for commercial probing systems (80um x 80um).
Forked from the Caravel User Project
:exclamation: Important Note
Caravel information follows
Refer to README for a quickstart of how to use caravel_user_project
Refer to README for this sample project documentation.