OpenKit Initiative Technical Committee

Background

IC design processes are notoriously inefficient due in large part to the bottom-up nature of the creation of the data and formats that are necessary for the design tools to do their job.  Design data historically is tool specific because of the disjointed nature of independent tool developers inventing their own data models that met the needs of their tool but invented in large part independently of any other tool developers.  In recent years, standards efforts have been mounted in other areas of design with mixed success but with forward progress.

Group Objectives

The Open Kit initiative will put a strong foundation to the IC design process by beginning to clean up the data sets of the fundamental tools that make up the closest connection between design processes and silicon processes. The mysteries surrounding the structure and uses of these data sets (e.g. files, tech files, models, numbers of unknown origin, etc., cause redundant work by multiple companies to create a reliable design flow to eventually produce working silicon. This standardization effort, if even moderately successful, will remove inefficiencies and nuisances within companies and, hopefully, will work in areas of minimal competition between vendors as well.

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