Openlane: The Open-source Digital ASIC Implementation Flow

Summary

OpenLANE is a tape-out-hardened flow that addresses two main use cases: hardening a macro and integrating a System-on-a-Chip (SoC). It was used successfully to tape out a family of RISC-V based SoCs known as “striVe”. This paper reviews the various components of the flow with a particular focus on the challenges that faced SoC integration while working on the first of the striVe chips and the main ideas used to overcome them, achieving full automation.