idw – Informationsdienst Wissenschaft
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
From 2 to 4 July 2025, the fifth Free Silicon Conference (FSiC) took place at IHP – Leibniz Institute for High Performance Microelectronics in Frankfurt (Oder), one of the most important events in Europe dedicated to open design tools and the free ecosystem for creating integrated circuits, also known as open-source silicon.
The conference brought together engineers, scientists, enthusiasts and industry and government representatives who are working together on the future of integrated circuit design based on open standards and open-source EDA (Electronic Design Automation) software tools. The importance of access to free EDA tools and open libraries for the technological sovereignty in the field of semiconductor and independence from closed, proprietary ecosystems was emphasised.
Over the course of three intensive days, there were over 30 technical presentations, discussion panels and workshops. Topics ranged from the development of open-source EDA tools for digital and analogue circuit design to new methods of analogue/RF simulation and verification, PDKs (Process Design Kits) and standard-cell library modelling, hardware security, the education of engineers in open-source EDA tools and the financing of open hardware projects through EU programs and independent initiatives. Presentations on the interoperability of open-source tools with industrial design flows and production implementations were of particular interest.
The conference took place at IHP, a renowned German research institute specialising in silicon technology and a well-known leader in pushing open-source silicon design. In addition to the official sessions, participants had the opportunity to visit the IHP laboratories and clean room, attend a networking dinner and share experiences in a more relaxed setting.
FSiC 2025 further demonstrated the increasing significance of the open-source movement within the semiconductor sector. The organisers – IHP and the Free Silicon Foundation – emphasised once again that openness, transparency and knowledge sharing are the foundations of innovation in this field.
“We were proud to host the 2025 Free Silicon Conference at IHP. This event showcased the growing strength and innovation of the open-source movement in microelectronics. We believe that a more open approach to integrated circuit design is essential if Europe is to achieve technological sovereignty and secure the future of the global semiconductor ecosystem,” says Prof. Gerhard Kahmen, Scientific Director at IHP.
The conference was co-financed by the EU projects GoIT (No. 101070669) and NGI0 Commons Fund (No. 101135429), supported by the Swiss Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation.
We would like to thank Adfinis, Chip Design Germany, X-FAB, Cyberagentur, Tiny Tapeout and IHP Solutions for their support of the FSiC 2025 and the Open Source Silicon Initiative.
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