To get the scoop on all the stuff that doesn't make it into videos, check out: https://psychogenic.ck.page/

I got to play with all this thanks to the Zero To ASIC Analog course beta. UPDATE: the course is now available http://eepurl.com/iSZcFQ


This crash course shows you everything that goes into creating mixed signal and analog ASICs, using free and open source tools, and the open Skywater 130 PDK. I'll cover some background and the entire flow that got me to tape out an ADC, along with impressions, information and tips that are geared towards anyone coming from a digital, or PCB circuit design background.

In the tutorial I touch on some basic theory, cover schematic capture and simulation with xschem, layout using magic, parasitic extraction, more simulation, including digital blobs in your analog circuits for mixedsignal and putting everything in a padring.

These are all things you can do right now, on your home computer, by installing the free tools or thanks to a virtual machine that includes all the tools prepackaged for you (link below). If you want to actually get a physical chip out of your efforts, TinyTapeout now supports mixed signal and analog designs in addition to digital, for a cost that is orders of magnitude below what it was just a few years ago.

The sky130 process is a bit older, but if you're doing analog these are the sizes you want to be playing in anyway, so it's winwin for us: cheaper and perfect for the task.

Whether you want to start down the path of becoming an analog chip designer, would like a greater understanding of the tradeoffs involved in creating circuits down to the atomic level, or wish to master simulation and up your game when creating PCBlevel electronics, these tools and the tinytapeout process and community make it all possible.

I hope to put out focused videos, to really get into the bits I didn't have time to cover, namely on xschem schematic capture and layout with magic. I've done a lot of customizing and scripting and think it'll be worth sharing. Let me know if there are any bits you'd like to see more focus on.

Useful references from the video:
Tiny Tapeout: https://tinytapeout.com

Zero To ASIC Analog Course waiting list:
https://bit.ly/analogwaitlist

Virtual Machine with all the tools: https://github.com/TinyTapeout/analog...

Analog schematic capture & simulation with Stefan Schippers:    • Webinar  Analog schematic capture & ...  

My talk at Latchup:    • "Tiny Tapeout: custom silicon open to...  

Fifty Nifty Variations of TwoTransistor Circuit | Harald Pretl:    • Fifty Nifty Variations of TwoTransis...  

SkyWater SKY130 PDK: https://skywaterpdk.readthedocs.io/e...

xschem: https://xschem.sourceforge.io/stefan/...

magic VLSI: http://opencircuitdesign.com/magic/

ngspice: https://ngspice.sourceforge.io/