Sponsor: Google Inc. USA and IEEE Solid State Circuit Society (SSCS), IEEE USA
Fig.1: Sermo_soc block diagram.
Sermo SoC (details here) implemented different components used in a servo motor controller. The components include a Closed Loop PID Controller, PWM Generator, Delta Sigma Input (Decimation Filters such as CIC Filters), and Direct Digital Synthesizers (DDS) for Generating Sinusoids. This SoC was fabricated by Google Sponsored Project Efabless MPW-II. This design also featured in IEEE Solid State Society Magazine, “Democratizing IC Design: The Story of a New Movement and the Launch of the SSCS PICO Program” p.123.
Fig.2: The picture of UET’s fabricated chip along with an evaluation board.
The fabrication of this SoC, costing around $10,000, was entirely funded by Google through the Efabless MPW-II Program. This design was also highlighted in the IEEE Solid State Society Magazine in the article “Democratizing IC Design: The Story of a New Movement and the Launch of the SSCS PICO Program” on page 123. Through this initiative, UET Lahore became one of the four universities chosen for the IEEE Pico Program, marking Lahore, Pakistan’s entry into the IC design field for the first time. Participants from 15 different countries were involved in this program, with UET Lahore being the first selected, as illustrated in Fig.3 and Fig. 4.
Fig.3: The SSCS purchased ten 130-nm CMOS shuttle seats on Efabless’s chipIgnite program, UET Lahore SERMO_SoC got one out of first four shuttle seats
Fig.4: The 15 locations of 18 design teams selected for the 2021 SSCS PICO Design Contest.