[Libre-soc-dev] [FOSDEM] [CfP] Libre/Open VLSI and FPGA devroom

[lkcl]

# Call for Papers

This is a new devroom dedicated to Libre/Open VLSI, aka "Nanoscale 3D
Printing".  It is a specialisation of the CAD/CAM / Open Hardware devroom.
Libre/Open VLSI, very excitingly, has begun to take off, recently.
NLnet sponsors several VLSI-related projects (Cell Libraries, HDL, VLSI
tools), Google sponsors Skywater 130nm MPWs.

Please distribute widely to interested parties: anything related to
VLSI and Open Tape-outs is welcome.

### What is FOSDEM?

_**FOSDEM is a free event for software developers to meet, share ideas
and collaborate.**
Every year, thousands of developers of free and open source software
from all over the world gather at the event in Brussels.
...
FOSDEM 2022 will take place on Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 February 2022.
It will be an online event._

### Important stuff:

- FOSDEM is free to attend. There is no registration.
- [FOSDEM website](https://fosdem.org/)
- [FOSDEM code of conduct](https://fosdem.org/2022/practical/conduct/)
- [FOSDEM Schedule](https://fosdem.org/2022/schedule/)

### Desirable topics:

This devroom welcomes anything related to the topic of nanoscale
3D printing - more commonly known as "VLSI ASIC design".  If you
are making an ASIC, or designing one, or using FPGAs, or developing
an FPGA Board, or developing tools and techniques that make VLSI ASIC
design easier, we'd love to hear from you.  Here's a list of topics:

- Open Hardware projects
- VLSI ASIC Design and Manufacture
  * Libre/Open DIY Foundries (nanoscale 3D printing)
  * Libre/Open VLSI tools and toolflow
  * Libre/Open VLSI Cell Libraries
  * VLSI Simulation and Verification
- VLSI Tools in use or in development
  * Silicon-proven (QFlow, coriolis2, OpenLANE)
  * Under development (LibreEDA, other)
  * Advances in Algorithmics in Place and Route and Layout
- FPGAs
  * Libre/Open FPGA designs
  * FPGA toolchains and Reverse-Engineering
  * FPGA workflow
- VLSI RTL and HDL
  * Advanced and innovative alternative HDL tools
  * Formal Correctness Proofs
  * Testing methodologies
  * Hardware Trust (and how to break it)
- Software Engineering as applied to Hardware
  * Continuous Integration for VLSI
  * Automated tool development (RTL to GDS-II)
  * Automated testing

### Topic overlap

There is quite a lot of overlap this year with:

* [CAD devroom](
https://fosdem.org/2022/schedule/track/open_source_computer_aided_modeling_and_design/),
* [Emulator devroom](https://fosdem.org/2022/schedule/track/emulator_development/)
* [Retro room](https://fosdem.org/2022/schedule/track/retrocomputing/)

It is entirely up to you as a speaker which devroom you choose: the
main reason for a new VLSI devroom this year is because it is a rapidly
expanding area formerly entirely NDA'd.

### How to submit your proposal

To submit a talk, please visit the [FOSDEM 2022 Pentabarf
website](https://penta.fosdem.org/submission/FOSDEM22) (the mystery of
whether pentabarf means barfing in 5 directions or in 5 colors has not
been solved yet).

Create an **event** and click on **Show all** in the top right corner
to display the full form.  Make sure you choose the right devroom
in the track drop-down menu (so that we see it rather than another
devroom's organisers)

### What should be in your submission

- name
- short bio
- contact info
- title (funny titles are ~~required~~/appreciated)
- abstract (what you're going talk about)
- duration

### Things to be aware of

* The reference time will be Brussels local lime (CET)
  <https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/belgium/brussels>
* Talks have to be pre-recorded in advance between the first two weeks
  of January, and will be streamed during the event.
* Q/A session will be taken live, just after each recorded talk. As
  such, please make sure that you will be online and available on the
  day of the event.
* A facility will be provided for people watching to chat between
  themselves.
* A facility will be provided for people watching to submit questions.

### Important Dates

- **December 28th: submission deadline**
  - FAQ - is the submission deadline final?
    - Technically speaking, you can submit talks till pentabarf
      closes, which should be somewhere in January
    - However, talks submitted before the 29th get a higher precedence
- ASAP: announcement selected talks
- January: speakers are contacted to upload pre-record sessions
- February 6th: FOSDEM! (with live Q&A during recorded talks)

### Contact us

- [Luke Leighton](mailto:lkcl at lkcl.net)
- [Christophe PFaab](mailto:pfaab at uni-bremen.de)
- "lkcl" or "mwfc" on #fosdem Libera.Chat IRC