This project is an open-source RF IC reference design: a Phase-Programmable Low-Noise Amplifier (PP-LNA) for GNSS navigation applications, implemented using the IHP SG13G2 open PDK and open-source EDA software.
It demonstrates that serious RF silicon can be designed and reused without proprietary tools or restricted foundry access.
The goal is not just one chip, but a reproducible, teachable and extensible RFIC building block for the open-source semiconductor ecosystem.
For decades, IC or chip design has been inaccessible due to:
- expensive licensed EDA tools
- closed, NDA-restricted PDKs
- limited foundry access
Open-source IC design removes these barriers by combining:
- Open-source EDA tools → schematic, simulation, layout, EM, verification
- Open PDKs → legally usable transistor models and design rules
- Open collaboration → designs that anyone can study, modify, and reuse
This changes who can design chips:
- students can learn from real silicon designs
- researchers can publish reproducible hardware
- startups can prototype without expensive EDA tool licenses
This project exists because open-source ecosystem now makes semiconductor RFIC design possible removing existing commercial barriers.
A simple mental model:
- PDK = building codes + materials
- available devices
- electrical behavior
- layout and fabrication rules
- EDA tools = design and verification machinery
- draw circuits
- simulate performance
- generate layout
- verify correctness
Without tools → no design.
Without a PDK → no fabrication.
This project uses the IHP SG13G2 open PDK end-to-end with open-source tools to demonstrate that this combination is practically viable for RF IC design, not just digital examples.
The project will be developed using open-source EDA tools together with the IHP SG13G2 open PDK. No proprietary or licensed tools are required.
- xschem – schematic capture and netlisting
- Qucs-s – schematic capture and netlisting especially for RF
- ngspice – DC/AC, transient, noise and RF simulations
- Xyce (optional) – large-scale and parallel simulations
- KLayout – full-custom RF/analog layout, DRC, LVS and GDS editing
- Netgen – layout-vs-schematic (LVS) verification
- Magic – layout inspection and parasitic extraction (where applicable)
- openEMS – EM simulation of RF passives and interconnects
- Python-based workflows – simulation automation, result extraction and reproducibility
All tools listed are free, open-source and legally usable with the IHP open PDK.
This enables reproducible RF IC design without dependence on commercial EDA licenses.
A Low-Noise Amplifier (LNA) is the first active block after an antenna.
Its job is simple: Amplify extremely weak signals while adding as little noise as possible.
If the LNA is poor, no downstream processing can recover the RF wireless signal.
Think of the LNB on a satellite TV dish.
It amplifies a faint signal arriving from space before sending it down the cable. If it adds noise or distortion, the TV sees garbage.
This PP-LNA plays the same role — but for satellite navigation signals, where reliability and integrity are critical.
GNSS signals are extremely weak at the Earth’s surface — often below the thermal noise floor.
This makes them vulnerable to:
- Jamming: strong interference that overwhelms the receiver
- Spoofing: malicious signals that imitate GNSS transmissions and mislead the receiver
A single-antenna GNSS receiver has no spatial awareness. It cannot distinguish between genuine satellite signals and interference arriving from another direction.
As GNSS is increasingly used for navigation, timing, aviation and autonomous systems, resilience against these disruptions is essential.
CRPA systems use multiple antennas and spatial processing to counter jamming and spoofing.
By controlling the relative phase of signals from each antenna, a CRPA system can:
- form beams toward real satellites
- place spatial nulls toward jammers or spoofers
- improve signal integrity without changing satellite signals
To be effective, this spatial processing must occur as early as possible in the receiver chain.
That is where this PP-LNA fits.
This design targets NAVIC GNSS L5-band receivers and supports:
- anti-jamming
- anti-spoofing
- CRPA (beamforming) antenna systems
The PP-LNA integrates:
- a low-noise CMOS LNA
- a programmable RF phase shifter
Each antenna element uses one PP-LNA. Phase alignment is performed in RF, and signals are combined before the receiver.
This enables analog beamforming without requiring multiple high-speed ADCs or complex digital back-ends.
- one PP-LNA per antenna element
- programmable RF phase control per path
- external RF combiner (e.g., Wilkinson)
- standard NAVIC receiver chain remains unchanged
This modular approach allows CRPA capability to be added without redesigning the entire receiver.
This is planned to be a silicon-backed project, not simulation-only work.
- Design completion & sign-off: March 2026
- Tapeout at IHP foundry: March 2026
- Expected silicon delivery: August–September 2026
- Die assembly & packaging: October 2026
- Initial electrical & RF testing: October 2026
- Final CRPA / beamforming system testing: December 2026
The objective is end-to-end validation on fabricated silicon, including spatial interference rejection.
This project provides:
- a reference RF/CRPA front-end using an open PDK
- a teaching platform for RF, GNSS, and beamforming
- a reproducible research baseline for anti-jamming GNSS systems
- proof that open-source silicon can address real-world security problems
This is a research / proof-of-concept open-source design.