From virtual testing to physical reality

Students send their chip design for production

For the first time as part of a regular course, a team of DTU students is sending a self-designed microchip for physical production at a US-based manufacturing facility.

Two weeks ago, the groups went through the examination with presentations of their individual contributions and the final integrated solution. Credit Hanne Kokkegård

Thursday 21 May 2026

Hanne Kokkegård

For many years, chip design at universities has primarily been tested virtually. The costs were too expensive to finish the whole process. Now, however, 20 DTU students have taken the decisive next step: moving from simulation and software testing to real hardware production to get a kind of hands-on understanding and learning.

The students have followed a course giving them an introduction to the design of digital integrated circuits, covering the fundamentals of digital circuits, the tools involved, and the complete process of designing a chip.

Sending a chip for physical production offers a very different learning experience compared to testing designs purely online, explains the teacher in charge, Professor Martin Schoeberl from the Embedded Systems Engineering section of DTU Compute:

“The students go through all the final – and often most challenging – stages of chip development. Once the design has been sent off, it cannot simply be changed with a click. This gives them a very concrete and instructive understanding of what it really means to develop hardware.”

Teamwork to finish the chip design process

Since the beginning of February, the students have followed the Chip Design course. Most of them come from the Bachelor of Science programme in Computer Engineering at DTU Compute, but some come from other study programmes such as Electrical Engineering, reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of modern chip design.

Working in teams, the students have designed parts of the chip, which have now been integrated into a single, complete chip design.

Two weeks ago, the groups went through the examination with presentations of their individual contributions and the final integrated solution.

Open-source tools

A key principle of the course is openness. The software tools, teaching materials, and the final chip process design kits (PDKs) are all open-source and freely available. This includes lecture slides, an emerging textbook, and the student chip itself, which is published on GitHub.

The manufacturing goes through the platform ChipFoundry.io, a fast and cost-effective way and works as the company between DTU and the chip foundry Skywater Technology in Minnesota in US.

The story continues below the photo.

The cool students who have worked with chip design during the spring semester together with Professor Martin Schoeberl.

European chip design depends on better education

The world had the chip crisis during COVID-19, where we suddenly ran out of microchips, because they are produced in Asia, which delayed the production of almost every electrical equipment.

That was an eye-opener for the European Union and illustrated clearly that we needed to start our own chip production. The answer is the EU Chips Act for European independence in chip design and production.

“At the same time the Danish chip design industry lacks well-educated chip design engineers. Our new course on chip design is meant to strengthen our education in that area,” says Martin Schoeberl.

External funding for manufacturing

This year’s microchip is expected to return to DTU in approximately six to ten months.

The manufacturing has been made possible with help from the Edu4Chip project (USD 15,000) funded by the European Union. Edu4Chip is an education project that brings together several European universities to strengthen advanced chip design education.

The course is expected to run again next year.

One of the challenges ahead will be securing additional funding – potentially through industry partnerships – to ensure that more students can experience the entire journey from initial design to a physically manufactured chip.

Professor at DTU Compute Martin Schoeberl
Martin Schoeberl is a professor in the Embedded Systems Engineering section at DTU Compute and works with chip design.

Contact

Martin Schoeberl

Martin Schoeberl Professor

Electrotechnology Mathematics