BUET completes Pragati v1 tape-out

The Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) has achieved a major milestone in semiconductor research by successfully completing the tape-out of Pragati v1, a fully open-source 32-bit RISC-V processor developed by the university’s Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE).

The achievement marks Bangladesh’s entry into indigenous semiconductor chip design and represents a significant step towards developing a national semiconductor ecosystem.

BUET announced the milestone through a press release issued on Wednesday, saying the fabricated chip had arrived at the university after being produced under an open-source fabrication programme.

To commemorate the achievement, a souvenir of the fabricated chip was presented to BUET Acting Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Abdul Hasib Chowdhury.

The event was attended by project supervisor Prof ABM Harun-ur Rashid, EEE Department Head Prof Mominuzzaman, Neural Semiconductor Limited CEO Md Shakhawat Hossain, iTest Inc Director Syed Munir, iTest Bangladesh Engineering Lead Md Mashur Shalehin, and members of the development research team.

The project was led by Prof ABM Harun-ur Rashid and developed by undergraduate students Khalid Hossain and Sheikh Tariful Islam, with technical support from Neural Semiconductor Limited.

The processor has been designed as a System-on-Chip (SoC) for smart household appliances, including air conditioners, smart refrigerators and various Internet of Things (IoT) applications.

Built on the open-standard RISC-V Instruction Set Architecture (ISA), Pragati v1 was developed entirely using open-source Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools and the IHP SG13G2 130 nm open-source Process Design Kit (PDK).

The chip was fabricated free of charge by IHP – Leibniz Institute for High Performance Microelectronics, Germany, under its open-source fabrication programme.

BUET said the successful tape-out of Pragati v1 would contribute to building local expertise in semiconductor design and support future research and innovation in chip development.