MERL Students Launch Open-Source "Vaquita - RISC V Vector Core" Project

We're excited to introduce "Vaquita - RISC V Vector Core," a project developed by our dedicated students at MERL under the guidance of Research Assistant Talha Ahmed. In this initial release, our students have achieved significant milestones, including mastering the Zvl128b architecture, implementing essential arithmetic and configuration instructions, and applying advanced masking techniques for efficient data processing within vectors. "Vaquita Core" is now open-source, and we invite everyone to collaborate and contribute to this exciting initiative. Join us in celebrating this groundbreaking endeavor, and a big shoutout to our talented students: Hamna Mohiuddin (Lead), Maira Usman, Hafsa Shoaib, Abdul Samad Siddiqui, Syed Hassan ul Haq, Saad Ali, and Latif Bhatti! 🌟🌊 #MERL #VaquitaCore

Selection of Abdul Samad in LFX Mentorship Summer'2023

Our Researcher at MERL and 4 semester software engineering student at UIT University got selected in The Linux Foundation Mentorship for Summer 2023 offered by Open Mainframe Project. He will be working on the project "Open Mainframe - Zowe Python SDK Enhancements" for the next 3 month. Congratulations to him from entire Team MERL for such remarkable achievement in such early stage of his studies. MERL is touching new milestones with every new achievement, truly a positive outcome of our open source ecosystem implementation. Congratulations to Abdul Samad Siddiqui of Batch-21B SE, wishing you a good luck with this new endeavor.

Selection of Mahnoor Ismail in GSoC'23

We'd like to announce that 4 of our researchers from Micro Electronics Research Lab (MERL) at UIT University has been selected in Google Summer of Code this year. On behalf of entire Team MERL We Congratulate Abdul Muheet Ghani and Qurrat ul ain Alam from department of Electrical Engineering of Batch-19B at UIT and Mahnoor Ismail and Shahzaib Kashif from department of Computer Science of Batch-18B of UIT for this remarkable achievement. MERL's mission is to enable Pakistani students to be part of the International Ecosystem where the actual Inventions are being done, So these students can be a medium for making Pakistan more prosperous in front of the World. Well wishes to these 4 individuals from entire MERL Team and Best of Luck for the Future.

Selection of Shahzaib Kashif in GSoC'23

Selection of Abdul Muheet in GSoC'23

Selection of Qurat ul Ain in GSoC'23

Selection of Shayan Baig in LFX Mentorship Spring'2023

Our Research Intern at MERL and 5th semester Computer Science student at UIT University got selected in The Linux Foundation Mentorship for Spring 2023 offered by RISC-V International. He will be working on the project "Adding Single Precision Floating Point (F) extension in NuclrusRV Core" for the next 3 months. Congratulations to him from entire Team Micro Electronics Research Lab for such remarkable achievement. MERL is touching new milestones with every new achievement, truly a positive outcome of our open source ecosystem implementation. Congratulations to Shayan Baig of Batch-20B CS, wishing you a good luck with this new endeavor.

Selection of Mohsin Siddiqui in LFX Mentorship Spring'2023

Our Research Assistant at MERL and Software Engineering Graduate of UIT University got selected in The Linux Foundation Mentorship for Spring 2023 offered by RISC-V International. He will be working on the project "Implement Tilelink Uncached Heavyweight (TL-UH) in Caravan Framework" for the next 3 months. Congratulations to him from entire Team Micro Electronics Research Lab for such remarkable achievement. MERL is touching new milestones with every new achievement, truly a positive outcome of our open source ecosystem implementation. Congratulations to Mohsin Siddiqui of Batch-18B SE, wishing you a good luck with this new endeavor.

MERL Mentors 2 Projects in The Linux Foundation Mentorships by RISC-V International this Spring

Micro Electronics Research Lab (MERL) is Mentoring 2 Projects in The Linux Foundation Mentorships by RISC-V International this Spring. Project 01: Adding Single Precision Floating Point (F) extension in NucleusRV Core Mentors: Usman Zain ul Abedin, Talha Ahmed, Shahzaib Kashif. Link: https://lnkd.in/d52fYf2u Project 02: Implement Tilelink Uncached Heavyweight (TL-UH) in Caravan Framework Mentors: Muhammad Hadir Khan, Shahzaib Kashif Link: https://lnkd.in/dXn4sQUA Applications are Open from today (10th January) til 7th February. Interested Candidates are encouraged to apply via LFX Mentorships Portal.

MERL-UITU Research Assistant Shahzaib Kashif to Speak at RISC-V Mentorship Showcase 2022

We are pleased to inform that Shahzaib Kashif , a Research Assistant at MERL-UITU and a CHISEL Developer at Intensivate, will be speaking at the "RISC-V Mentorship Showcase for 2022 Programs." This virtual event is being held by RISC-V International to highlight all the mentorships that have influenced the RISC-V Ecosystem. Shahzaib Kashif is a Software Engineer from the UIT University's 2018 batch. Since his second semester, he has been involved with MERL and has contributed to a number of international and MERL projects. He was selected for the RISC-V Mentorship Programme for the Spring period (March to May, 2022). In the project "Adding RISC-V RV64G Support in AOSP 12 Emulator," he was chosen as a mentor's mentee. Bravo to you. Good luck in your future endeavors from the whole MERL team.

Kinza Qamar Zaman: MERL Research Intern Completes Google Summer of Code 2022 with Project Tiny Parro

Our Research Intern Kinza Qamar Zaman has successfully completed the Google Summer of Code 2022 on project "Tiny Parrot" . Many Congratulations to her from the entire team of MERL upon her such tremendous achievement. She definitely has the potential to achieve everything she desires. She has such an amazing level of enthusiasm, creativity and dedication. We all wish her success in her future endeavors

MERL Research Assistant Shahzaib Kashif Joins Intensivate as CHISEL Developer: Congratulations!

Our Research Assistant Shahzaib Kashif has recently been hired as a CHISEL Developer at Intensivate, a Berkeley based start-up that aims to design the World’s Most Efficient Analytics Processor. Shahzaib Kashif, who is a Software Engineer of Batch-2018 from UIT University and has been working as a Research Assistant in MERL-UITU, has around 3 years of experience in designing RISC-V based core using Constructing Hardware in Scala Embedded Language (CHISEL) HDL. He has also been selected as a Mentee in Linux Foundation (LFX) Mentorship Programme by RISC-V for his project "Porting AOSP 12 Emulator to RISC-V RV64G". On behalf of the entire MERL team, we would like to congratulate Shahzaib on his new position and wish him the best of luck in his future ventures.

Completion of GSoC'22 Contribution of 'Talha Ahmed'

Our Research Intern Talha Ahmed has successfully completed the Google Summer of Code (GSoC) 2022 on project "OpenRegFile" . Many Congratulations to him from the entire team of MERL upon his such tremendous achievement. He definitely has the potential to achieve everything he desires. He has such an amazing level of enthusiasm, creativity and dedication. We all wish him success in his future endeavors.

Completion of GSoC'22 Contribution of 'Nameer Iqbal'

Our Research Intern Nameer Iqbal has successfully completed the Google Summer of Code (GSoC) 2022 on project "Add FuseSoC support at SoC level for Azadi SoC" . Many Congratulations to him from the entire team of MERL upon his such tremendous achievement. He definitely has the potential to achieve everything he desires. He has such an amazing level of enthusiasm, creativity and dedication. We all wish him success in his future endeavors.

Completion of LFX Mentorship of 'Shahzaib Kashif'

Our Research Intern shahzaib kashif has successfully completed the 3 months duration Linux Foundation Mentorship by RISC-V on project "Porting AOSP 12 to RISC-V RV64GC" . Many Congratulations to him from the entire team of MERL upon his such tremendous achievement. He definitely has the potential to achieve everything he desires. He has such an amazing level of enthusiasm, creativity and dedication. We all wish him success in his future endeavors.

MERL Contribution in GSoC #03

MERL is contributing in Open Source with Project "Integration of Compressed (C) Extension in NucleusRV Core" under the Mentorships of our Graduate Research Intern "Usman Zain" . Abdul Wadod will be the Contributor for this Project.

MERL Contribution in GSoC #02

MERL is contributing in Open Source with Project "Development of a Python Compiler for a Resource-Efficient SRAM-based TCAM" under the Mentorships of our Team Lead "Dr. Ali Ahmed" and Graduate Research Intern "Sajjad Ahmed". Usman Siddiqui will be the Contributor for this Project.

MERL Contribution in GSoC #01

MERL is contributing in Open Source with Project "Add FuseSoC Support at SoC level for Azadi SoC" under the Mentorships of our Graduate Research Intern "Zeeshan Rafique" and Research Associate "Zain Khan". Nameer Iqbal Ansari will be the Contributor for this Project.

Selection of Talha Ahmed in GSoC'22 as a Contributor

Our Research Intern at MERL and a Final Year Software Engineering Student at Usman Institute of Technology - University (UITU), Talha Ahmed has been selected as a Contributor for this year's Google Summer of Code (GSoC'22). He will be contributing in the project "Register File Generator" for Univeristy of California - Center for Research in Open Source Software (UC-CROSS) Organization.

Selection of Nimra Khan in GSoC'22 as a Contributor

Our Research Intern at MERL and a Third Year Electronic Engineering Student at Usman Institute of Technology - University (UITU), Nimra Khan has been selected as a Contributor for this year's Google Summer of Code (GSoC'22). She will be contributing in the project "Demos and Tutorials" for Univeristy of California - Center for Research in Open Source Software (UC-CROSS) Organization.

Selection of Nameer Iqbal in GSoC'22 as a Contributor

Our Research Intern at MERL and a Third Year Electronic Engineering Student at Usman Institute of Technology - University (UITU), Nameer Iqbal Ansari has been selected as a Contributor for this year's Google Summer of Code (GSoC'22). He will be contributing in the project "Add FuseSoC support at SoC level for Azadi-SoC and Rebase IBEX Core with latest commit" for Micro Electronics Research Lab (MERL-UITU) Organization.

Selection of Kinza Qamar in GSoC'22 as Contributor

Our Research Intern at MERL and an Final Year Computer Systems Engineering Student at Usman Institute of Technology - University (UITU), Kinza Qamar Zaman has been selected as a Contributor for this year's Google Summer of Code (GSoC'22). She will be contributing in the project "TinyParrot: A Minimal Blackparrot RISC-V Multicore Variant" for Free Open Source Silicon (FOSSI) Foundation Organization.

Selection of Rameen Anwar in GSoC'22 as Contributor

Our Physical Design Engineer at MERL who is also serving as a Jr. Lecturer in the Dept of Electrical Engineering at Usman Institute of Technology - University (UITU), Miss Rameen Anwar has been selected as a Contributor for this year's Google Summer of Code (GSoC'22). She will be contributing in the project "Fault Silicon Validation and Open MPW Integration" for Free Open Source Silicon (FOSSI) Foundation Organization.

Collaborate with MERL in Google Summer of Code (GSoC)

Another Milestone, Micro Electronics Research Lab - MERL UIT at UIT University is participating in Google Summer of Code 2022 as an organisation member. Now you can join as mentees in projects, if interested: Please see the list of projects: Click Here !

Selection of 'Usman Zain' in LFX Mentorship as Mentee

It’s year 2022 and we are pleased to announce another ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED!! Pakistan placing it's name in The Linux Foundation mentorship program. Congratulations Usman Zain, a Research Associate at Micro Electronics Research Lab has been selected as a Mentee in the Linux Foundation Mentorship’22 programme to contribute in opensource software porting on RISC-V under the mentorship of Wei Wu and Ji Qui from PLCT lab China. The LFX Mentorship Program has total 7 RISCV projects. 5 of which have selected Mentees, 3 out of 5 mentees are from Pakistan and 2 out of 3 are from MERL-UIT University. #research #mentorship #LFX #riscv

Selection of 'Shahzaib Kashif' in LFX Mentorship as Mentee

After putting a lot of effort into achieving milestones, that we never thought of but with selfless efforts and devotion, we have made it. Now, it’s a start of year 2022 and we are pleased to announce another ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED !! Pakistan 🇵🇰 placing it's name on Linux Foundation. Congratulations Shahzaib Kashif, a Research Intern at MERL and a student in the 7th semester Software Engineering Department, has been selected as a Mentee in the Linux Foundation Mentorship '22 programme. It is a platform developed by the Linux Foundation, which accelerates the adoption, innovation, and sustainability of open source software. #mentorship #opensource #LFX #MERL #UITU

Selected as RISC-V Ambassador

Congratulations to Zeeshan Rafique, who is a current student in Computer Systems Engineering of batch 2017 at Usman Institute of Technology - UIT is selected as Pakistan’s first RISC-V Ambassador. He is passionate about RISC-V and working on it since 2019. He is willing to spread the word RISC-V among different universities of Pakistan.

Selection in GSoC as Mentee

Congratulations! We would like to congratulates Mr. Zeeshan Rafique for being selected as a Mentee in Google Summer of Code, 2021 to work with FOSSi Foundation.

First CHISEL based Indigenously Built Microprocessor of Pakistan

“Ibtida” means "The Beginning", this System on a Chip (SoC) is the start of many RISC-V-based SoCs to come. It is the first CHISEL-based chip that have been taped out from Pakistan, designed by Muhammad Hadir Khan, Sajjad Ahmed, and Usman Zain; engineering graduate and undergraduate students respectively. The physical layout of the design is achieved by Aireen Amir Jalal, who is also an engineering graduate. Ibtida is a simple SoC, with GPIO as a peripheral, external instruction, and data memories, connected with the Tilelink interconnect. It is built around RISC-V-based 5 stage pipelined core Buraq-Mini, all developed from scratch using CHISEL. FEATURES:

RV32IM extension support.
5 stage pipelined core.
Separate instruction and data memories (each 256 Bytes).
TileLink Un-Cached Lightweight (TL-UL) Bus Protocol.
GPIO peripheral with 30 I/Os connected to the I/O pads.

First Verilog based Indigeneously built Microprocessor of Pakistan

An SoC (System on a Chip) design for Google-sponsored Open MPW shuttles for SKY130. The processor core is the 3-stage version of the Buraq Core RV32IMC. The hardware implementation incorporates options such as IRQ, Multiply, Divide, and the compressed (16 bit) ISA for embedded applications. The SoC has peripherals such as GPIO, UART, a platform level interrupt controller (PLIC) as well as a timer and a debug module all connected using the Tilelink Interconnect and is going to be fabricated using a 130nm process in collaboration with Efabless and SkyWater which will be funded by Google. FEATURES:

Support for M extension with a single cycle "Fast" multiplier
Separate instruction and data memories
Tilelink Un-Cached Lightweight (TL-UL) Bus Protocol
32 GPIO with configurable interrupts and option for masked writing
2 pin full duplex UART
RISC-V compliant interrupt controller
64-bit timer with 12-bit prescaler and 8-bit step register
JTAG Test Access Port (TAP) for debug

Kick Starting of Semiconductor Revolution in Pakistan

MERL is a project aimed to enable Pakistan to become a recognized global player in the semiconductor industry. MERL has developed the country’s first homegrown open-source microprocessor. The UITU team leveraged the
RISC-V-based open-source architecture to produce the said processor that may transform the local tech manufacturing industry.
Behind the remarkable development are UITU’s undergraduate engineering and computer science students, faculty, and a couple of international mentors. UITU is the only undergraduate nstitute in Pakistan to be teaching processor designing based on RISC-V in the undergraduate program.

Pakistan's 1st Microprocessor

Remarkable Achievement by MERL-UITU, Developed Pakistan’s First Microprocessor. Making the use of open resource technology in collaboration with Google, Two Systems-On-Chip Microprocessors contain RISC-V in Pakistan’s initial “Microelectronics Research Lab” at Usman Institute of Technology University, an IT engineering Institute of Pakistan.

These microprocessors were made under a Google-funded program and were chosen 40 open solution processors designed in different countries all over the world have arrived at UITU, Pakistan in chip layout on 29 th December 2021.

Ibtida (ابتدا) Project Launch

Another good news, another tapeout, but this time for 𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐄𝐋 community.
We started our journey from scratch with RISC-V, an opensource ISA and opensource tools and technology to tape out Pakistan’s first Ibtida-(ابتد) SoC written in CHISEL. The journey has gone through micro-architecture, verification and finally the GDS generation, all by using open source tools.
Thanks to Google and Free and Open Source Silicon (FOSSi) Foundation for free tapeouts, Skywater, Efabless Corporation for free 130nm PDKs, University of California, Berkeley for RISC-V and UIT Usman Institute of Technology for believing in us.
The Constructing Hardware in a Scala Embedded Language (CHISEL) is an open-source Hardware Construction language (HCL) that inherits the object-oriented functional aspects of Scala for describing digital hardware, developed by University of California, Berkeley.

Ghazi (غازی) Project Launch

Through continuous perseverance, devotion and selfless efforts of the entire team, we are pleased to announce a milestone achievement check:

"First ever RISC-V based SOC tape out"
Ghazi -SoC, written in Verilog, fabricated on 130nm SkyWater PDK.
This will be first ever RISC-V Processor tapeout from Pakistan.
Thanks to Google, Efabless Corporation, Free and Open Source Silicon (FOSSi) Foundation and Usman Institute of Technology for this wonderful opportunity and platform.

Let's embark to achieve new milestones in year 2021.

Happy New Year 2021!

TSMC Collabration

UIT Usman Institute of Technology, is the one of Universities in Pakistan to have signed an NDA with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) in Collaboration with MERL-UIT.
TSMC is the world's largest Semiconductor Foundry. TSMC provides an industry-leading specialty technologies portfolio that complements its advanced technology leadership. The company supports a thriving ecosystem of global customers and partners with the industry’s leading process technologies and portfolio of design enablement solutions to unleash innovation for the global semiconductor industry.

MERL-UIT joins RISC-V International Summit

MERL-UIT, has successfully presented tutorial on Reverse Engineering of Rocket Chip in the 3^rd annual RISC-V International summit, San Jose, California, USA. The program featured three days of talks around architectures, hardware, software, tools, verification and security, and case studies from the global RISC-V community.
Technology companies and research institutions shared notable product updates, projects, and implementations, and discussed the role of the RISC-V instruction set architecture (ISA) in driving next generation of hardware, software, and intellectual property (IP). The event also featured an online exhibition hall and networking opportunities.

MERL Becomes member of CHIPS Alliance

MERL has now become a part of Chips Alliance.
For futher details please visit the link below:
https://chipsalliance.org/

RISC-V Tech Symposium

Dr. Syed Roomi Naqvi visited the 2-day RISC-V Tech Symposium which was held on Dec 10,11, 2019. Yunsup Lee, CTO of SiFive did specifically mention the MERL-UIT Lab and how much he was impressed by the passion of the students there. The key takeaways from the Symposium are:
1. RISC-V is a movement that has garnered a lot of momentum and passion, the energy was palpable and it is paradigm is open source EVERYTHING. As such it is very well suited for MERL research.
2. RISC-V has got multiple high-level backers like Western Digital, Samsung, Ali Baba, etc.
3. RISC-V is all about open source hardware and co-optimization of hardware and software.

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