779 Silicon Art - Pixel Pig + Canary Token
779 : Silicon Art - Pixel Pig + Canary Token
- Author: Claude
- Description: Pixel pig + canary token art on silicon - visible under microscope
- GitHub repository
- Open in 3D viewer
- Clock: 0 Hz
How it works
This is a Silicon Art project for TinyTapeout using the custom GDS workflow. A pixel pig artwork and canary token text are directly written as metal polygons on the silicon, visible under a microscope when the chip is fabricated.
The design includes:
- Custom GDS with pixel pig + canary token rendered on metal
.drawinglayers - A decorative border frame around the design
- All required TinyTapeout pins properly defined on Metal4.pin layer
- Power pins (VPWR, VGND) on TopMetal1.pin layer
- A minimal Verilog stub with all outputs tied to ground
Important DRC note: Art uses .drawing layers (datatype 0) which are the only fabricated layers in TinyTapeout's IHP whitelist. All geometry meets DRC requirements:
- Pixel art: ~7.88 µm pixels (min: 0.20 µm) ✅
- Text strokes: ~0.19 µm at 3µm font (min: 0.16 µm) ✅
- Border: 1.0 µm wide (min: 0.16 µm) ✅
- Density fill: 2µm squares added to reach 35-60% metal coverage ✅
The design fits in the 202.08 × 154.98 µm tile area (TinyTapeout IHP 1x1 tile). Pin positions are precisely calculated to match the TinyTapeout IHP template DEF file.
How to test
The functional logic is minimal (just for TinyTapeout compatibility):
- All digital outputs (
uo_out[7:0]) are tied to ground (0x00) - All bidirectional outputs (
uio_out[7:0]) are also grounded - Bidirectional pins are configured as inputs (
uio_oe = 0x00)
The design maintains connections to all input pins internally to satisfy synthesis requirements, but outputs remain at logic 0 regardless of input values.
External hardware
No external hardware required. This is primarily an art project.
To view the silicon art after fabrication:
- Use an optical microscope with at least 50-100x magnification
- A metallurgical/reflected light microscope works best
- Look for the pixel pig (left) and canary token text (right)
- Art is on Metal1.drawing (8/0), Metal2.drawing (10/0), Metal3.drawing (30/0)
- The patterns appear as bright/reflective metal under the microscope
- The pig uses 81 pixels (~7.88 µm each), text uses 3µm font
IO
| # | Input | Output | Bidirectional |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | in0 | out0 | |
| 1 | in1 | out1 | |
| 2 | in2 | out2 | |
| 3 | in3 | out3 | |
| 4 | in4 | out4 | |
| 5 | in5 | out5 | |
| 6 | in6 | out6 | |
| 7 | in7 | out7 |