Olivier Thomas of Texplained shows how open-source silicon enables practical, mask-level supply chain validation by aligning recovered layouts with known designs to detect and fully characterize hardware backdoors.
Open-source silicon changes how integrated-circuit supply chains can be validated. Public access to design artifacts enables direct comparison between intended layouts and manufactured devices, making it possible to detect unauthorized modifications introduced during fabrication. By recovering mask data from physical chips and aligning it with known design references, hardware backdoors become observable rather than theoretical. Achieving this level of assurance requires overcoming practical barriers tied to cost, speed and scale. Advances in delayering workflows, distortion correction and grid-based alignment now allow large designs to be analyzed efficiently.
This video lesson, taught by Olivier Thomas, founder and CTO at Texplained, will cover:
- Why open-source silicon improves trust in manufacturing integrity;
- Making mask recovery viable at scale and cost;
- Correcting image distortion and alignment across layers.
Here is the course outline:
Making Integrated-Circuit Supply Chain Validation Easier With Open-Source Silicon |
Completion
The following certificates are awarded when the course is completed:
 |
CPE Credit Certificate |
