MLEM, named after the sound Yoshi (from Super Mario) makes when eating a tasty fruit, is the first tapeout based on the Croc SoC platform. MLEM was designed and prepared for tapeout by students using a complete open- source tool flow, including a new SystemVerilog frontend for Yosys developed by Martin Poviser. This chip serves as a pilot for the new Open VLSI Lecture due to start in 2025, where students get the opportunity to prepare a Croc tapeout with any custom addition they may choose to add in IHP 130nm Open PDK.
