Electric VLSI Design

System

Electric VLSI Design System

Schematic Capture
Layout Editor
Rule Checker for Layout
LVS
DRC

Its Open Source and Free!!!

Electric VLSI Design System

Installation
Pre requisite
Java

Get Electric VLSI Tool

Double Click on electric-9.04.jar file

Configuration:
Increasing Java
Virtual Memory Size
File -> Preferences -> General
-> General
Increase the Maximum Memory
and Maximum Permanent
Space

Configuration: SPICE Simulation

Engine
Electric Software need SPICE Simulation Engine
Requires to simulate SPICE code
SPICE (Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit
Emphasis) language
SPICE Simulation Engine: LTSPICE

Configuration:
LTSPICE with
ELECTRIC
File -> Preferences -> Tools
-> Spice/CDL
Change Spice Engine and
Spice Level to spice 3 and
3 respectively

Configuration:
LTSPICE with
ELECTRIC
File -> Preferences -> Tools ->
Spice/CDL
Place LTSPICE scad3.exe
application in same folder of
ELECTRIC Software
Edit the following
After Writing deck select
Run, Ignore Output
Run Program -> .\scad3.exe
With args -> -i $
{FILENAME} -r $
{FILENAME_NO_EXT}.raw -o $
{FILENAME_NO_EXT}.out
Check Overwrite output file

SPICE
Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit
Emphasis
To design and analyze behavior of the circuit

SPICE: Design Flow

Constructing the circuit
Specifying the related Technology files like model files.
Specifying the type of analysis
Performing the simulation and Evaluating the result

SPICE: Simulation Flow

Schematic
Capture

SPICE Netlist

Circuit Simulation

Constructing the Circuit

Schematic capture
Schematic capture tools
ELECTRIC VLSI TOOL
LTSPICE, etc

Schematic of a CMOS inverter

OR

Writing SPICE Netlist manually using

SPICE Commands

SPICE Commands
C device - Capacitor.
C{name} {+node} {-node} [{model}] {value} [IC={initial}]
CLOAD 15 0 20pF
L device - Inductor.
L{name} {+node} {-node} [model] {value} [IC={initial}]
R device - Resistor.
R{name} {+node} {-node} [{model}] {value}
M device - MOSFET.
M{name} {d} {g} {s} {sub} {mdl} [L={value}] [W={value}]
+ [AD={value}] [AS={value}]
+ [PD={value}] [PS={value}]
+ [NRD={value}] [NRS={value}]

SPICE Commands
V device - Voltage Source.
V{name} {+node} {-node} [[DC] {value}] [AC {mag} [{phase}]]
Examples:
VGS G GND DC 2.3mV
EXPONENTIAL
EXP( {v1} {v2} {trise_delay} {tau_rise} {tfall_delay} {tau_fall) )
PULSE
PULSE( {v1} {v2} {tdelay} {trise} {tfall} {width} {period} )
PIECE WISE LINEAR
PWL( {time1} {v1} {time2} {v2} ... {time3} {v3} )
SINGLE FREQUENCY FM
SFFM( {voffset} {vpeak} {fcarrier} {mod_index} {fsignal} )
SINE WAVE
SIN( {voffset} {vpeak} {freq} {tdelay} {damp_factor} {phase} )

Constructing the Circuit

Writing SPICE Netlist manually
SPICE Netlist for a CMOS Inverter
Mnmos-4@0 D G gnd gnd NMOS L=0.6U W=0.6U
Mpmos-4@0 D G net@3 net@3 PMOS L=0.6U
W=0.6U
VVDD net@3 gnd DC 5V
VVin net@21 gnd DC 0V

Constructing the Circuit in Electric

Open electric-9.04.jar
Creating cell
Cell -> New Cell

Constructing the Circuit in Electric

In New Cell Window
Select Schematic
Give name of schematic in Name box
Click OK

Constructing the Circuit in Electric

Constructing Inverter Circuit
NMOS, PMOS, Voltage
Sources and Ground

NMOS and PMOS

Click on the small black arrow
next to MOS symbol as shown
in Figure

Select NMOS and place on

the schematic window
Select PMOS and place on
the schematic window

Constructing the Circuit in Electric

Selecting Voltage
Source
Click on the black
arrow in Spice box
Select DCVoltage
from the list
Place the component
on schematic

Select Ground from

the components
window and place it
on the schematic

Constructing the Circuit in Electric

Connecting the components
Left click on source and right
click on destination
For Example, if you want to
connect voltage source to
Gate of MOS, then left click on
the top of voltage source and
right click on the Gate of MOS

Connect all the components

in the same way

Constructing the Circuit in Electric

Final Circuit

Component Properties
Properties
window
Double click on
component or
click cntl+I to
open properties
window

Renaming the components and

wires
Input source is named
as in
Electric software will
place a V as a prefix
to the name
In SPICE prefix V
indicates the
component is an
Voltage Source
Thus final name is
Vin

Renaming the components and

wires
Power source is named
as DD
Electric software will
place a V as a prefix
to the name
Thus final name is
VDD
Setting the voltage to
5V

Renaming the components and

wires
For NMOS and PMOS
The length and Width
are multiples of
Scale in technology
settings
Example, here length
is
2 * technology scale in
settings

Changing Technology
Scale
File->Preferences-

Renaming the components and

wires
Changing Name of
Wires/nets
Double click on wire
Change the name in
properties window.

Saving the Entire Project

Projects are saved in the form of libraries with extension
.jelib
File->Save Library As..
In the pop-up window specify the name and click on
save button

Constructing the Circuit

After All
changes

Specifying the related Technology

files like model files.
Technology files
Contains the device
parameters
Can be provided from
Manufacturer

Example: Model file for a

NMOS level = 3

.MODEL NMOS NMOS LEVEL = 3

+ TOX = 200E-10
NSUB = 1E17
GAMMA = 0.5
+ PHI = 0.7
VTO = 0.8
DELTA =
3.0
+ UO
= 650
ETA = 3.0E-6
THETA
= 0.1
+ KP
= 120E-6
VMAX = 1E5
KAPPA = 0.3
+ RSH = 0
NFS = 1E12
TPG
=1
+ XJ
= 500E-9
LD
= 100E-9
+ CGDO = 200E-12
CGSO = 200E-12
CGBO = 1E-10
+ CJ
= 400E-6
PB
=1
MJ
=
0.5
+ CJSW = 300E-12
MJSW = 0.5

Specifying the related Technology

files like model files.
SPICE Command

.include path_to_technology_file_name
Or

.lib path_to_technology_file_name.lib

Specifying the type of analysis

AC Analysis

.AC [LIN][OCT][DEC] {points} {start}

{end}
.AC LIN 101 10Hz 200Hz
.DC {varname} {start} {end} {incr}

DC Analysis

.DC VIN -.25 .25 .05

.TRAN {print step value} {final time}

Transient Analysis

.TRAN 5NS 100NS

Specifying the related Technology

files and Analysis
Click black arrow in misc box -> select Spice Code.
Place the text on the schematic window

Specifying the related Technology

files and Analysis
After selecting text -> Click ctrl+I which opens
properties window
Check multi-line text
Write required spice code
Technology file: .include .\models.txt
DC Analysis: .dc Vin 0 5 0.1 Click
Ctrl + i

Attaching MOS components to

technology library
Click on the MOS
device
Go to tools->
Simulation(spice) ->
Set Spice Model
Double click on
SPICE-Model
specify the name of
MOS in technology
library
Follow the same
process to all the
MOS devices

Performing the simulation and

Evaluating the result
Executing the analysis using SPICE engine
(LTSPICE)
Tools-> Simulation Spice -> write spice deck

Performing the simulation and

Evaluating the result
Plotting graphs (LTSpice)
Right Click on the graph
window
Click on Add Trace
Select required signal. Here
V(out)
Click OK

SPICE Netlist
Generated SPICE netlist
can be seen in LTSPICE