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- From: altarrib@mingus.ece.ucdavis.edu (Michael Altarriba)
- Subject: comp.lsi.cad Frequently Asked Questions With Answers (Part 3/4) [LONG]
- Message-ID: <lsi-cad-faq/part3_765764461@bird.ece.ucdavis.edu>
- Followup-To: comp.lsi.cad
- Summary: This is a biweekly posting of frequently asked questions with answers
- the for comp.lsi / comp.lsi.cad newsgroups. It should be consulted
- before posting questions to comp.lsi or comp.lsi.cad.
- Keywords: FAQ
- Sender: usenet@ucdavis.edu (News Guru)
- Supersedes: <lsi-cad-faq/part3_764292766@bird.ece.ucdavis.edu>
- Reply-To: clcfaq@ece.ucdavis.edu
- Organization: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, UC Davis
- References: <lsi-cad-faq/part2_765764461@bird.ece.ucdavis.edu>
- Date: Fri, 8 Apr 1994 00:19:38 GMT
- Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.Edu
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- Xref: bloom-beacon.mit.edu comp.lsi:1581 comp.lsi.cad:2138 news.answers:17801 comp.answers:4816
-
- Archive-name: lsi-cad-faq/part3
-
- create a symbolic link /usr/cosmos to this directory, although this is
- not essential.
-
- 2. Connect to the subdirectory
-
- 3. FTP to n3.sp.cs.cmu.edu:usr/cosmos/ftp (login anonymous, password
- yourname@your.host.name)
-
- 4. Type:
-
- cd /usr/cosmos/ftp
- ls
-
- 5. Select which version of the code you want. The files are named
- bdd.XXX.YYY.tar.Z and cosmos.XXX.YYY.tar.Z, where XXX.YYY is the ver-
- sion number. Generally you should select the highest numbered ver-
- sion.
-
- 6. 6. Type:
- get <FILE> (where <FILE> is the file name of the selected ver-
- sion).
- get README
- quit
-
- 7. Follow the instructions in README
-
- 8. Send the following information to cosmos@cs.cmu.edu
-
- Your name
- Your postal address
- Your net address
- The file retrieved
- The date of your retrieval
-
- COSMOS and BDD are made available with the understanding that no part of
- it will be redistributed further without permission.
-
- Last updated 18 July 1991 by Derek Beatty.
-
- 27: ITEM
-
- (Taken from the item.news file contained in the package:)
-
- The first public release of ITEM, UCSC's logic minimizer using if-then-
- else DAGs, was made 2 January 1991. The system is available by anonymous
- ftp from ftp.cse.ucsc.edu:pbu/item/item.tar.Z . Also available are tech
- reports about the algorithms and data structures (88-28, 88-29, and 90-
- 43).
-
- ITEM can also be found at ftp.cse.ucsc.edu:pub/item directory.
-
- 28: PADS logic/PADS PCB:
-
- While this is a commercial product, they have just recently made avail-
- able a shareware version. This version is fully functional and indenti-
- cal to their schematic capture and PCB autoplace and route software
- except that it is limited to about 50 components. It is available for
- IBM PC/PC compatibles directly from PADS, or from anynonmous ftp at
- several sites including wuarchive.wustl.edu:mirrors/msdos/cad/ (look for
- pads*.zip). There is a $50 registration fee if you would like to get
- future updates from them.
-
- 29: Another PCB Layout Package:
-
- (from Randy Nevin <randyn@microsoft.com>:)
-
- I'm distributing a freely-copyable software package to do autorouting of
- (1- and 2-layer) printed circuit boards on a PC or compatible. It is
- written in C (with a little .asm), and all source code is included. There
- is an autorouter, a board viewer, a rat nest viewer, and some output
- filters which generate postscript and hp laserjet output files. There is
- no charge, but I maintain the copyright (it is not public domain). If you
- want to read about it, I published an article on autorouting algorithms
- in the sept '89 dr. dobb's journal. ega is required (for the viewing pro-
- grams). If you'd like to get the software, send me a stamped, self-
- addressed floppy mailer and a floppy. I can handle 5.25" 360K or 1.2M, or
- 3.5" 1.4M, but if you send 360K there is some extra code that I won't be
- able to fit on the disk, so high density is better.
-
- I developed this software at home on my own time, and it is not related
- to what I do for my employer, so I will not use my employer's email
- resource to distribute it. however, it is available for anonymous ftp
- access on wsmr-simtel20.army.mil:PD1/<MSDOS.CAD>PCB.ARC , last I heard. I
- do not keep simtel up to date. But the version there is useable, and does
- include all source code.
-
- Randy Nevin
- 24135 SE 16th PL
- Issaquah, WA 98027
-
- 30: Magic (Current version 6.3):
-
- This is a polygon based lsi layout editor. It is capable of reading and
- writing magic, calma (version 3.0, corresponding to GDS II Release 5.1),
- and cif. It is available for anonymous ftp from
- gatekeeper.dec.com:/pub/DEC/magic .
-
- Linux versions of magic are available from the standard linux mirror
- archives, such as dorm.rutgers.edu:pub/linux/sources/usr.bin.X11/
- [128.6.18.15]:
-
- dorm.rutgers.edu:pub/linux/sources/usr.bin.X11/magicp3-src.tar.gz ,
- dorm.rutgers.edu:pub/linux/sources/usr.bin.X11/magic63p3-run.tar.gz
-
- 31: PSpice:
-
- This is a commercial product, however, they do have a student version
- that is available (limited to around 16 transistors).
-
- PC dos version: 5.0a:
- oak.oakland.edu:pub/msdos/electric/pspice5a.zip
- oak.oakland.edu:pub/msdos/electric/pspice5b.zip
-
- PC windows3 version 5.1:
- ftp.cica.indiana.edu:pub/pc/win3/util/pspice1.zip
- ftp.cica.indiana.edu:pub/pc/win3/util/pspice2.zip
-
- Mac version 5.1:
- sumex-aim.stanford.edu:info-mac/app/pspice-51.hqx
-
- The PC version is also available at a number of U.S. and non-U.S. sites.
-
- 32: Esim:
-
- A new version of the switch-level simulator ESIM that can handle CMOS
- transmission gates is available through MUG, ftp ftp.mosis.edu
- (128.9.0.32))
-
- 33: Isplice3 (Current version 2.0):
-
- This is a high level simulator, I do not know much more then that. It is
- available via anonymous ftp from uicadb.csl.uiuc.edu.
-
- 34: Watand:
-
- (From Phil Munro <FC138001@ysub.ysu.edu>)
-
- This posting will give the interested person some information about the
- WATAND (WATerloo ANalysis and Design) circuit simulator. Watand was
- introduced at the 16th Midwest Symposium on Circuit Theory (1973). In
- spite of its lack of advertising, Watand still offers some advantages
- when compared with other well known circuit simulators. For example it
- is a *truly* interactive simulator; that is, one enters the "WATAND"
- environment in which analyses and design can be run and rerun, values
- changed, settings queried and changed, etc.
-
- Watand uses piecewise-linear as its primary simulation; other methods
- are optional. It has ten built-in analyses which include the standard
- dc, ac, and transient analyses, and two post-processors (display and
- discrete Fourier). Output may be in the form of printed tables; graphics
- display includes Tektronix 40xx output. At YSU interactive helps are
- also available.
-
- Watand provides for the creation and use of user defined elements in
- addition to its own good stock of 34 built-in elements plus 21 built-in
- user defined elements. User defined analyses and post-processors can
- also be written, and it includes a powerful macro facility.
-
- As of June, 1992, sale of the Watand simulator was still being handled
- by Mark O'Leavey, Waterloo Engineering Software, 22 King St. S., Suite
- 302, Waterloo, Ontario, CANADA, N2L 1C6, Fax: (519) 746-7931; Phone:
- (519) 741-8097. At that time I was informed that it was available only
- for DECStation and Sparcstation, although we are running it quite suc-
- cessfully at YSU under the CMS operation system on an Amdahl mainframe.
-
- Two new and helpful manuals are available for the simulator. They
- should be available at the Youngstown State University Bookstore, Youngs-
- town, OHio 44555: Their approximate cost should be $7 each:
-
- "WATAND Users Manual," by Dr. Phil Munro, Youngstown State
- University, April 1992, 233 pages, 10 chapters, 4 appendices,
- index.
-
- "WATAND Introduction and Examples," by Dr. Phil Munro, Youngstown
- State Unversity, June 1992, 204 pages, 12 chapters, index.
-
- Watand does *not* include digital simulation at this time, nor does it
- have any transmission-line elements. A self-heating BJT model has been
- developed and is proving useful. Monte Carlo statistical simulation is
- possible with dc and ac analyses using macro based analyses which have
- been developed at YSU.
-
- 35: Caltech VLSI CAD Tools:
-
- (From John Lazzaro <lazzaro@boom.CS.Berkeley.EDU>)
-
- Caltech VLSI CAD Tool Distribution
-
- We are offering to the Internet community a new revision of the Caltech
- electronic CAD system for analog VLSI neural networks. This distribution
- contains tools for schematic capture, netlist creation, and analog and
- digital simulation (log), IC mask layout, extraction, and DRC (wol), sim-
- ple chip compilation (wolcomp), MOSIS fabrication request generation
- (mosis), netlist comparison (netcmp), data plotting (view) and postscript
- graphics editing (until). These tools were used exclusively for the
- design and test of all the integrated circuits described in Carver Mead's
- book "Analog VLSI and Neural Systems". Until was used as the primary
- tool for figure creation for the book. The distribution also contains an
- example of an analog VLSI chip that was designed and fabricated with
- these tools, and an example of an Actel field-programmable gate array
- design that was simulated and converted to Actel format with these tools.
-
- These tools are distributed under a license very similar to the GNU
- license; the minor changes protect Caltech from liability.
-
- Highlights of the new revision includes:
-
- * Ports to new platforms (Supported platforms now include: Sun SPARC,
- Sun 3, HP Series 300/400/700/800, DEC MIPS-based Ultrix, Apple AU/X,
- linux, and IBM RS/6000 support).
-
- * Support for black and white displays, and resource database support
- for user preferences for sizing and placement of windows. New
- display modes in analog to support small screens.
-
- * Direct generation of SPICE netlists in analog, and new models
- for floating-well FET's, two-terminal devices with arbitrary i-v
- curves, and quantum-well tunnel diodes.
-
- * Many bug fixes for analog, wol, view, and until, and new features
- for view.
-
- If you are interested in some or all of these tools,
-
- 1) ftp to hobiecat.pcmp.caltech.edu:pub/chipmunk on the Internet,
- 2) log in as anonymous and use your username as the password
- 3) cd pub/chipmunk
- 4) copy the file README, that contains more information.
-
- European researchers can access these files through anonymous ftp using
- the machine ifi.uio.no in Norway; the files are in the directory chip-
- munk. We are unable to help users who do not have Internet ftp access.
-
- A small but rather important bug was found in the "analog" program of the
- new Chipmunk distribution announced several weeks ago -- a key MOS
- transistor parameter was off by an order of magnitude! The current copies
- of the distribution on hobiecat.caltech.edu and ifi.uio.no have this bug
- corrected; however, if you've already picked up and installed the distri-
- bution since the new release (early april), here are the directions for
- patching your current installation w/o bringing over and rebuilding the
- whole package:
-
- 1) anonymous ftp to hobiecat.pcmp.caltech.edu:pub/chipmunk
- 2) get the file models.cnf
- 3) in your distribution, use this file to replace log/lib/models.cnf
-
- That's it! Sorry for the inconvenience ...
-
- 36: Switcap2 (Current version 1.1):
-
- This is a switched capactor simulator. It is available from:
-
- SWITCAP Distribution centre,
- 411 Low Memorial Library,
- New York,
- N.Y. 10027.
-
- 37: Test Software based on Abramovici Text:
-
- (Contributed by Mel Breuer of the Univ. of Southern California)
-
- Many faculty are using the text by Abramovici, Breuer, and Fried- man
- entitled "Digital Systems Testing and Testable Design" in a class on
- testing. They have expressed an interest to supplement their course
- with software tools. At USC we have developed such a suite of tools.
- They include a good value simulator, fault simulator, fault col-
- lapsing module, and D-algorithm-based ATPG module for combinational
- logic. The software has been specifi- cally designed to be easily
- understood, modified and enhanced. The algorithms follow those described
- in the text. The software can be run in many modes, such as one
- module at a time, single step, interactively or as a batch process. Stu-
- dents can use the software "as is" to study the operation of the
- various algo- rithms, e.g. simulation of a latch using different delay
- models. Also, simple programming projects can be given, such as
- extend the simulator from a 3-valued system to a 5-valued system; or
- change the D-algorithm so that it only does single path sensiti- zation.
- There are literally over 50 interesting software enhancements
- that can be made by changing only a small part of the code. The system
- is written in C and runs on a SUN.
-
- If you are currently using the Abramovici text and would like a copy
- of this software, please send a message to Prof. Melvin Breuer at
- mb@poisson.usc.edu.
-
- 38: Test Generation and Fault Simulation Software
-
- (Contributed by Dr. Dong Ha of Virginia Tech)
-
- Two automatic test pattern generators (ATPGs) and a fault simula- tor
- for combinational circuits were developed at Virginia Tech, and the
- source codes of the tools are now ready for public release.
- ATLANTA is an ATPG for stuck-at faults. It is based on the FAN algorithm
- and a parallel-pattern, single-fault propaga- tion technique. It
- consists of optional sessions using random pattern testing, deterministic
- test pattern generation and test compaction. SOPRANO is an ATPG for
- stuck-open faults. The algo- rithm of SOPRANO is similar to ATLANTA
- except two consecutive patterns are applied to detect a stuck-open
- fault. FSIM is a parallel-pattern, single-fault simulator. All the
- tools are written in C. The source codes are fully commented, and
- README files contain user's manuals. Technical papers about the tools
- were presented at DAC-90 and ITC-91. All three tools are free to univer-
- sities. Companies are requested to make a contribution of $5000 but
- will have free technical assistance. For detailed in- formation, con-
- tact:
-
- Dr. Dong Ha
- Electrical Engineering
- Virginia Tech
- Blacksburg, VA 24061
- TEL: 703-231-4942
- FAX: 703-231-3362
- dsha@vtvm1.cc.vt.edu
-
- 39: Olympus Synthesis System
-
- (From Rajesh K. Gupta <rgupta@sirius.Stanford.EDU>)
-
- Recently there have been several enquiries about the Olympus Synthesis
- System. Here are answers to some commonly asked questions. For details
- please send mail to "synthesis@chronos.stanford.edu".
-
- 1. What is Olympus Synthesis System?
-
- Olympus is a result of a continuing project on synthesis of digital cir-
- cuits here at Stanford University. Currently, Olympus synthesis system
- consists of a set of programs that perform synthesis tasks for synchro-
- nous, non-pipelined circuits starting from a description in a hardware
- description language, HardwareC.
-
- The output of synthesis is a technology independent netlist of gates.
- This netlist can be input to logic synthesis and technology mapping tools
- within Olympus or to UC Berkeley's mis/sis. Current technology mapping in
- Olympus is targeted for LSI logic standard cells and a set of PGA archi-
- tectures: Actel and Xilinx.
-
-
-
- The source code and documentation for Olympus is distributed via ftp.
-
- 3. What are the system requirements for Olympus?
-
- Olympus has been tested on following hardware platforms: mips, sparc,
- hp9000s300, hp9000s800, hp9000s700, vax. All the programs in Olympus
- come with a default menu-driven ASCII interface. There is also a graphi-
- cal user interface, called "olympus", provided with the distribution.
- This interface is written using Motif procedures.
-
- You would need about 40 MBytes of disk space to extract and compile the
- system.
-
- 4. How can I obtain a copy of Olympus?
-
- Olympus is distributed free of charge by Stanford University. However,
- it is not available via anonymous ftp. In order to obtain a copy please
- send a mail to "olympus@chronos.stanford.edu" where an automatic-reply
- mailer would send instructions for obtaining Olympus software.
-
- 40: OASIS logic synthesis
-
- (From William R. Richards Jr. <richards@mcnc.org>)
-
- OASIS is a complete logic synthesis system based on the Logic3 HDL
- develped at MCNC (unfortunately neither VHDL or Verilog compatible).
- kk@mcnc.org is the person responsible for it. OASIS is available to US
- universities for $500 and non-US universities for $600. Industrial
- license is $3000.
-
- 41: T-SpiceTM (was CAzM), a Spice-like table-based analog circuit simulator
-
- (From William R. Richards Jr. <richards@mcnc.org>)
-
- CAzM is a Spice-like table-based analog circuit simulator. It offers sig-
- nificant performance advantages over other Berkeley Spice derivatives. It
- is used fairly extensively in our design community. US university
- license is $175, non-US $250. Commercial license is $800. It comes with
- an X11- based signal viewing tool Sigview which is public domain and may
- be anonymous ftp'd from mcnc.org. I am the primary contact for CAzM at
- MCNC.
-
- (From Bhusan Gupta <bgupta@micro.caltech.edu>)
-
- The CAzM program that was developed and offered by MCNC, has been
- licensed for distribution by Tanner Research, Inc. of Pasadena, CA and
- all future product availability and support is available from Tanner
- Research. The program as offered by Tanner Research is a commercial pro-
- duct and is now named T-Spice. This Spice-like simulator offers table-
- based model evaluations for fast simulation performance, as well as,
- included analytical models for use with digital and analog circuits.
- Improvements to the CAzM models have also been made. Tanner Research
- offers an optional Advance Model Library of charged controlled models
- that includes an accurate, physically-based MOSFET model that is continu-
- ous over all transistor regions of operations (including subthreshold),
- and scales to submicron channel lengths. User defined models of any cus-
- tom component or circuit written in "C" can be readily linked to T-Spice
- as a general n-terminal device. Pricing is $995 for the simulator and
- $1,245 with the Advance Model Library and Waveform Viewer. Universities
- are offered a 75% discount. A modeling and extraction service is also
- provided by Tanner Research to generate functional or transistor level
- circuit simulation models for user supplied devices. The extraction ser-
- vice provides extracted model parameters for existing circuit simulation
- models, such as SPICE models, Tanner's own charge controlled MOS models,
- or user's proprietary models. In addition, software is available to aid
- users in extracting model parameters in house. For more information con-
- tact Bhushan Mudbhary at Tanner Research (bhushan @ tanner.com), phone
- 818-792-3000 and fax 818-792-0300.
-
- 42: Galaxy CAD, integrated environment for digital design for Macintosh
-
- Thanks to Simon Leung <sleung@sun1.atitech.ca>
-
- The Galaxy CAD System is an integrated environment for digital design and
- for rapid prototyping of CAD tools and other software. The system
- currently includes schematic capture and simulation of both low-level and
- high-level digital designs and is being expanded to include physical
- design tools. Galaxy runs on a number of 680X0 platforms, including the
- Apple Macintosh, HP9000/3XX, Apollo Domain, and Atari ST. Others will be
- added according to demand.
-
- The Galaxy CAD System is an ideal environment for teaching digital
- design. It has been used successfully for both introductory logic design
- and computer design courses at Wisconsin. Some of the features of Galaxy
- that make it suitable for education are:
-
- 1. Integrated multiple-window environment: All Galaxy tools run
- concurrently in a multiple window environment. Copying data
- from one window to another is simple. Any number of simulation
- sessions can be active simultaneously.
-
- 2. Hierarchy: the schematic editor and simulator are both fully
- hierarchical. Building hierarchical designs is simple, including
- creating symbols for modules. The simulator is a true hierarchical
- simulator: it does not require a time-consuming macro-expansion
- step.
-
- 3. Integrated editing and simulation: Designs are edited and
- simulated in the same environment. Simulation input and output
- can be shown directly on schematics, allowing direct manipulation
- of net values. Unlike other products, Galaxy does not require
- modification of the schematic to insert "switch" and "light"
- components. In addition, Galaxy allows display of bus values in
- hexadecimal directly on schematics to simplify debugging of
- high-level designs. Simulation I/O can also use waveforms,
- text files, and tables.
-
- 4. Faults: Stuck-at faults can be introduced on the schematic
- editor and simulated immediately without rebuilding the
- simulation model. This provides an excellent way to display
- the effects of faults.
-
- 5. Buses: Galaxy supports specification and simulation of bus
- structures, including complex extractions, fanouts, and bit
- reversal. Buses are specified by annotating nets with text.
- For simulation, buses are kept intact so that multiple-bit
- high-level components can be used. Galaxy includes a library
- of register-transfer components suitable for high-level
- computer design and simulation.
-
- 6. Alternate specification of designs: In addition to schematics,
- Galaxy users can specify design modules using a textual HDL
- (GHDL) and using hardware flowcharts and state diagrams. A
- hierarchical design can mix these representations as desired.
-
- 7. High-quality PostScript output: Galaxy schematics are of excellent
- quality. Gates are drawn according to standard practices, e.g.,
- OR gates are drawn with the correct circular arcs and not ellipses.
-
- 8. Uniform user interface: Galaxy tools have the same user interface
- on all platforms, reducing student learning curves. In fact,
- the same tool OBJECT CODE runs on all platforms due to the unique
- structure of Galaxy.
-
- 9. Adding new simulation primitives is straightforward.
-
- 10. No cost: Galaxy is available for free via anonymous FTP (Apple
- Macintosh version). Other versions will be made available based
- on demand.
-
- Galaxy is also an excellent environment for rapid prototyping of new CAD
- tools. By building on top of available resources, we have been able to
- prototype new tools in days or weeks that would ordinarily have taken
- months or years. For more information, send e-mail.
-
- To obtain Galaxy CAD, connect to "eceserv0.ece.wisc.edu:pub/galaxy" using
- FTP. Log in as "anonymous" with password "guest". Galaxy is in direc-
- tory "pub/galaxy". The file "README" in that directory gives further
- instructions. Please register as a user by sending e-mail to
- "beetem@engr.wisc.edu".
-
- John F. Beetem
- ECE Department
- University of Wisconsin - Madison
- Madison, WI 53706
- USA
- (608) 262-6229
- beetem@engr.wisc.edu
-
- 43: WireC graphical/procedural system for schematic information
-
- (From Larry McMurchie <larry@cs.washington.edu>)
-
- WireC is a graphical specification language that combines schematics with
- icroelectronic systems.
- WireC allows the designer to choose the appropriate representation,
- either graphical or procedural, at a fine-grain level depending on the
- characteristics of the circuit being designed. Drawing traditional
- schematic symbols and their interconnections provides fast intuitive
- interaction with a circuit design while procedural constructs give the
- power and flexibility to describe circuit structures algorithmically and
- allow single descriptions to represent whole families of devices.
-
- The procedural capability of WireC allows other CAD tools to be incor-
- porated into the design system. For example, we have defined an inter-
- face to the SIS logic synthesis system wherein the designer can represent
- part of the system behaviorally. WireC invokes logic synthesis on these
- components to produce a structural description that can be incorporated
- into the rest of the design.
-
- Libraries of devices defining a particular netlist output format may be
- defined by the user. The libraries currently distributed with WireC
- include a default CMOS gate library whose output is the SIM format. This
- format can be simulated with COSMOS or IRSIM and compared against a cir-
- cuit extracted from layout. This library also includes devices that
- allow a behavioral description to be synthesized and mapped using MIS or
- SIS and incorporated into a larger circuit.
-
- Another library is the xnf library for designing systems with Xilinx
- FPGAs. Written by Jackson Kong, Martine Schlag and Pak Chan of UCSC,
- this library contains devices specific to the 2000 and 3000 series Xilinx
- LCA's. In addition to drawing the devices explicitly, one can represent
- parts of a circuit with equations and have these synthesized automati-
- cally.
-
- Currently in progress is a library of CMOS gates for Cascade Design
- Automation's ChipCrafter product. WireC provides a mixed
- schematic/procedural design frontend for ChipCrafter, which uses module
- generation, timing analysis and place and route software to create a phy-
- sical layout from the WireC design specification.
-
- WireC was written by Larry McMurchie, Carl Ebeling, Zhanbing Wu and Ed
- Tellman. We are interested in any libraries you may develop and will
- provide a limited degree of support.
-
- WireC requires an X-Windows compatible environment and a C++ compiler
- such as Gnu G++ and AT&T CC. WireC is available via ftp on the Internet.
- For details send mail to
-
- larry@cs.washington.edu ebeling@cs.washington.edu
-
- 44: LateX circuit symbols for schematic generation
-
- (From Adrian Johnstone <adrian@cs.rhbnc.ac.uk>)
-
- A set of circuit schematic symbols are available for use in LaTeX picture
- mode. The set includes all basic logic gates in four orientations, FETs,
- power supply pins, transmission gates, capacitors, resistors and wiring
- T-junctions. All pins are on a 1mm grid and the symbols are designed to
- be easily used with Georg Horn's TeXcad program: we even supply you with
- a palette picture file that displays all 52 symbols in a compact grid
- that you can cut and paste from within TeXcad. Each symbol lives in its
- own .mac file and is defined as a 'savebox' so as to reduce memory con-
- sumption. You must add the [bezier] option to your 'documentstyle' com-
- mand. A small manual is provided in both Postscript and .dvi forms.
-
- The files lcircuit.zip and lcircuit.tar are available for anonymous ftp
- from cscx.cs.rhbnc.ac.uk:pub/lcircuit (134.219.200.45). I will also be
- uploading them to various ftp servers in the coming week.
-
- 45: Tanner Research Tools (Ledit and LVS)
-
- (From Bhusan Gupta <bgupta@micro.caltech.edu>)
-
- Low cost, yet very powerful commercial ASIC design tools are available
- from Tanner Research, Inc. in Pasadena, CA. These products are used by
- industry and universities alike. Tanner's products are nominally priced
- at $995 per program, with a combined package named L-Edit Pro available
- for $3,495 on the PC. Universities are offered a 75% discount. Here is
- a list of their current programs:
-
- L-EditTM : A full-custom layout editor with CIF and GDSII
- input/output. Features a 32-bit coordinate space,
- all-angle geometry, unlimited hierarchy and number
- of layers. The L-Edit Pro package includes L-Edit/DRC
- for design rule checking, L-Edit/SPR for automatic
- standard cell placement and routing, L-Edit/Extract
- for extracting transistors, capacitors, resistors and
- generic devices for SPICE-level simulation or comparison
- to a schematic and LVS ,a netlist comparison tool for
- topological and parametrical verification. Optional
- layout libraries are also available.
-
- T-Spice: Circuit level simulator (See item 41 for detail
-
- GateSimTM : Gate-level simulator. A full array of technology mapping
- libraries are also available.
-
- Products are available for the PC, Macintosh, Sun and Hp UNIX platforms.
- For more information contact Bhushan Mudbhary at Tanner Research (bhushan
- @ tanner.com), phone 818-792-3000 and fax 818-792-0300.
-
- 46: SIMIC, a full-featured logic verification simulator.
-
- (From comp.archives.msdos.announce)
-
- SIMIC is a full-featured logic verification simulator. It has been
- demonstrated that SIMIC can uncover a number of critical design errors
- that other simulators miss. SIMIC has shown superior accuracy and
- throughput when compared to competitive products. Here are some of
- SIMIC's important features:
-
- - Mixed-mode simulation allows the free intermixture of true
- bilateral switches (ideal and resistive), gate, plus functional level
- built-in and user defined primitives.
-
- - A wide variety of output, whose detail, content and format are, to
- large extent, user defined.
-
- - A large repetoire of simulation options and controls that can be
- applied interactively, or in batch operation, and simplify
- trouble-shooting of your design.
-
- - Automated Test equipment emulation, allows debugging test programs
- using SIMIC troubleshooting techniques.
-
- - Sophisticated hazard analysis including: Spike, Pulse, Conflict,
- Oscillation, Setup, Hold, Pulse-width, Near (what-if)
- detection, among others. Hazard propagation is also supported.
-
- The student version of SIMIC is limited to a maximum of 500 elements
- (parts). In all other respects it is the same program as the commercial
- offering. The PC student version requires a 386 or better and at least 2
- Meg of memory. Both a DPMI and a VCPI version are included in the pack-
- age. Both versions require EMS *NOT* be disabled. SIMIC is also avail-
- able on Sun and other platforms.
-
- The latest version is 1.02.00. The changes from revision 1.00.04 are:
-
- Bug Fixes:
- - Rams properly handled by circuit compiler.
- - BTG (Ideal switches) compiled correctly with dynamic delays.
- - By-name pin connections accepted by circuit compiler.
- - JK Flip-flop timing checks can now be disabled.
- Enhancements:
- - Reduction in storage requirements for small RAMS.
- - Fault Sensitization analysis added.
- - Fault Simulation and grading added.
-
- This revision can be taken from oak.oakland.edu:pub/msdos/electrical , or
- wuarchive.wustl.edu:mirrors/msdos/electrical . The files in question are
- sim120bn.zip (Simic logic and fault simulator plus examples) and
- sim120dc.zip (Simic Engineering and User's Guides).
-
- 47: LASI CAD System, IC and device layout for IBM compatibles
-
- (from Mike Fitsimmons <mikef@hendrix.ece.uiuc.edu>)
-
- On behalf of the author I have uploaded to WSMR-SIMTEL20.Army.Mil:
-
- pd1:<msdos.cad>
- LASI41A.ZIP LASI v4.1 IC layout CAD prgm: unzip in
- LASI41B.ZIP LASI v4.1 IC layout CAD prgm: unzip in
- D prgm: unzip in
- LASIDEMO.ZIP LASI v4.1 DEMO drawing: unzip in
-
- The LASI CAD System has been developed to do integrated circuit and dev-
- ice layout on almost any IBM compatable personal computer.
-
- LASIDEMO is a small IC layout to be used as a demonstration when first
- learning to use LASI.
-
- I offered to pay the author for some sort of site license for this pro-
- gram, but he refused, saying that he actually wants educational institu-
- tions to use it for free. What a guy!
-
- 48: EEDRAW, an electrical/electronic diagramming tool for IBM compatibles
-
- (from <pcc@minster.york.ac.uk>)
-
- I have uploaded to WSMR-SIMTEL20.Army.Mil:
-
- pd1:<msdos.graphics>
- EEDRAW24.ZIP Electrical Engineering drawing (with layers)
-
- This is the 2.4 release of EEDRAW, an electrical/electronic diagramming
- tool for the IBM PC.
-
- pd1:<msdos.graphics>
- EEDSRC24.ZIP C sources for EEDRAW24.ZIP program. TC/BC++
-
- This is the source of the EEdraw 2.4 program. Please read the readme file
- in the primary archive for information on other source programs needed
- such as the Libary files.
-
- 49: MagiCAD, GaAs Gate Array Design through MOSIS
-
- (from Tom Smith <tsmith@mayo.edu>)
-
- The Mayo Graphical Integrated Computer Aided Design (MagiCAD) system is a
- package which provides a comprehensive design environment for the
- development of digital systems, from initial concept to post-layout
- verification of integrated circuits (ICs). MagiCAD focuses on the
- development of high-speed Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) gate array designs.
- Specialized electromagnetic simulation tools are provided to address high
- clock rate issues such as crosstalk and reflections, which become more
- important as clock rates exceed several hundred MHz or signal edge rates
- become less than 500 pico- seconds. MagiCAD provides all the necessary
- tools for high clock rate GaAs IC design, and is also integrated with
- non-Mayo circuit, logic, and fault simulators.
-
- MagiCAD provides a lower risk approach than full-custom design for
- universities wishing to perform digital GaAs design through MOSIS. This
- is done by providing a gate array design environment where low-level
- transistor design and layout issues have already been solved and
- abstracted into a technology library of pre-defined cells. This frees the
- student or researcher to solve the still challenging tasks of system and
- gate-level design and layout to get high clock rate chips fabricated
- through MOSIS that meet all specifications.
-
- MagiCAD supports hierarchical, top-down, middle-out, or bottom-up
- development styles. MagiCAD has been used in the design of many GaAs
- chips that have been successfully fabricated. The MagiCAD electromagnetic
- modeling tools have been used in the analysis of many actual packages,
- multi-chip modules (MCMs), and printed circuit boards (PCBs), uncovering
- and avoiding problems that are commonly associated with high-frequency,
- fast edge-rate designs. The Vitesse Fury (TM) GaAs VSC2K gate array is
- provided as a MagiCAD technology library, and has been used for both gra-
- duate and undergraduate student chip designs.
-
- Functionality that has been integrated into MagiCAD includes:
-
- o Vitesse VSC2K GaAs gate array technology library
- o Database which integrates all tools
- o Schematic entry through a general purpose graphics editor
- o Circuit simulator
- o Logic and timing simulators
- o Fault analysis
- o Place and route tools
- o Layout verification tools
- o Retargeting from generic design to specific technology
- o Output to standard GDSII format for mask creation
- o Electromagnetic analysis
- - Cross section entry with graphics editor
- - Multilayer multiconductor transmission line (MMTL) modeling
- - Network tool for solving cases with many transmission line
- components
- - Lossy and non-lossy cases
- - Frequency and time domain result displays
- - Used for analyzing complex design paths, through chip, MCM,
- and PCB
-
- The Vitesse VSC2K has the following characteristics:
-
- o HGaAs-2 (TM) process o 2700 available gates
- o Enhancement/depletion MESFET process o 80 signal pads
- o 2 GHz flip-flop toggle rates o 40 power, ground pads
- o 280 psec loaded gate delays o 2.4 watts maximum
- o 170 mils x 135 mils o ECL or TTL I/O
- o 132 pin LDCC package available o 2 routing layers
-
- The Mayo Foundation has used MagiCAD to design several VSC2K designs that
- have been fabricated through both MOSIS and Vitesse. These designs have
- measured operating frequencies of 500 MHz to 1 GHz, depending upon the
- section of the circuit being tested. The general application thrust of
- these designs has been components which are being used to evaluate MCM
- technologies for high speed systems, as well as high speed data genera-
- tion and acquisition circuits.
-
- The University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee has used MagiCAD to design
- several VSC2K designs that have been fabricated through MOSIS. These
- designs have simulated clock rates from 100 MHz to 600 MHz. The general
- application thrust of these designs has been components of digital signal
- processors with medical image processing applications. The descriptions
- of these VSC2K personalizations that have been designed and fabricated
- include:
-
- o 8-bit Booth's algorithm multiplier
- o 4-bit arithmetic logic unit
- o 8-bit combinatorial multiplier
- o 24-bit carry look-ahead adder
-
- The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has authorized and
- funded Mayo to supply MagiCAD to universities in the U.S. for research
- and educational purposes. The direct cost to the universities for the
-
- MagiCAD software itself is zero (although there may be costs for any
- non-Mayo software that universities may want, as well as possible costs
-
- to get the proper hardware/software platform). Mayo-supplied MagiCAD
- training and support costs to these institutions is funded by DARPA, and
- is therefore free to the universities.
-
- While the MagiCAD tools are presently only available for VAX/VMS environ-
- ments, work is presently underway to port MagiCAD to POSIX-compliant
- platforms (POSIX is the IEEE "UNIX-like" portable operating system defin-
- ition). First POSIX platforms presently planned to port to include DECs-
- tations and HP workstations, likely availability of MagiCAD on these
- platforms is second half of 1993.
-
- The general steps for a university to begin using MagiCAD for digital
- GaAs gate array design include:
- 1) Contact Mayo Foundation to acquire MagiCAD software
- 2) Contact MOSIS to acquire general MOSIS information
-