Intro to Cadence
Brady Salz
ECE483 Spring 17
What We’re Doing
Learn you a Cadence
Learn simulation vocabulary
Basic schematic guidelines
Simulation results
Init
Before we begin, open a terminal:
$ module load ece483
$ cd ~/ece483.work
$ virtuoso &
IC Design
Circuit design is an iterative
process
Calculate
We have models
We estimate using math
Implement estimations
Simulate implementations
Verify simulations vs specs
Verify Simulate
Repeat till satisfactory
Cadence Design Systems
Cadence is THE program that is used in industry
Cadence has 3 levels of hierarchy:
– Libraries
• Attached to a certain technology node [250nm, 180nm]
• Contain lots of cells, grouped by functionality
– Cells
• Represent circuit elements [MOSFET, AND gate, ALU]
• Contains numerous views
– View
• Represents individual cell implementation
• Schematic Symbol, Verilog, Layout
Getting Started
Two windows pop up
immediately
Library manager
Command Interface
Window (CIW)
Making A Library
File New Library
“Attach to an existing technology
library”
Most important step is CHOOSING
THE RIGHT TECHNOLOGY
250nm is tsmc03d
180nm is tsmc02d
130nm may be available later
Making a Cell
File New Cell View
Be sure to choose the library you
made in the last step
Set the view type to “schematic”
Double click on the newly created
View to open it
Schematic Shortcuts
This list is also on the website now
F zoom “full”, see everything in the schematic
I add instance
M move part
C copy part
W draw wire
L label wire
Q query property
U undo (shift+U is redo)
R rotate part (shift+R flips over y-axis)
Library: analogLib
Cell: res
– Ideal resistor
– Only should need to change the resistance parameter
Cell: cap
– Ideal capacitor
– Only should need to change the capacitance parameter
Cell: vdc/vsin/vpulse
– Ideal voltage source that can output DC, Sine, Pulse, etc
Cell: idc/isin/ipulse
– Ideal current source that can output DC, Sine, Pulse, etc
Cell: gnd
– It’s ground
Library: NCSU_Analog_Parts
Library: NCSU_Analog_Parts
Cell: pmos4
– Standard 4 terminal PMOS (DGS B)
– Only change the width/length parameters
– Can set to any value, but will autocorrect to quantized steps
Cell: nmos4
– Standard 4 terminal NMOS (DGS B)
– Only change the width/length parameters
– Can set to any value, but will autocorrect to quantized steps
Parts Specifics
Always use the “symbol” view for all your parts
– Other views will spit out an error
Parameters can be either constants or variables
Drawing Schematics
If you draw good schematics, you will have an easier time
We encourage frequent use of labels
Try not to overlap text with text
You should be able to read everything without zooming out
Try to align things vertically/horizontally
Bad Diff Amp
Good Diff Amp!
Simulation Types
DC Simulations
– Can do point-wise analysis (DC Operating Point)
– X-axis is the voltage of a swept voltage source
– Used for checking operating mode, bias currents
AC Simulations
– X-axis is the swept frequency of a voltage source (i.e. 1Hz -> 100MHz)
– Used for checking gain, phase, distortion
– Can lie! Uses small signal models, not full large signal ones
Transient Simulations
– X-axis is time
– Used for measuring final performance, clipping, all of the above
– If it works in transient, it works
Running Simulations
Before you run ANY
simulations,
Check+Save (F8)
– 90% of your errors will
be “netlist not
extracted due to
changes”
In schematic window,
Launch ADE L
ADE L Steps
Add your design variables under Variables Copy From
Choose an analysis under Analyses -> Choose
– TRANsient requires a stop time, in general use 10 * (Input Period)
– DC sim around one point “Save DC Operating Point”
– DC sim sweep select Design Variable, set params
– AC sim sweep select Frequency, set Fmin, Fmax
Setup outputs under Outputs Setup
Big green button Netlist and Run
ADE Example
DC Sim Example
Checking operating regions
Results Print DC Operating
Points
Click on a device
“region” is most common
parameter used
– 0 off
– 1 triode
– 2 saturation
– 3 subthreshold
– 4 breakdown
DC Sim Example
Previous is kind of slow,
especially iteratively
Can use the calculator
Tools Calculator
Select OP
Select a device
Add to outputs
DC Sim Results
DC Annotations
Sometimes you want to see all the I/V values on a schematic
Can change the annotations (labels by devices)
Results Annotations DC Operating Points
Can go back to regular (name, W/L) by setting it to
Results Annotations Component Parameters
AC Sim Example
To use an AC sim, use an “vsin”
or “isin” source
Set the AC magnitude to 1V
– We generally only care about gain,
this normalizes everything
Sweep Variable Frequency
Choose reasonable limits,
automatic points usually fine
AC Sim Example
Netlist+Run
Results Direct Plot Main Form
Simple form for handling all options
– Linear vs Log scale
– Single vs differential
Follow instructions on bottom of menu
Add to ADE outputs if you want
Transient Sim Example
Can use any source
– Make sure to set Amplitude +
Frequency params
Stop time up to you
Accuracy is a tuning knob:
– Liberal/moderate OK for now
– Conservative for final project
Don’t worry about noise (for now)
Transient Sim Results
Same as AC, Direct Plot is easiest
– Results Direct Plot Main Form
Same as AC, get voltage/current
Can do single/differential
Can save to outputs for repeated runs
Tells you if something isn’t saved
Transient Sim Results
All voltages saved by
default
Have to individually
specify currents
Or can save all:
– Outputs
Save All
Select Device
Currents
Parametric Analysis
Sometimes you want to do nested sweeps
Open window under Tools Parametric Analysis
Can sweep any variable give in ADE
Parametric Analysis Warnings
Multiple variables go up as O(m^n)
– This makes things extremely inefficient
For example, one sim takes 1x times
– Default # of steps is 5
– One sweep = 5x
– Two sweeps = 25x
– Three sweeps = 125x
DO NOT USE PARAMETRIC ANALYSIS INSTEAD OF
CALCULATIONS
Summary
We’ve covered approximately 2% of Cadence can do
Using the tool is not optional, you will fail the final project
“Can Cadence/Spectre do this?”
– Almost always yes
– Probably might be a little obtuse
– Might have to dig deep into documentation
– Might have to learn some SKILL code (Lisp derivative)
