Using the PRECISE Simulator with IC-CAP

PRECISE is a UCB SPICE-based simulator developed by Mentor Graphics Corp. Using IC-CAP's Open Simulator Interface, a C-language Translation Module is provided that makes PRECISE simulation capability available in IC-CAP. This module and instructions for performing PRECISE simulations in IC-CAP are described here. For general information on the Open Simulator Interface, refer to the section "Adding a Simulator" in the User's Guide.

The IC-CAP/PRECISE link uses UCB SPICE2G.6 as the template simulator. When performing a PRECISE simulation in IC-CAP, IC-CAP behaves as if it is performing a SPICE2 simulation. Therefore it generates an input deck in SPICE2 format, calls the simulator and reads back a binary raw data file in SPICE2 format. Through the Open Simulator Interface, the call to the simulator is actually calling the executable version of the C-language Translation Module, precise.c. This executable, called precise, translates the SPICE2 input deck to a PRECISE input format, calls PRECISE to perform the simulation, then translates the PRECISE format binary raw data file to SPICE2 format which is read by IC-CAP. The source code file precise.c is located in the $ICCAP_ROOT/src directory.

To set up PRECISE simulation capability in IC-CAP:

1	Add the precise simulator to the usersimulators file in the directory $ICCAP_ROOT/iccap/lib, as shown next:

precise spice2 /<your path>/precise "<host_machine_name>"
CANNOT_PIPE 

2

The host_machine_name is the host computer for the PRECISE simulations. This name can be left blank ("") if PRECISE and IC-CAP are running on the same computer. Since PRECISE does not have the ability to perform piped simulations in IC-CAP, the CANNOT_PIPE flag must always be set, as shown in the above example.

3	Make the following changes to the precise.c program to customize it for your environment:

•

In the main routine, specify the full pathname of the actual PRECISE simulator on your system.

•

In the spice2_to_precise routine, specify the full pathname of the Mentor Graphics supplied program ppphp700.exe, which translates a SPICE2 input deck to the equivalent PRECISE input deck.

4	Compile the translation module using the following command:

cc -o precise precise.c -lm 

5	Move the executable file, precise to a permanent location such as $ICCAP_ROOT/bin The location must match the path specified in the usersimulators file.

6	In IC-CAP, set the SIMULATOR variable to precise or specify precise with the Select Simulator command on the IC-CAP Tools Menu.

The following files are generated in your home directory when running PRECISE simulations in IC-CAP: