Opening or Creating a File

There are four ways to begin working with IC-CAP Statistics:

Importing ASCII Data

One way to begin work with IC-CAP Statistics is to import ASCII data saved in another program, such as Lotus 1-2-3 or Microsoft Excel. The data must be delimited with spaces or tabs (not commas). To import the data:

1	Choose File > Import, a dialog box is displayed. Select the path and name of the file you want to import and choose OK. The data is loaded into the spreadsheet. Complete details on using this type of dialog box are found in "Working with Dialog Boxes" in the User's Guide.

2

You have to specify which columns are attributes and which are parameters. The attribute columns have to be contiguous and on the left side of the spreadsheet. To specify that a column contains attributes, first select the columns. Then, choose Edit > Parameter to Attribute. If that column is not already at the left, it moves to the left and becomes an attribute column, denoted by a blue text font.

3	Repeat Step 2 for additional attribute columns. You can do this for multiple columns at one time by holding down the Shift or Ctrl key while selecting columns.

4	You can reverse this process if necessary by choosing Edit > Attribute to Parameter.

Loading Data from IC-CAP

There are two ways to load extracted model data from the Main IC-CAP program into Statistics:

The first method is preferable if you want automated file loading along with automated measurement and extraction. If you use the manual method, the IC-CAP Statistics window must be opened.

These procedures use IC-CAP's Parameter Extraction Language (PEL). For more information about PEL see Chapter 9, "Parameter Extraction Language," in the Reference manual.

Using the Supplied Macro

You will load the model file called load_stat_data.mdl, which contains macro files. This file is shipped with the software and found in the Examples area.

The macro called Main loads parameters from a collection of .mdl files into the Statistics Parameters spreadsheet. (The macro called Load_Data is invoked by Main and you should not use it.) Once the appropriate model variables have been set and the .mdl parameter files have been created, the Main macro is ready to be run. The macro is general, and can be run with any collection of .mdl files. To let you see how the macro works, a collection of example .mdl files are provided in the examples directory. The parameter values are automatically written to the Statistics Parameters spreadsheet through successive calls to the PEL function icstat_from_partable.

Before you use the macro, do the following:

1	In order to use the macro, your model files must be in the following format:

<base filename>_<n>.mdl

where n is an integer equal or greater than 1, and the first model file must start with 1. For example,

bsim_1.mdl

bsim_2.mdl

bsim_3.mdl, or

eebjt_1.mdl

eebjt_2.mdl

eebjt_3.mdl, etc.

2	All the model files must reside in the same directory. You will indicate the pathname and the number of model files using model variables.

3

If you want attribute information to be automatically transferred from the .mdl files, then the attribute values and labels (attribute parameter names) will have to be stored in variable arrays in the .mdl files. The attribute labels should be stored in an ICCAP_ARRAY called ATTRIBUTE_LABELS. The attribute values should be stored in an ICCAP_ARRAY called ATTRIBUTE_VALS. The size of the arrays is arbitrary, but you must explicitly specify it in the variable NUM_ATTRIBUTES.

Now you are ready to use the macro.

1	From the Main IC-CAP program choose File > Examples. The Examples Open dialog box appears.

2	Select the /statistics/load_data directory and then the load_stat_data.mdl file from the list of files and choose OK. The model file loads.

3	Choose the Model Variables tab. A table appears with four items. Ignore the first item (called Local_VAR). Enter data for the three remaining items, as follows:

Name	Value
numFiles	Enter the total number of model files you want to load into Statistics
filesDirPath	Enter the path to the directory that contains the model files
baseFileName	Enter the base filename for your model files, such as bsim or eebjt, as described above.

4	Choose the Macros tab and select Main in the Select Macro field.

5	Click the Execute button (left). The Statistics Parameters spreadsheet is filled with data.

The following shows the macro.

! Open the statistics window dummy = icstat_open() ! Prompt the user on whether he is using the example data or his own data LINPUT "Use the example .mdl files (y/n)?","y",selection if selection == "y" then iccap_root=SYSTEM$("echo $ICCAP_ROOT") filesDirPath=VAL$(iccap_root) & "/examples/model_files/statistics/load_data/" endif ! Prepend the path onto the file name and append _1.mdl to get the first ! file in the directory (all we care about is the parameter names, so any ! file in the directory would do). filename = val$(filesDirPath) & val$(baseFileName) & "_1.mdl" ! Open the first file to get the parameter names menu_func("/", "Add Model", "temp") menu_func("/temp", "Open", filename) ! Load the parameter names into the first row dummy = icstat_set_param_column_labels("/temp","MODEL PARAMETERS") ! Compute the number of rows in the empty spreadsheet and then insert enough ! additional rows so that the total number of rows = numFiles+1. numRows = icstat_num_rows("PARAMETERS") if numRows < numFiles then numInsert = numFiles - numRows dummy = icstat_insert(numRows+1, numInsert, "ROW") endif ! Load the data into the statistics spreadsheet using the "Load_Data" macro menu_func("/load_stat_macro/Load_Data", "Execute") ! Use the value of the variable NUM_ATTRIBUTES to insert enough columns at ! the beginning of the parameters spreadsheet to store the attributes.

dummy = icstat_insert(1, /temp/NUM_ATTRIBUTES, "COLUMN") ! Write the attribute names to the first row of the spreadsheet ! and convert these column to attribute columns. index=1 while index <= /temp/NUM_ATTRIBUTES name = val$(/temp/ATTRIBUTE_LABELS[index-1]) dummy = icstat_set_text_cell(1, index, name) dummy = icstat_parameter_2_attribute(index) index=index+1 end while ! Cycle through the .mdl files and read the attributes and parameters into ! the parameters spreadsheet i=1 while i <= numFiles fileName = val$(filesDirPath) & val$(baseFileName) & "_" & val$(i) & ".mdl" print fileName menu_func("/temp", "Open", fileName) k=i+1 dummy = icstat_from_partable(k, "/temp", "MODEL PARAMETERS") index=1 ! Here is the loop to set the attribute values while index <= /temp/NUM_ATTRIBUTES value = val$(/temp/ATTRIBUTE_VALS[index-1]) dummy = icstat_set_text_cell(k, index, value) index=index+1 end while i=i+1 end while

Manually Executing PEL Commands

The following manual procedure is recommended only for transferring one or two rows of data to Statistics.

1	Open the IC-CAP model file from which you want to load data into IC-CAP Statistics.

2	Open the Setup from the DUT-Setups folder.

3	Choose the Extract/Optimize folder from the setup.

4	Choose the Browse button (far right). The Function Browser dialog box appears.

5	From the Function Groups field (left side), scroll down and select Statistical Analysis.

6	Then select icstat_from_partable from the functions listed on the right side. Documentation on how to use the function (such as the arguments) is listed in the middle part of the dialog box. Choose the Select button at bottom. The Transform window is displayed again.

7	Fill in the arguments needed to complete the function. Then choose Execute. The data from either the model or DUT parameter will appear in the Statistics Parameters spreadsheet.

8	Repeat this procedure for each additional row of data you want send.

Opening a File in IC-CAP Statistics Format

To open a file already saved in the IC-CAP Statistics format, choose File > Open. The File Open dialog box appears. Enter the path and filename you want or select the file. IC-CAP Statistics files use the .sdf extension.

IC-CAP Statistics is shipped with several example .sdf files. To open an example file, choose File > Examples. The Examples Open dialog box appears. Select the example file you want.

Manually Entering Data

Although this method would not typically be used, data can be entered (or modified) directly in the spreadsheet, attribute rows can be defined (see Importing ASCII Data, step 2) and the file saved. To manually enter data in a new file, choose File > New.