Creating a New Project

Set up your lib.defs

You must copy the system wide technology library to your home directory:

cp /mada/software/techfiles/ncsu/cdssetup/lib.defs ~

Creating a project directory

You will need to create a separate directory where you will create your libraries:

mkdir LayoutTutorial

From this directory, run icfb (IC front-to-back):

cd LayoutTutorial
icfb &

Note that the ampersand runs the command in the background so you can do other things in the shell. Do not close the shell or the program will also close.

CIW

After you start icfb, the first window that pops up is the command interface window (CIW). It looks like this:

Library Manager

Another window also pops up which is the Library Manager:

Creating a Library

The first step is to create a new library with File->Create Library. Add a unique name for your library. It will contain all of your layout and schematics. We will also "attach" the library to a given technology library that is already set up.

Selecting the technology

A special window will pop up that prompts you to pick a technology library. We are going to use the NCSU_TechLib_tsmc02d technology which is a SCMOS 180nm process. It can be manufactured by several different vendors including TSMC.