A Cadence University Program Member
 

Simple Cadence Software Tutorial

Outline of the Tutorial

1. Command Interface Window (CIW) & Library Manager
2. Creating a New Library
3. Creating a New Cell View
4. Making the Inverter Schematic
5. Making the Inverter Symbol
6. Simulating the Inverter

Once the Cadence software has been started with icfb &, two windows will appear on the screen. The first window, at the bottom of the screen, is the Command Interface Window (CIW) as seen in figure 1. This window provides access to Cadence through its menus or its input line using SKILL commands. The CIW is the command window for the Cadence software.

Figure 1. The Command Interface Window

The second window on the screen is the Library Manager, as seen in figure 2. The Library Manager is an easy way to navigate through all of the available libraries.  Each library is a collection of cells, e.g. NAND, NOT, PNP, etc.  Theses cells are collections of different views, e.g. symbol, schematic, sprectre, etc. If the Library Manager is closed, it can be opened from the CIW by clicking Tools->Library Manager.

Figure 2. The Library Manager

For now, take some time to get familiar with the Library Manager.  You can click on a library and a cell within that library to show the different available views.  Feel free to look at any of the cell views.  To do this, right click and hold and select open, or you can double-click a desired view.

More information about using Cadence Software packages can be found by entering cdsdoc & at the command prompt of the Cadence Terminal Window.

When you are ready, move on to Part 2 of this tutorial.

Information is provided "as is" without warranty of guarantee of any kind. No statement is made and no attempt has been made to examine the information, either with respect to
operability, origin, authorship, or otherwise.

Please use this information at your own risk - and any attempt to use this information at your own risk - we recommend using it on a copy of you data to be sure you understand what
it does and under your conditions. Keep your master intact until you are personally satisfied with the use of this information within your environment.