View source for Installing Open-Source EDA Tools on a Virtual Machine

In this tutorial, we will create a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux Linux] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_machine virtual machine] (VM) running on your local (host) machine. We will then install open-source IC design tools here, isolated from the rest of your computer.

== Installing Virtualization Software ==
There is a wide range of virtualization software available, such as [https://www.virtualbox.org/ VirtualBox] or [https://www.qemu.org/ QEMU]. For Windows and MacOS users, VirtualBox is a common choice, while Linux users would probably use QEMU/KVM. Download and install your chosen virtualization software.

After installing the virtualization software, you can now create virtual machines.

== Installing Ubuntu ==
For EE220, it is sufficient to create a VM with 2 cores, 8GB of RAM, and 100GB of (disk) storage. Enable networking on your VM so you can download and install software from the web.

On your host computer, download the ISO image of the latest Ubuntu release from the [https://ubuntu.com/desktop Ubuntu website]. We are using Ubuntu 22.04 for this tutorial. 

Boot up your newly created VM using the Ubuntu ISO installer, and select normal installation. Follow the instructions for installing Ubuntu. At the end of the installation process, you will be asked to create a user account. You will use this to run the EDA tools we need for the class.

After successfully installing Ubuntu, log in to your VM and update it:

<syntaxhighlight lang="text>
$ sudo apt update
$ sudo apt -y upgrade
</syntaxhighlight>

Note that all succeeding commands will be executed on your virtual machine.

== Installing Prerequisite Software ==
We need to install a C compiler and the necessary developer tools using:

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$ sudo apt install build-essential
</syntaxhighlight>

We then need to install the necessary libraries for compiling the software tools:

<syntaxhighlight lang="text">
$ sudo apt install bison flex libx11-dev libreadline-dev libxaw7-dev libxmu-dev x11proto-xext-dev libxft-dev fontconfig libxrender-dev libfftw3-dev autoconf automake libtool libedit-dev adms tcl-dev tk-dev git csh libcairo-dev libglu1-mesa-dev freeglut3-dev mesa-common-dev xterm xclip
</syntaxhighlight>

For <code>python3</code>, we will install [https://www.anaconda.com/ Anaconda]. Go to the Anaconda [https://www.anaconda.com/ website] and download the installer. After downloading the installer, change its permissions to make it executable, then run the installer:

<syntaxhighlight lang="text>
$ chmod a+x Anaconda3-2022.05-Linux-x86_64.sh
$ ./Anaconda3-2022.05-Linux-x86_64.sh
</syntaxhighlight>

Note that the installer filename could change if a newer version is available.

== Installing NGSPICE ==
NGSPICE is an open source [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SPICE SPICE] simulator for electric and electronic circuits. Download NGSPICE from via the NGSPICE [https://ngspice.sourceforge.io/download.html website] and uncompress the downloaded file:

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$ tar xvf ngspice-37.tar.gz
</syntaxhighlight>

The files are extracted to the <code>./ngspice-37/</code> directory. Enter this directory and run the following commands at the command line:

<syntaxhighlight lang="text">
$ mkdir release
$ cd release
$ ../configure  --with-x --with-readline=yes --disable-debug
$ make
$ sudo make install
</syntaxhighlight>

The default install directory for executables is <code>/usr/local/bin/</code>.

== Installing MAGIC ==
[http://opencircuitdesign.com/magic/ MAGIC] is an open-souce VLSI layout tool. Download the source code via git:

<syntaxhighlight lang="text">
$ git clone https://github.com/RTimothyEdwards/magic
</syntaxhighlight>

Compile and install the software:

<syntaxhighlight lang="text">
$ cd ./magic
$ ./configure
$ make
$ sudo make install
</syntaxhighlight>

== Installing the SkyWater 130nm Design Kit ==
This [http://opencircuitdesign.com/open_pdks/ design kit] will set up an environment for using the SkyWater '''sky130''' process with open-source EDA tools and tool flows. Download the installation scripts via git:

<syntaxhighlight lang="text">
$ git clone git://opencircuitdesign.com/open_pdks
</syntaxhighlight>

After downloading the installation scripts, we can now install the PDK. Note that this could take some time.

<syntaxhighlight lang="text">
$ cd open_pdks/
$ ./configure --enable-sky130-pdk
$ make
$ sudo make install
</syntaxhighlight>

== Testing Your NGSPICE and PDK Installation ==
After installing NGSPICE and the SkyWater 130nm design kit, you can test your installation by using NGSPICE to plot the transistor characteristics using the example found in [[Installing the SkyWater 130nm Design Kit]].

== Installing XSCHEM ==
[http://repo.hu/projects/xschem/xschem_man/xschem_man.html XSCHEM] is an open-source schematic editor for VLSI/ASIC/Analog custom designs, with netlist backends for VHDL, SPICE and Verilog. Download the source code via git:

<syntaxhighlight lang="text">
$ git clone https://github.com/StefanSchippers/xschem
</syntaxhighlight>

Compile and install XSCHEM:

<syntaxhighlight lang="text">
$ cd ./xschem
$ ./configure
$ make
$ sudo make install
</syntaxhighlight>

After installing, you will need to copy the SkyWater 130nm design kit XSCHEM configuration file <code>/usr/local/share/pdk/sky130A/libs.tech/xschem/xschemrc</code> to your working directory to access the design kit features.

To test your installation, see the page on [[Installing XSCHEM]].