I’ve been on a quest for the last 20 years to simplify how we make analog circuits.

I can’t say I’ve succeded yet, but that’s not the point, it’s an interesting path to walk.

Along the way I’ve created some tools.

ciccreator

I got an opportunity to do a part-time Post.doc. I’d just finished a couple SAR ADC designs for nRF52, and I never wanted to draw layout, or indeed schematics of a SAR again. I thought there must be a better way. Especially porting to another technology was an abhorrent thought.

ciccreator (or just cic) was the result. A tool for compiling a type of SAR ADCs in multiple technology nodes.

cic is best suited for creating technology independant cells (comparator, capacitors, boot-strapped switches, simple logic), and it does so in seconds.

I wrote cic in C++ because there is lot’s of polygon pushing, and I wanted lighting speed.

cicpy

cic outputs a JSON file that needs to be transpiled into another format (Cadence, Magic, SPICE) in order to be sendt to the foundry. That’s what cicpy is for.

I choose to write the transpiling of cic output in python because it’s not necessary with the speed of C++

cicsim

cicsim started as a tool to control Cadence Spectre and run corner simulations and result processing, however, during 2022 it transformed into controlling ngspice.

I learned of the SkyWater 130 nm Open PDK, and went all in.