Week06

Electronics Design.

Updated for 2025 evaluation standards!

Group assignment:
Use the test equipment in your lab to observe the operation of a microcontroller circuit board (as a minimum, you should demonstrate the use of a multimeter and oscilloscope)
Document your work on the group work page and reflect what you learned on your individual page
Individual assignment: Use an EDA tool to design a development board that uses parts from the inventory to interact and communicate with an embedded microcontroller
Learning outcomes
Select and use software for circuit board design
Demonstrate workflows used in circuit board design

What is EDA tool?

An EDA tool, or Electronic Design Automation tool, is a software or hardware tool used to design and test electronic systems. EDA tools are also known as electronic computer-aided design (ECAD) tools.
What EDA tools do?
Design: Create circuit designs
Model: Create models of circuit designs
Simulate: Predict the results of circuit designs before testing
Test: Test the correctness of designs
Analyze: Analyze circuit designs
What are EDA tools used for?
Designing integrated circuits (ICs)
Designing printed circuit boards (PCBs) Designing systems for data communications, the internet, transportation, and consumer devices How do EDA tools help?
Increase productivity
Improve power, performance, and area (PPA)
Reduce time to market (TTM)
Anticipate chip performance
Assemble circuit elements
Predict circuit behavior

SYSTEM

CppSim – system-level simulator by creating C++ code of your schematic

PandA-bambu – framework for research in high-level synthesis and HW/SW co-design

QElectroTech – Electronic diagrams

SystemC – system design and modeling

Switchboard – framework for communication between distinct hardware models, such as RTL simulations, RTL on FPGAs and fast SW models.

WaveDrom – draws your Timing Diagram or Waveform from simple textual description

PCB

Electric – IC design with schematic capture, layout, routing, LVS, PCB layout

eSim – Circuit design, simulation, analysis, PCB design using KiCad, Ngspice, Verilator, Makerchip, GHDL and OpenModelica.

Fritzing – Schematic capture and PCB layout

gEDA – Schematic capture

gerber2ems – openEMS simulation based on Gerber files

Horizon EDA – Schematic and PCB layout

Icestudio – Visual editor for open FPGA boards.

KiCAD – PCB layout

KiCanvas – interactive, browser-based viewer for KiCAD schematics

KTechLab – Electronic and PIC microcontroller design

LibrePCB – PCB Layout

LTspice – SPICE simulation, schematic capture, waveform viewer, Analog Devices

openEMS – electromagnetic field solver using the FDTD method.

PCB – PCB layout

pcb-rnd – PCB layout

QSPICE – simulator, schematic capture and waveform viewer for RF and power circuits, free from Qorvo

IC

ASG – An automatic schematic generation tool from a SPICE netlist, usually of output from qflow.

LIGN – Analog IC layout synthesis

Alliance/Coriolis – VHDL compiler, simulator, logic synthesizer, automatic place and route

Amaranth – Python-based HDL toolchain

Animate – Virtuoso schematic users can quickly see an automated analog layout, freemium tool from Pulsic

CflexHDL – design digital circuits in C, simulate really fast with a regular compiler.

ChipVault – Verilog and VHDL hierarchy management tool

Chisel – Hardware compiler framework

cocotb – coroutine based co-simulation testbench environment for verifying

Covered – Verilog code coverage

VHDL and SystemVerilog using Python

CUGR – Global routing tool developed by CUHK

CVC – Circuit Validity Checker, for errors in CDL netlist.

DEVSIM TCAD – semiconductor device simulator

EDA Playground – free web application for HDL simulation and synthesis

Edalize – Python library for interfacing EDA tools (Icarus, Yosys, ModelSim, Vivado, Verilator, GHDL, Quartus)

Fault – Design for Test

FuseSoc – package manager and a set of build tools for HDL code.

Gaw – Gtk Analog Wave viewer

GDSfactory – Python library for GDS generation

GDSpy – Python module for creation and manipulation of GDS files

GHDL – G HDL, a VHDL analyzer, compiler, simulator and synthesizer

Glade – Gds, Lef And Def Editor – layout and schematic editor, DRC, extraction, LVS.

Gnucap – GNU Circuit Analysis Package

GtkWave – waveform plot tool for digital simulation

Icarus Verilog – Verilog simulator (free)

iEDA – EDA infrastructure and tools from netlist to GDS for ASIC design

IIC-OSIC-TOOLS – Docker container of open-source IC tools

ipyxact – Python based IP-XACT parser

IRSIM – switch-level simulator

KLayout – Mask layout tool

LibrEDA – place and route

Linty HDL Designer – free linter for VHDL, Verilog, SystemVerilog, Tcl

LiteX – Migen/MiSoC based Core/SoC builder

Magic – IC layout, extraction, DRC

Makerchip-app – Desktop connection to free online Makerchip IDE

Migen – Python toolbox for HDL design

Mosaic – schematic capture and simulation tools

MyHDL – Python as a hardware description and verification language

Netgen – Layout Versus Schematic (LVS) tool

NetlistSVG – draws SVG netlist from Yosys JSON netlist

nMigen – Python based HDL design

Ngspice – SPICE circuit simulation

NVC – VHDL simulator and compiler

Open_PDKs – PDK setup scripts

OpenLane – digital RTL2GDS flow

Open Logic – a VHDL standard library for FPGA designs

OpenRAM – Memory compiler development framework

OpenROAD – RTL to GDS in 24 hours, no human in the loop

OpenSTA – Static Timing Analyzer

OpenTimer – Static Timing Analysis tool

OpenVAF – Verilog-A compiler

Oregano – schematic capture and SPICE circuit simulation

OSVVM – A VHDL verification framework, utility library, verification component library, and a simulator independent scripting flow

Padring – padring generation tool

PeakRDL – control and status register (CSR) toolchain.

PipelineC – HLS using C

PyCell Studio – create PyCells with Python and OpenAccess

PyRTL – collection of classes for Pythonic RTL design

PySlint – Python based SystemVerilog linter for testbenches, UVM, DPI and SVA.

PySpice – interface Ngspice and Xyce from Python

PyVerilog – Python toolkit for Verilog

Qrouter – multi-level, over-the-cell maze router

Qucs – Quite Universal Circuit Simulator

RePlAce – global placement tool

Revolution EDA – Symbol and schematic editor, layout editor, integration with Xyce for circuit simulation

RgGen – code generation tool for configuration and status registers

Risc-v toolchain – GNU compiler toolchain for RISC-V RV32! cores

SandPiper-SaaS – CLI connection to free (though proprietary) SandPiper™ microservice for TL-Verilog compilation.

SiliconCompiler – modular build system for hardware

sky130 – SkyWater Technologies 130nm CMOS PDK

slang – SystemVerilog language services

SPEF-Extractor – A Python library that reads LEF and DEF files, extract RC parasitics then create a SPEF file

Spyci – analyze or plot ngspice or xyce output data with Python

Surfer – an extensible and snappy waveform viewer

SystemRDL – generic compiler front-end for Accellera’s SystemRDL 2.0 Register Description Language.

Tbengy – Python tool for SV/UVM testbench generation and RTL synthesis, uses Vivado and Digilent FPGA boards

TerosHDL – code verification for ASIC/FPGA designs

v2k-top – Verilog-AMS parser/simulation framework

Verilator – Verilog simulator

Vlog2Verilog – Verilog file conversion

VLSIFFRA – Create fast and efficient standard cell based a

VUnit – an open source unit testing framework for VHDL/SystemVerilog.

WRspice – Circuit simulator.

XCircuit – Schematic capture for SPICE netlists and PostScript

Xschem – Schematic capture and netlisting: VHDL, Verilog, SPICE.

Xic – Schematic capture and IC layout editor.

XLS – XLS implements a High Level Synthesis (HLS) toolchain which produces synthesizable designs (Verilog and SystemVerilog) from flexible, high-level descriptions of functionality.

Xyce – Parallel analog circuit simulator from Sandia National Laboratories

Yosys – Verilog RTL synthesis

yosys-slang – SystemVerilog frontend for Yosys

FPGA

CflexHDL – Design digital circuits in C, simulate really fast with a regular compiler. Flow from C -> Silice -> Verilog -> Migen/LiteX -> Bitstream

FOEDAG – Framework Open EDA Gui

fpga-bitstream – Generate a generica or fabric dependent bitstream

Logik – FPGA toolchain that fully automates converting RTL to bits, including synthesis, placement, routing, bitstream generation, and analysis

nextpnr – FPGA place and route

OpenFPGA – framework that enables rapid prototyping of customizable FPGA architectures

openFPGALoader – universal utility for programming FPGAs

Project IceStorm – Lattice bitstream format documentation

flow – digital synthesis flow using Verilog or VHDL, targets Xilinx or Altera

Raptor – commercial FPGA flow for FPGA design, RapidSilicon

SymbiFlow – FPGA framework for tools, Verilog to bitstream

Basic electronic components are the fundamental building blocks of electrical circuits. Here are some of the most common ones: 1. Passive Components These components do not require a power source to function. Resistors (R) – Limit the flow of current. Measured in ohms (Ω).
Capacitors (C) – Store and release electrical energy. Measured in farads (F).
Inductors (L) – Store energy in a magnetic field when current passes through. Measured in henries (H).
Diodes (D) – Allow current to flow in only one direction.
2. Active Components These components require a power source to function. Transistors (Q) – Act as switches or amplifiers. Types: Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT) and Field Effect Transistor (FET).
Operational Amplifiers (Op-Amps) – Used for signal amplification, filtering, and other functions.
Integrated Circuits (ICs) – Contain multiple electronic components within a single package, like microcontrollers or logic gates.
3. Electromechanical Components Switches (S) – Manually or electronically control the circuit's on/off state.
Relays – Electrically operated switches that use electromagnets.
Transformers – Transfer electrical energy between circuits through electromagnetic induction.
4. Power Components Batteries – Store and supply DC power.
Voltage Regulators – Maintain a stable voltage supply.
Transformers – Step up or step down AC voltage.
5. Sensors & Display Components LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) – Emit light when current flows through them.
LCD/OLED Displays – Show information in digital circuits.
Temperature, Pressure, and Motion Sensors – Detect changes in the environment and provide input to circuits.