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rEDActor – A PDK Cross-platform Integrated Development Environment for Semiconductor Technologies
Authors
	Datsuk A.M.
	Timoshenkov V.P.
Date of publication
	2020
DOI
	10.31114/2078-7707-2020-4-17-22
Abstract
	The paper presents a cross-platform integrated development environment (IDE) for PDKs. A PDK development includes many steps such as coding, building, releasing, configuring, setting up runtime environment, testing, troubleshooting, and final deployment. The modern editors and IDEs are largely non-optimal for a few vital reasons. Firstly, they do not provide functionalities as word autocompletion, code folding and code refactoring integrated into one editor. Secondly, these editors do not have PDK specific features by default. These features have to be implemented additionally by PDK developers which costs time and requires appropriate programmer skills. The IDE rEDActor has been developed to address these problems and challenges and it includes a code editor which supports various languages required for PDK development. rEDActor allows performing a syntax check verification and source code debug by plugging in a third party tools through an appropriate embedded interface. The IDE has been incorporated into the leading-edge software tools increasing efficiency of PDK development significantly. This functionality gives PDK developer an opportunity to implement and debug the code within both Cadence Virtuoso and Keysight ADS environments. The presented IDE is not limited to development of parametrical cells (PCells) only and it is applicable for programming any PDK routines and rule deck scripts (DRC, LVS) for different vendors: Mentor (Calibre), Cadence Assura and PVS, Polyteda (Power), TexEDA (LayVer) as well. The IDE rEDActor has been enhanced to convert SKILL code for layout PCells into AEL one. The implemented functionality allows significantly reduce the effort of layout PCells development for interoperable PDKs which enable users to edit and simulate designs created in Cadence Design System's Virtuoso software within Keysight ADS framework and visa versa. The IDE rEDActor has been successfully applied for development of PDKs for 0.13 um and 0.25 um SiGe BiCMOS technologies resulting in significant reduction of programming effort, and consequently, highly reliable and robust PDK releases.
Keywords
	rEDActor, Integrated Development Environment (IDE), Process Design Kit (PDK), Code Editor, SKILL, AEL, Cadence Virtuoso, Mentor Calibre, Keysight ADS.
Library reference
	Datsuk A.M., Timoshenkov V.P. rEDActor – A PDK Cross-platform Integrated Development Environment for Semiconductor Technologies // Problems of Perspective Micro- and Nanoelectronic Systems Development - 2020. Issue 4. P. 17-22. doi:10.31114/2078-7707-2020-4-17-22
URL of paper
	http://www.mes-conference.ru/data/year2020/pdf/D011.pdf