Installation Steps:
- Ensure Java is installed and updated on your system
- Download and save electric-9.07.jar to your computer (It is a java archived file) – You just have to double-click this .jar file and there you go. If java is updated in your system then a window like below would open.
- Download and install LTspice in your computer. LTSpice is a SPICE simulator for electronic circuits, which is a freeware. We need this for simulating the circuit designed in Electric.
Download and save electric-9.07.jar
Click here to download electric-9.07
Download the Electric Source Release (26 MB)
Create the folder $PATH/Electric and save the file electric-9.07.jar in it
Note: It is up to you where you want to keep the electric jar file. But I would advise to create a folder name Electric and open the electric jar file from the same folder. So, that all the designs and log files can be found in the same folder.
Download and install LTspice
Click here to download LTspice
Start with Electric:
- Double clicking on the saved jar file starts Electric in Windows. This takes 64 MB of memory space. For larger design we might need more space for simulation. For this we need to change the allotted memory space. In the next section, we will see how to do this.
- In Linux, go to the location where the jar file is saved and execute java -Xmx512m -jar electric-9.07.jar & in a terminal to start Electric. This takes 512 MB of memory space.
- For Mac OS, either double-click the jar file to open Electric or run the above command in a xterm.
- We will be using model files for the C5 process technology (SPICE models C5_models.txt) for fabrication through MOSIS. The attached model file describes the characteristics of NMOS and PMOS for feature size 0.6 um. So the transistors used in the design would be of 600 nm process technology. You are free to use any other model file. MOSIS Scalable CMOS (SCMOS) Design Rules are attached here for your reference.
- You can go to Predictive Technology Models (PTM) [http://ptm.asu.edu/] for several technology model files.
Increasing the Memory limit of the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) for larger designs:
For larger designs, Electric may need more memory than the default maximum value (64 MB).
If you are using the waveform viewer in Electric and not increasing the maximum memory then it will be easy to run out of memory when reading a SPICE raw file resulting in an “Exception Caught!”
To increase Electric’s available memory, go to File -> Preferences -> General -> General and increase the maximum memory size as seen below:
