Free Software Tools
IC Design Software for Unix/Linux and Windows
 Whiteley Research Inc., Sunnyvale California    wrcad.com

Free Software Tools

Whiteley Research Inc.,     wrcad.com

NOTE: This collection needs to be culled/expanded and updated. This will happen over time, for now I'm getting rid of some things: anything XicTools is available from the XicTools source at github.com/wrcad/xictools. Old Windows and Apple distribution files are gone, at least for now. The present option is to build from source using MSYS2 or Cygwin on Windows or MacPorts on Apple.

This directory contains open source programs distributed as a service by Whiteley Research, Inc. Most of these are covered by the GNU Public License or the GNU Library Public License. These programs are provided "as is" and no guarantees are given or implied as to the fitness of these programs for any particular purpose. No liability will be accepted for any consequence of their use.

These programs can also be accessed via anonymous ftp at ftp.wrcad.com and ftp.srware.com.

Included are:

  • A free ic layout editor
  • A free Verilog simulator
  • A free maze router.
  • Several free circuit simulators
  • A free HTML browser
  • Other, more specialized applications

Be sure to visit wrcad.com for other information that may be of interest.

The programs with distribution files of the form xxx-setup.exe are distributions for Microsoft Windows, designed to run on Windows 8 or later. Simply execute the downloaded file to install.

Other files are in tar/gzip format intended for Unix/Linux/MacOS platforms, or possibly Cygwin/Mingw under Windows. These are source code distributions that must be compiled, instructions are provided in the distributions. These should build without trouble, but may require some minor tweaking on some systems, or perhaps installation of supporting libraries.

Please report problems encountered with any of the programs.

Links

Below are some links to other open-source software which in some cases is needed by or used with the programs listed below, or is deemed interesting or useful for some reason.

The GTK+ widget library
This is a library of graphical user interface components for Linux, OS X, and Windows. The library is used with Whiteley Research products.
Presently XicTools is moving to QT and GTK+ is not being used for new code.

The Cygwin tools
The Cygwin tools is a set of Unix/Linux programs that do an excellent job of providing a Linux-like environment under Microsoft Windows. The Cygwin dynamic link library, the core of the project and used by all of the tools, provides many of the functions of the Linux kernel. The set includes a complete program development environment similar to that found on a Linux system, which allows many UNIX/Linux applications to port to Windows directly. The disadvantage is legal: programs built in this environment contain copies of the Cygwin library, which can not be distributed commercially without paying royalties.
Presently XicTools is using MSYS2 for Windows support, but Cygwin is still a valid alternative.

The MacPorts project
Presently XicTools support on Apple is provided by MacPorts.

The MINGW tools
The MinGW (Minimalist GNU for Windows) project is similar to the Cygwin project, but does not use the Cygwin kernel. Rather, it uses the native Windows facilities. This means that programs must be developed specifically for Windows, but there is no licensing constraint. It is an excellent choice for developing programs under Windows for those used to the gcc compiler and Linux tools. Whiteley Research Windows programs are compiled with MinGW, but actually from a different source: the Win-builds project.
The MinGW libraries are available with MSYS2 and Cygwin so don't need to be acquired form another source.

The Win-Builds Project (No longer exists)
This provides a version of MinGW and a large number of pre-built applications. This is actually what we use at Whiteley Research, and is employed to create the "gtk2-bundle" required by Whiteley Research products.
Nope, this is no longer needed, MSYS2 or Cygwin provides everything.

opencircuitdesign.com
This provides an amazing resource of open-source EDA tools, including Qflow, a complete Verilog to layout flow based entirely on open-source tools and libraries.
Still true!

Distributions

Stand-Alone Tools from XicTools

These are stand-alone versions of tools that are part of the XicTools suite. The versions from XicTools are recommended, as they are more up-to-date, and accommodate/provide enhancements found in the XicTools but not here.

adms-2.3.0-wr032014.tar.gz (May 12, 2014, 640 Kb)      Download
This is an enhanced release of this tool. This version is required for use with WRspice, for creating loadable device modules from Verilog-a code.

fastcap-2.0wr-010524.tar.gz (January 5, 2024, 3.8 Mb)      Download
This is a modified version of the fastcap three dimensional capacitance extraction program, source code distribution for Unix/Linux and Windows (Mingw). More information can be found in README.FASTCAP.

fasthenry-3.0wr-031424.tar.gz (March 14, 2024, 5.2 Mb)      Download
This is a modified version of the fasthenry three dimensional inductance computation program which handles superconducting conductors. This is a source code distribution for Unix/Linux and Windows (mingw). More information can be found in README.FASTHENRY. Updated for macOS, general 64-bit support, AVX cpu extensions, and third-party linear algebra packages. The original version without these extensions is available HERE. The present release builds cleanly with MinGW.

polyhole.c (Aug 29, 2017, 5Kb)      Download
This is a contributed file to add to the FastHenry source to enable support of polygonal ground plane holes. Eventually this will probably become part of the base package.

20150819_fasthenry-3.0wr_work.tar.bz2 (Aug. 19, 2015, 3.0 Mb)      Download
This is a version that uses MPI to parallelize execution, contributed by Oliver Wackerl. More information can be found in README.FASTHENRY_MPI.

jj.va (Release 1.34, Dec. 18, 2019, 32 Kb)      Download
This is an open-source Verilog-A Josephson junction model, from the SuperTools project. Also provided in the WRspice packages/source.

mrouter-1.1.1.tar.gz (Feb 2, 2017, 11 Mb)      Download
This is the initial public release of MRouter, a maze router derived from Tim Edwards' Qrouter from opencircuitdesign.com. This provides a stand-alone non-graphical router application, as well as a plug-in which will be loaded automatically into Xic when installed. The plug-in provides routing capability from within Xic, as well as support for LEF/DEF file input/output. See README.MROUTER for more info.

mrouter-Win32-1.1.1-i386.exe (Feb 2, 2017, 2.3 Mb)      Download
This is a self-extracting installer for Windows, providing a pre-built MRouter application and Xic plug-in.

vl-1.6.tar.gz (Nov. 8, 2014, 624 Kb)      Download
The vl program is a Verilog simulator. It is command-line driven (no graphics). Just about all of the standard Verilog functionality is supported (specify blocks and the PLI are not implemented yet). This is a source code distribution which should build on any unix-like system, including mingw. Lots of example files are provided.

vl-1.6-setup.exe (Nov. 8, 2014, 1.0 Mb)      Download
This is a Windows binary distribution of the vl Verilog simulator. The package provides the vl binary and a collection of example files.

Other Distributions

cpw.c (Nov. 7, 2014, 5Kb)      Download
This is a program to compute the transmission line parameters of a coplanar waveguide at a substrate/air interface.

ind.c (Nov. 7, 2014, 11.5Kb)      Download
This ancient program computes the inductance and coupling factor of IBM-style superconducting interferometers.

induct-110814.tar.gz (Nov. 8, 2014, 22 Kb)      Download
This is a 2-D Chang's algorithm evaluator for calculating the inductance of an array of superconductors, written by Jay Fleischman at Berkeley. This is the source code distribution, compiles under Unix/Linux or Windows (mingw).

ipat-2.9.tar.gz (Sept. 23, 2014, 115 Kb)      Download
Ipat is a program for computing and plotting the interference patterns of two and three Josephson junction interferometers. This is the latest source code for any Linux-like oparating system, including Windows with MinGW/Cygwin. It uses the GTK+ toolkit, or the native Win32 under Windows. See README.IPAT for more info.

ipat-2.9-setup.exe (Sept 23, 2014, 359 Kb)      Download
This is a self-extracting Windows binary release of ipat using native Win32 graphical interface..

jjmodel.c (Nov. 7, 2014, 2.4 Kb)      Download
This is a simple program that generates Jspice3/WRspice models for Josephson junctions.

jsim-2.0e.tar.gz (Nov. 8, 2014, 65 Kb)      Download
This is the jsim Josephson junction circuit simulator developed at Berkeley. It is a small, fast, no frills simulator which can compile and run on just about any computer.

Jspice3 (More info here.)
jspice3-2.5-110615.tar.gz (Nov. 6, 2015, 1.4 Mb)      Download
This is the Jspice3 circuit simulator, a version of SPICE with support for Josephson junctions and with enhanced graphics. This is the final release of the former commercial product, now officially open-source. The source code builds on Linux-like systems with the X window system development libraries installed. This includes Cygwin and Apple MacOS. See the README file for more portability info.

Jspice3 in an enhanced version of Berkeley Spice3f4, with an internal schematic capture capability. Although developed specifically for simulation of circuits containing Josephson junctions, Jspice3 is suited to other technologies as well. Jspice3 is provided as source code (redistribution restrictions apply). See the Jspice3 description for more information.

Caveats

  • The code is supplied as a tarball that you must compile. It might not work without some fiddling and tweaking, and you may need some programming experience. Sorry, but we don't have time to provide much help.
  • It is not possible to provide a demo.
  • The program is supplied "as is" with no guaranteed support.
  • This is intended for students and experimenters. Real pros, experts, and cool kids would demand WRspice instead.

jspice3-docs.tar.gz (July 27, 2017, 41Mb)      Download
This is jspice3 source code documentation contributed by Andrew Wagner of Raytheon BBN Technologies, generated using the doxygen program. This is useful to anyone needing to understand and work with the jspice3 source code.

kic-2.4c.tar.gz (Nov. 8, 2014, 403 Kb)      Download
Kic is a toy integrated circuit layout editor, which has actually been used to produce some fairly complex designs. It is GDSII and CIF compatible, supports arbitrary polygons, and is reasonably efficient. This is a source code distribution for any UNIX with X-windows, and Microsoft Windows (mingw or cygwin). DOS is no longer supported. See README.KIC for more information.

kic-2.4c-setup.exe (Nov. 8, 2014, 526 Kb)      Download
This is a self-extracting binary distribution of Kic for Microsoft Windows.

malt-wrcad.tar.gz (Feb. 6, 2022, 1.6MB)      Download
This is the newest version of the MALT circuit optimizer from Quentin Herr of IMEC. This is a source tree with a git repository, so updates can be pulled down from github.com/wrcad/malt_wrcad by giving "git pull" from anywhere in the source tree.

MALT is a C program and set of WRspice scripts developed for optimizing single flux quantum Josephson circuits, using the method of inscribed hyperspheres. Requires WRspice.

This program has evolved substantially from its original incarnation below, which is retained for historical reasons.

malt-wr-111515.tar.gz (Nov. 15, 2015, 64 Kb)      Download
MALT is a C program and set of WRspice/Jspice3 scripts developed at the University of Rochester in the mid-1990s for optimizing single flux quantum Josephson circuits, using the method of inscribed hyperspheres. This is a modest rework and repackaging for portability and ease of setup. Requires WRspice or Jspice3, builds/runs on any Linux-like environment including MinGW or Cygwin on Windows, and MacOS. See README.MALT for more info.

malt-wr-docs.tar.gz (July 27, 2017, 1.3Mb)      Download
This is malt-wr source code documentation contributed by Andrew Wagner of Raytheon BBN Technologies, generated using the doxygen program. This is useful to anyone needing to understand and work with the malt-wr source code.

RSFQ Demo Cells (Nov. 3, 2018, 1.1Mb)      Download
This is a library of RSFQ cells for Xic and WRspice, including inductorless versions of many of the cells. Also included is a workshop presentation that provides some background on the inductorless concept. These are also found in the Xic examples included with the program.

sline.c (Nov. 7, 2014, 11 Kb)      Download
This is a program for computing characteristics of superconducting microstripline.

Spice3f5-wr (Sept. 20, 2015, 1.9 Mb)      Download
This is a modest rework of the venerable Spice3f5 from Berkeley, with bug fixes, portablility enhancements, latest BSIM models, etc. See README.SPICE for more information. Now builds on MacOS with MacPorts X libraries.


Copyright © Whiteley Research Inc. 2014