Installation - Part 2

Step 2: Compiling everything:

2.a) Petsc
type these in the terminal. It seems that the new gcc compiler has some issue with the gss code.

export CC=/usr/bin/gcc-4.2
export CXX=/usr/bin/g++-4.2


gunzip petsc
tar -xvf petsc
cd petsc
export PETSC_DIR=`pwd`

./config/configure.py --with-cc=gcc --download-mpich=1 --with-clanguage=cxx --with-mpi=0 --download-c-blas-lapack=1 --with-precision=longdouble --with-shared=0


2.b) Cgnslib
bunzip2 cgnslib
tar -xvf cgnslib
cd cgsnslib
./configure
make
sudo make install

2.c) GSS
gunzip the file
tar -xvf the file
cd GSS_dev
export GSS_DIR=`pwd`
./configure
make
sudo make install

It takes a while but eventually you should have a working TCAD simulator.
Please let me know if you encounter any problem.

What is TCAD, anyway?

TCAD stands for Technology Computer Aided Design, which is not that self-explanatory. What it really refers to is computer programs able to simulate either the workings of a semiconductor device (device simulation) or the fabrication process of a semiconductor device (process simulation).
Often the result of a process simulation, which is called a "mesh" or "grid" is fed into a device simulator to evaluate the performance or the behavior of the device that has been "virtually fabricated".
Simulations are very inexpensive and fast compared to actual prototype fabrication. They are also an excellent tool to understand semiconductor physics.