An Overview of RF.Spice - Revision history

Kazem Sabet at 18:31, 13 July 2015

2015-07-13T18:31:39Z

Kazem Sabet at 19:25, 1 October 2014

2014-10-01T19:25:27Z

Kazem Sabet at 03:23, 5 September 2014

2014-09-05T03:23:42Z

Kazem Sabet at 19:22, 17 August 2014

2014-08-17T19:22:12Z

Kazem Sabet at 19:21, 17 August 2014

2014-08-17T19:21:58Z

Kazem Sabet at 19:12, 15 August 2014

2014-08-15T19:12:33Z

Kazem Sabet at 21:35, 13 August 2014

2014-08-13T21:35:15Z

Kazem Sabet at 21:34, 13 August 2014

2014-08-13T21:34:49Z

Kazem Sabet at 21:25, 13 August 2014

2014-08-13T21:25:06Z

Kazem Sabet at 21:18, 13 August 2014

2014-08-13T21:18:29Z

@@ Line 47: / Line 47: @@
 <p>&nbsp;</p>
-[[RF.Spice  | Back to RF.Spice Wiki Main Page]]
+[[B2.Spice_A/D-RF.Spice | Back to RF.Spice Wiki Main Page]]
 &nbsp; [[File:rarr.png]] &nbsp;
 [[Multiport_Networks | Multiport Networks]]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 [[File:RFSpice_Screen.png|thumb|400px|]]
-RF.Spice is the “RF Edition” of [[B2.Spice A/D]]. In other words, it is an enhanced superset of the [[B2.Spice A/D]] application with an extensive library of RF devices that include S-parameter-based [[Multiport Networks|multiport networks]] and a variety of generic and physical transmission line types. You can use RF.Spice to simulate or design distributed analog and mixed-mode circuits at high frequencies.
+[[RF.Spice]] is the “RF Edition” of [[B2.Spice A/D]]. In other words, it is an enhanced superset of the [[B2.Spice A/D]] application with an extensive library of RF devices that include S-parameter-based [[Multiport Networks|multiport networks]] and a variety of generic and physical transmission line types. You can use [[RF.Spice]] to simulate or design distributed analog and mixed-mode circuits at high frequencies.
-The major differences between RF.Spice and [[B2.Spice A/D]] are:
+The major differences between [[RF.Spice]] and [[B2.Spice A/D]] are:
-* The RF.Spice Workshop has an additional RF Menu with a large collection of RF parts.
+* The [[RF.Spice]] Workshop has an additional RF Menu with a large collection of RF parts.
-* The RF.Spice Device Editor has an additional RF Menu with a variety transmission line calculators and designers as well as utilities for importing active and passive S-parameter-based RF device models.
+* The [[RF.Spice]] Device Editor has an additional RF Menu with a variety transmission line calculators and designers as well as utilities for importing active and passive S-parameter-based RF device models.
-* The RF.Spice parts database is a superset of the [[B2.Spice A/D]] parts database.
+* The [[RF.Spice]] parts database is a superset of the [[B2.Spice A/D]] parts database.
 * The node-locked licenses of the two programs are different.
@@ Line 20: / Line 20: @@
-At the heart of RF.Spice lie the concepts of RF [[Transmission Lines|transmission lines]] and [[Multiport Networks|multiport networks]]. All the RF devices of RF. Spice can be divided into two groups: devices based on transmission line models, and devices based on multiple networks. As you will see in the later sections of this manual, RF.Spice's transmission line models are based on SPICE's standard LTRA model. [[Multiport Networks]] are characterized and modeled based on their frequency-domain scattering (S) [[parameters]].
+At the heart of [[RF.Spice]] lie the concepts of RF [[Transmission Lines|transmission lines]] and [[Multiport Networks|multiport networks]]. All the RF devices of RF. Spice can be divided into two groups: devices based on transmission line models, and devices based on multiple networks. As you will see in the later sections of this manual, [[RF.Spice]]'s transmission line models are based on SPICE's standard LTRA model. [[Multiport Networks]] are characterized and modeled based on their frequency-domain scattering (S) [[parameters]].
-The S-[[parameters]] are tabulated as a function of frequency and interpolated in between the frequency samples. RF.Spice performs an AC analysis of these RF devices by converting their S-[[parameters]] to Y-[[parameters]] and using them in conjunction with SPICE’s nodal admittance matrix formalism.
+The S-[[parameters]] are tabulated as a function of frequency and interpolated in between the frequency samples. [[RF.Spice]] performs an AC analysis of these RF devices by converting their S-[[parameters]] to Y-[[parameters]] and using them in conjunction with SPICE’s nodal admittance matrix formalism.
-The S-parameter-based RF devices of RF.Spice are primarily intended for use in two types of [[tests]]:
+The S-parameter-based RF devices of [[RF.Spice]] are primarily intended for use in two types of [[tests]]:
 * AC Frequency Sweep Test
@@ Line 34: / Line 34: @@
-RF.Spice's simulation engines are the same as the Berkeley SPICE and XSPICE engines of [[B2.Spice A/D]]. The high frequency AC analysis is carried out by the same analog and mixed-mode SPICE simulation engine. As a result, you can mix the RF devices in your circuits with all the other analog and mixed-mode devices of [[B2.Spice A/D]]. You can also mix transmission-line-type RF devices with digital parts and perform mixed-mode time domain simulations.
+[[RF.Spice]]'s simulation engines are the same as the Berkeley SPICE and XSPICE engines of [[B2.Spice A/D]]. The high frequency AC analysis is carried out by the same analog and mixed-mode SPICE simulation engine. As a result, you can mix the RF devices in your circuits with all the other analog and mixed-mode devices of [[B2.Spice A/D]]. You can also mix transmission-line-type RF devices with digital parts and perform mixed-mode time domain simulations.
 From a simulation point of view, an RF circuit is made up of a collection of [[Multiport Networks|multiport networks]] that are interconnected via RF [[Transmission Lines|transmission lines]]. If the input of your circuit is connected to a source and its output is connected to a load, then you can compute all the voltages and currents at all the external or internal ports of the circuit (i.e. at the various circuit nodes). Or you can calculate the port characteristics of the overall network by designating input and output ports to your RF circuit.
@@ Line 41: / Line 41: @@
 ==Limitations of RF.Spice==
-The RF circuit analysis performed by RF.Spice is based on the assumption that your distributed RF circuit can be modeled as an interconnected network of multiport devices and transmission line segments and components. This means that all the coupling or crosstalk effects must have been captured by the S-parameter-based models of devices or by the transmission line and discontinuity models used by RF.Spice. Most of these models work satisfactorily at lower frequencies up to several Gigahertz. At these frequencies, a quasi-static regime may be able to represent the physics of your RF circuit to a good level of accuracy. In the quasi-static regime, the different parts of your circuits can be treated as multiport devices or components that are governed by Kirchhoff circuit laws.
+The RF circuit analysis performed by [[RF.Spice]] is based on the assumption that your distributed RF circuit can be modeled as an interconnected network of multiport devices and transmission line segments and components. This means that all the coupling or crosstalk effects must have been captured by the S-parameter-based models of devices or by the transmission line and discontinuity models used by [[RF.Spice]]. Most of these models work satisfactorily at lower frequencies up to several Gigahertz. At these frequencies, a quasi-static regime may be able to represent the physics of your RF circuit to a good level of accuracy. In the quasi-static regime, the different parts of your circuits can be treated as multiport devices or components that are governed by Kirchhoff circuit laws.
@@ Line 47: / Line 47: @@
 <p>&nbsp;</p>
-[[B2.Spice_A/D  | Back to B2.Spice A/D Wiki Main Page]]
+[[RF.Spice  | Back to RF.Spice Wiki Main Page]]
 &nbsp; [[File:rarr.png]] &nbsp;
 [[Multiport_Networks | Multiport Networks]]

@@ Line 19: / Line 19: @@
 RF circuit analysis, by nature, is an AC analysis that you typically run at high frequencies ranging from tens of Megahertz to tens of Gigahertz. At such high frequencies, the dimensions of your circuit may become comparable in order of magnitude to the wavelength, when wave retardation effects start to appear. In other words, your circuit starts to act like a distributed structure rather than a lumped circuit where signals propagate instantaneously. In the analysis of a low frequency circuit, two nodes that are connected to each other through a wire are assumed to have equal potentials or identical voltages. In RF circuits, however, the connecting wires act as [[Transmission Lines|transmission lines]], whose lengths play an important role in determining the voltages and currents at different points of the circuit.
 The RF devices of RF.Spice are primarily intended for use in two types of [[tests]]:
 * AC Frequency Sweep Test
@@ Line 29: / Line 31: @@
-{{Note | RF devices do not work with “Live Simulation” or Transient Test as their models normally contain S-[[parameters]] at high frequencies only.}}
+{{Note | S-parameter-based  RF devices do not work with “Live Simulation” or Transient Test as their models normally contain S-[[parameters]] at high frequencies only.}}
-At the heart of RF.Spice lie the concepts of [[Multiport Networks|multiport networks]] and RF [[Transmission Lines|transmission lines]]. From a simulation point of view, an RF circuit is made up of a collection of [[Multiport Networks|multiport networks]] that are interconnected via RF [[Transmission Lines|transmission lines]]. If the input of your circuit is connected to a source and its output is connected to a load, then you can compute all the voltages and currents at all the external or internal ports of the circuit (i.e. at the various circuit nodes). Or you can calculate the port characteristics of the overall network by designating input and output ports to your RF circuit.
+RF.Spice's simulation engines are the same as the Berkeley SPICE and XSPICE engines of [[B2.Spice A/D]]. The high frequency AC analysis is carried out by the same analog and mixed-mode SPICE simulation engine. As a result, you can mix the RF devices in your circuits with all the other analog and mixed-mode devices of [[B2.Spice A/D]]. You can also mix transmission-line-type RF devices with digital parts and perform mixed-mode time domain simulations.

@@ Line 45: / Line 45: @@
 [[B2.Spice_A/D  | Back to B2.Spice A/D Wiki Main Page]]
 &nbsp; [[File:rarr.png]] &nbsp;
-[[Multiport_Networks | Proceed to Multiport Networks]]
+[[Multiport_Networks | Multiport Networks]]

@@ Line 42: / Line 42: @@
 As the frequency increases, more complex wave radiation and propagation effects start to appear and affect the performance of your circuit. At much higher frequencies and in the millimeter wave region of the spectrum, the coupling between adjacent [[Transmission Lines|transmission lines]] may no longer be neglected. In such cases, a full-wave electromagnetic analysis of portions of the circuit might become inevitable. This might be especially true for junction areas and vertical interconnects that join transmission line traces on two sides of a board and across different substrate layers. For accurate analysis of structures of this type you need a full-wave electromagnetic (EM) modeling tool. [[EM.Cube]] is a modular suite of EM simulation tools for this very purpose. Among its computational modules are time domain full-wave simulators like [[EM.Tempo]] based on the Finite Different Time Domain (FDTD) method as well as frequency domain full-wave simulators like [[EM.Picasso]] and [[EM.Libera]] based on different variations of the Method of Moments (MoM).
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
-−
-[[Multiport_Networks | Proceed to Multiport Networks]]
-−
 [[B2.Spice_A/D  | Back to B2.Spice A/D Wiki Main Page]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:12, 15 August 2014
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		+	[[File:RFSpice_Screen.png\|thumb\|400px\|]]
		+
	RF.Spice is the “RF Edition” of [[B2.Spice A/D]]. In other words, it is an enhanced superset of the [[B2.Spice A/D]] application with an extensive library of RF devices that include S-parameter-based [[Multiport Networks\|multiport networks]] and a variety of generic and physical transmission line types. You can use RF.Spice to simulate or design distributed analog and mixed-mode circuits at high frequencies.		RF.Spice is the “RF Edition” of [[B2.Spice A/D]]. In other words, it is an enhanced superset of the [[B2.Spice A/D]] application with an extensive library of RF devices that include S-parameter-based [[Multiport Networks\|multiport networks]] and a variety of generic and physical transmission line types. You can use RF.Spice to simulate or design distributed analog and mixed-mode circuits at high frequencies.

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:35, 13 August 2014
Line 36:		Line 36:

	The RF circuit analysis performed by RF.Spice is based on the assumption that your distributed RF circuit can be modeled as an interconnected network of multiport devices and transmission line segments and components. This means that all the coupling or crosstalk effects must have been captured by the S-parameter-based models of devices or by the transmission line and discontinuity models used by RF.Spice. Most of these models work satisfactorily at lower frequencies up to several Gigahertz. At these frequencies, a quasi-static regime may be able to represent the physics of your RF circuit to a good level of accuracy. In the quasi-static regime, the different parts of your circuits can be treated as multiport devices or components that are governed by Kirchhoff circuit laws.		The RF circuit analysis performed by RF.Spice is based on the assumption that your distributed RF circuit can be modeled as an interconnected network of multiport devices and transmission line segments and components. This means that all the coupling or crosstalk effects must have been captured by the S-parameter-based models of devices or by the transmission line and discontinuity models used by RF.Spice. Most of these models work satisfactorily at lower frequencies up to several Gigahertz. At these frequencies, a quasi-static regime may be able to represent the physics of your RF circuit to a good level of accuracy. In the quasi-static regime, the different parts of your circuits can be treated as multiport devices or components that are governed by Kirchhoff circuit laws.
		+

	As the frequency increases, more complex wave radiation and propagation effects start to appear and affect the performance of your circuit. At much higher frequencies and in the millimeter wave region of the spectrum, the coupling between adjacent [[Transmission Lines\|transmission lines]] may no longer be neglected. In such cases, a full-wave electromagnetic analysis of portions of the circuit might become inevitable. This might be especially true for junction areas and vertical interconnects that join transmission line traces on two sides of a board and across different substrate layers. For accurate analysis of structures of this type you need a full-wave electromagnetic (EM) modeling tool. [[EM.Cube]] is a modular suite of EM simulation tools for this very purpose. Among its computational modules are time domain full-wave simulators like [[EM.Tempo]] based on the Finite Different Time Domain (FDTD) method as well as frequency domain full-wave simulators like [[EM.Picasso]] and [[EM.Libera]] based on different variations of the Method of Moments (MoM).		As the frequency increases, more complex wave radiation and propagation effects start to appear and affect the performance of your circuit. At much higher frequencies and in the millimeter wave region of the spectrum, the coupling between adjacent [[Transmission Lines\|transmission lines]] may no longer be neglected. In such cases, a full-wave electromagnetic analysis of portions of the circuit might become inevitable. This might be especially true for junction areas and vertical interconnects that join transmission line traces on two sides of a board and across different substrate layers. For accurate analysis of structures of this type you need a full-wave electromagnetic (EM) modeling tool. [[EM.Cube]] is a modular suite of EM simulation tools for this very purpose. Among its computational modules are time domain full-wave simulators like [[EM.Tempo]] based on the Finite Different Time Domain (FDTD) method as well as frequency domain full-wave simulators like [[EM.Picasso]] and [[EM.Libera]] based on different variations of the Method of Moments (MoM).

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:34, 13 August 2014
Line 35:		Line 35:
	==Limitations of RF.Spice==		==Limitations of RF.Spice==

−	The RF circuit analysis performed by RF.Spice is based on the assumption that your distributed RF circuit can be modeled as an interconnected network of multiport devices and transmission line segments and components. This means that all the coupling or crosstalk effects must have been captured by the S-parameter-based models of devices or by the transmission line and discontinuity models used by RF.Spice. Most of these models work satisfactorily at lower frequencies up to several Gigahertz. As the frequency increases, more complex wave radiation and propagation effects start to appear and affect the performance of your circuit. At much higher frequencies and in the millimeter wave region of the spectrum, the coupling between adjacent [[Transmission Lines\|transmission lines]] may no longer be neglected. In such cases, a full-wave analysis of portions of the circuit might become inevitable. This might be especially true for junction areas and vertical interconnects that join transmission line traces on two sides of a board and across different substrate layers.	+	The RF circuit analysis performed by RF.Spice is based on the assumption that your distributed RF circuit can be modeled as an interconnected network of multiport devices and transmission line segments and components. This means that all the coupling or crosstalk effects must have been captured by the S-parameter-based models of devices or by the transmission line and discontinuity models used by RF.Spice. Most of these models work satisfactorily at lower frequencies up to several Gigahertz. At these frequencies, a quasi-static regime may be able to represent the physics of your RF circuit to a good level of accuracy. In the quasi-static regime, the different parts of your circuits can be treated as multiport devices or components that are governed by Kirchhoff circuit laws.
		+
		+	As the frequency increases, more complex wave radiation and propagation effects start to appear and affect the performance of your circuit. At much higher frequencies and in the millimeter wave region of the spectrum, the coupling between adjacent [[Transmission Lines\|transmission lines]] may no longer be neglected. In such cases, a full-wave electromagnetic analysis of portions of the circuit might become inevitable. This might be especially true for junction areas and vertical interconnects that join transmission line traces on two sides of a board and across different substrate layers. For accurate analysis of structures of this type you need a full-wave electromagnetic (EM) modeling tool. [[EM.Cube]] is a modular suite of EM simulation tools for this very purpose. Among its computational modules are time domain full-wave simulators like [[EM.Tempo]] based on the Finite Different Time Domain (FDTD) method as well as frequency domain full-wave simulators like [[EM.Picasso]] and [[EM.Libera]] based on different variations of the Method of Moments (MoM).

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:25, 13 August 2014
Line 35:		Line 35:
	==Limitations of RF.Spice==		==Limitations of RF.Spice==

−	The RF circuit analysis performed by RF.Spice is based on the assumption that your distributed RF circuit can be modeled as an interconnected network of multiport devices and transmission line segments and components. This means that all the coupling or crosstalk effects must have been captured by the S-parameter-based models of devices or by the transmission line and discontinuity models used by RF.Spice. Most of these models work satisfactorily at lower frequencies up to several Gigahertz. As the frequency increases, more complex wave radiation and propagation effects start to appear and affect the performance of your circuit. At much higher frequencies in the millimeter wave region of the spectrum, ~~each junction~~ may ~~have to~~ be ~~considered as~~	+	The RF circuit analysis performed by RF.Spice is based on the assumption that your distributed RF circuit can be modeled as an interconnected network of multiport devices and transmission line segments and components. This means that all the coupling or crosstalk effects must have been captured by the S-parameter-based models of devices or by the transmission line and discontinuity models used by RF.Spice. Most of these models work satisfactorily at lower frequencies up to several Gigahertz. As the frequency increases, more complex wave radiation and propagation effects start to appear and affect the performance of your circuit. At much higher frequencies and in the millimeter wave region of the spectrum, the coupling between adjacent [[Transmission Lines\|transmission lines]] may no longer be neglected. In such cases, a full-wave analysis of portions of the circuit might become inevitable. This might be especially true for junction areas and vertical interconnects that join transmission line traces on two sides of a board and across different substrate layers.