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SPICE SAVVY
A complete tutorial on SPICE


Benefits
“SPICE Savvy” is taught personally by Charles Hymowitz, co-founder and former COO of Intusoft. This course provides the perfect opportunity to learn about SPICE and analog circuit simulation. Through a variety of tutorial examples, students will involve themselves with hands-on sessions, performing actual simulation with one of the top professionals in the industry on-hand to answer questions. Whether your problems are related to current simulation needs or future endeavors, this seminar is your chance to gain a firm understanding of SPICE.

You should attend if:

  • You want to gain a total understanding of all the capabilities of the Intusoft ICAP/4 Virtual Circuit Design Laboratory, Cadence PSpice and/or the SPICE analog and mixed-signal circuit simulation program.
  • You are experiencing difficulties in simulating circuits, whether it be convergence related or procedural problems.
  • You want to improve your productivity by learning to use the latest state of the art circuit design tools.

    About the Class
    This one or two day seminar is beneficial for both the novice wanting to learn circuit simulation, as well as the experienced user looking for a complete update on SPICE-based simulators and state of the art circuit design tools. The course will concentrate on SPICE with detailed instruction on other products as needed to produce schematics and SPICE netlists, run SPICE simulations, create device models, and view and analyze the results.

    Each class is specially tailored to the individuals, the company, and the disciplines (power, RF, IC) chosen by the students attending the particular seminar. Circuit examples, modeling issues, and data analysis techniques will be used that address the specific problems and pitfalls that the students are encountering in their daily jobs.

    The course consists of a series of short modules complemented by hands-on problem solving sessions on PCs, and includes follow-on class discussion. Total class time is divided among these elements. Students may select circuit problems from the AEi Systems library that are best suited to their interests or may bring their own to the session.

    SPICE Seminar Cost and Materials
    The cost of the seminar is $425 per person per day with a minimum of 5 students. Discounts are available for classes with over 8 attendees.* A full set of course notes and demonstration software are provided. Courses are held at a location of the customer's choosing.

    Course Background
    The “SPICE Savvy” seminar has been taught at conventions such as Wescon, Midcon, and Powercon, at universities such as UCLA and UCSD, and at major corporations across the USA to hundreds of engineers. The AEi Systems instructors are experienced at teaching circuit simulation to engineers with all levels of computer background.

    We believe that SPICE will continue to be the dominant analog and mixed signal circuit simulator for the next decade and beyond. Whether you use SPICE-based products on a PC or a workstation, this class will bring you up to speed on this vital CAE technology.


    • Topics To Be Covered
  • Understanding SPICE Syntax
  • Debugging and Running SPICE
  • Solving Convergence and Other Common Problems
  • What’s New in SPICE
  • How to Use SPICE to Design and Analyze Circuits
  • Effective Circuit Modeling
  • Your Circuit Simulation Problems
  • Monte Carlo Analysis and Circuit Optimization

    • Detailed Course Outline
    SPICE Introduction: An overview consisting of the history of SPICE and its current progression to SPICE 3 will be given. A review of the current EDA software trends and programs in the schematic entry, simulation, and data analysis area will be covered along with a comparison of SPICE 3/PSpice/IsSpice features.

    Module 1: A short introduction will be given on the basic software tools needed to perform a simulation including:

  • SpiceNet, schematic editor
  • IsSpice4, Intusoft’s analog/mixed signal simulator or Cadence PSpice
  • Placing and Editing Components & Sources
  • Making Connections, Schematic Rules
  • DC Path to Ground, Keeping Impedances reasonable
  • Getting and Reviewing Output Data

    The following topics will also be discussed in depth:

  • SPICE syntax for passive elements and power sources
  • Interactive Simulation and Waveform Cross-probing
  • AC, DC, and Transient analyses
  • How SPICE performs a transient analysis
  • Generating the proper output data, Error Traps and pitfalls

    Students will then construct a SPICE netlist from one of several examples provided. The circuit will be simulated and debugged. Tips for dealing with SPICE error messages and successfully running SPICE will be covered.

    Module 2: Behavioral source development will be described along with the use and limitations of various key building blocks. Analog behavioral modeling features (equations, Tables, If-Then-Else, etc.) will be discussed. Related topics include:

  • Mixed Mode and Digital Logic Simulation
  • Analog Behavioral model development
  • User-Defined Symbols
  • Finding Models on the web
  • Importing and Checking Out Models found on the Web
  • Making Models with SpiceMod
  • Converting from/to PSpice model syntax

    Module 3: This module involves an advanced look at the SPICE simulator and how to control various options including:

  • Solving DC and Transient convergence problems
  • Using UIC, .IC, and .NODESET commands
  • Speeding up SPICE simulations
  • Controlling various SPICE default settings
  • Timestep and tolerance control and its effect on accuracy
  • Advanced SPICE options

    Module 4: Modeling components for SPICE will be covered including:

  • Static and dynamic Diode and BJT model parameters
  • Modeling pitfalls and a checklist for a good model
  • Review of user selected SPICE models/subcircuits
  • Parameter passing

    Module 5: Students will capture a more advanced schematic, and simulate and analyze it. The IntuScope waveform analyzer will be studied.

    Module 6: Advanced Simulation Techniques Additional analysis features will be discussed as time and class desire exist.

  • Temperature, Sensitivity, Fourier, Noise, and Distortion
  • Design Validation and Verification
  • Failure Analysis
  • Monte Carlo Analysis
  • Parameter Sweeps
  • Worst-Case/RSS Analysis
  • Automating Testing
  • Test Software Development

    * This fee does not include travel costs outside the Los Angeles area which are additional and include air travel, hotel and per diem.


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