# Voltage Source

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## Netlist Entry

 Vxxxx n+ n- [[DC] dcvalue] [DCOP] [INFCAP] [AC magnitude [phase]] [transient_spec]

 N+ Positive node N- Negative node DCOP If this is specified, the voltage source will only be active during the DC operating point solution. In other analyses, it will behave like an open circuit. This is an effective method of creating a 'hard' initial condition. See Alternative Initial Condition Implementations for an example. INFCAP If specified, the voltage source will behave as an infinite capacitor. During the DC operating point solution it will behave like an open circuit. In the subsequent analysis, it will behave like a voltage source with a value equal to the solution found during the operating point. Note that the device is inactive for DC sweeps - as all capacitors are. dcvalue Value of source for dc operating point analysis magnitude AC magnitude for AC sweep analysis. phase phase for AC sweep analysis transient_spec Specification for time varying source as described in the following table.

Type Description
PULSE Pulse source. Also generates, ramps, sawtooths and triangles
PWL Piece wise linear source. Can create any waveform
PWLFILE As PWL but get definition from a file
SIN Sine wave
EXP Exponential signal
SFFM Single frequency FM
NOISE Real time noise source

## Pulse Source

 PULSE ( v1 v2 [td [tr [tf [pw [per ]]]]] )

Where:

Name Description Default
v1 Initial value (V,A) Compulsory
v2 Pulsed value (V,A) Compulsory
td Delay time (S) Default if omitted = 0
tr Rise time (S) Default if omitted, negative or zero = Time stepa
tf Fall time (S) Default if omitted, negative or zero = Time step
pw Pulse width (S) Default if omitted or negative = Stop timeb
per Period (S) Default if omitted, negative or zero = Stop time

 a. Time step is set up by the .TRAN simulator statement which defines a transient analysis. Refer to .TRAN. b. Stop time refers to the end time of the transient analysis.

SIMetrix deviates from standard SPICE in the action taken for a pulse width of zero. Standard SPICE treats a zero pulse width as if it had been omitted and changes it to the stop time. In SIMetrix a zero pulse width means just that.

Both the above examples give a pulse lasting 5$\mu$S with a period of 10$\mu$S, rise and fall times of 100nS and a delay of 0. The voltage source has a 0V base line and a pulse of 5V while the current source has a 0mA base line and a pulse of 1mA.

## Piece-Wise Linear Source

 PWL ( t1 v1 [t2 v2 [t3 v3 [... ]]] )

Each pair of values (ti vi) specifies that the value of the source is vi at time = ti. The value of the source at intermediate values of time is determined by using linear interpolation on the input values.

Although the example given below is for a voltage source, the PWL stimulus may be used for current sources as well.

Gives:

## PWL File Source

 PWLFILE filename

This performs the same function as the normal piece wise linear source except that the values are read from a file named filename.

The file contains a list of time voltage pairs in text form separated by any whitespace character (space, tab, new line). It is not necessary to add the '+' continuation character for new lines but they will be ignored if they are included. Any non-numeric data contained in the file will also be ignored.

### Notes

The PWLFILE source is considerably more efficient at reading large PWL definitions than the standard PWL source. Consequently it is recommended that all PWL definitions with more than 200 points are defined in this way.

The data output by Show /file is directly compatible with the PWLFILE source making it possible to save the output of one simulation and use it as a stimulus for another. It is recommended, however, that the results are first interpolated to evenly spaced points using the Interp() function.

The use of engineering suffixes (e.g. k, m, p etc.) is not supported by PWLFILE.

The PWLFILE source is a feature of SIMetrix and does not form part of standard SPICE.

Note, you can use the simulator statements .FILE and .ENDF to define the contents of the file. E.g.

 Vpwl1 N1 N2 PWLFILE pwlSource ... .FILE pwlSource ... ... .ENDF

This will be read in much more efficiently than the standard PWL and is recommended for large definitions. See .FILE and .ENDF.

## Sinusoidal Source

 SIN[E] ( vo va [freq [delay [theta [ phase]]]] )

Where:

Name Description Default
vo Offset (V,A) Compulsory
va Peak (V,A) Compulsory
freq Frequency (Hz) Default if omitted or zero= 1/Stop timea
delay Delay (seconds) Default if omitted = 0
theta Damping factor (1/seconds) Default if omitted = 0
phase Phase in degrees Default if omitted = 0

 a. Stop time refers to the end time of the transient analysis.

The shape of the waveform is described by:

 0 to delay: vo delay to Stop time $vo + va \cdot \text{e}^{-(t-\textit{delay})..\textit{theta}} \cdot \sin(2\pi(\textit{freq} \cdot (t - \textit{delay}) + \textit{phase}/360))$

Gives output of:

## Exponential Source

 EXP ( v1 v2 [td1 [tau1 [td2 [tau2 ]]]] )

Where:

Name Description Default
v1 Initial value (V,A) Compulsory
v2 Pulsed value (V,A) Compulsory
td1 Rise delay time Default if omitted or zero: 0
tau1 Rise time constant Default if omitted or zero: Time stepa
td2 Fall delay time Default if omitted or zero: td1 + Time step
tau2 Fall time constant Default if omitted or zero: Time step

 a. Time step is set up by the .TRAN simulator directive which defines a transient analysis. Refer to .TRAN.

Defined by:

 td1 to td2: $v1 + (v2 - v1). [ 1 - \text{e}^{-(t-td1)/tau1}]$ td2 to stop time: $v1 + (v2 - v1). [ 1 - \text{e}^{-(t-td1)/tau1}] + v1 + (v2 - v1). [ 1 - \text{e}^{-(t-td2)/tau2}]$

## Single Frequency FM

 SFFM ( vo va [fc [mdi [fs ]]] )

Where:

Name Description Default
vo Offset (V,A) Compulsory
va Amplitude (V,A) Compulsory
fc Carrier frequency (Hz) Default if omitted or zero = 1/Stop timea
mdi Modulation index Default if omitted = 0
fs Signal frequency (Hz) Default if omitted or zero = 1/Stop time

 a. Stop time refers to the end time of the transient analysis.

Defined by: $vo + va\cdot\sin[2\pi\cdot \textit{fc}\cdot t + \textit{mdi}\cdot\sin(2\pi\cdot\textit{fs}\cdot t)]$

## Noise Source

 noise interval rms_value [start_time [stop_time]]

Source generates a random value at interval with distribution such that spectrum of signal generated is approximately flat up to frequency equal to 1/(2*interval). Amplitude of noise is rms_value volts. start_time and stop_time provide a means of specifying a time window over which the source is enabled. Outside this time window, the source will be zero. If stop_time is omitted or zero a value of infinity will be assumed.

## Extended PWL Source

 PWLS [TIME_SCALE_FACTOR=time_factor] [VALUE_SCALE_FACTOR=value_factor] pwls_spec [ pwls_spec ... ]
Where:
time_factor Scales all time values in definition by time_factor
value_factor Scales all magnitude values by value_factor
pwls_spec may be one of the following:
 (time, value) Creates a single data point. time is relative to the current context. (+time, value) Creates a single data point. time is relative to the previous point. REPEAT FOR n pwls_spec ENDREPEAT Repeats pwls_spec n times. REPEAT FOREVER pwls_spec ENDREPEAT Repeats pwls_spec forever SIN sine_parameters END Creates a sinusoid. See table below for definition of sine_parameters PULSE pulse_parameters END Creates a pulse train. See table below for definition of pulse_parameters

### Sine Parameters

Name Description Default Compulsory
FREQ Frequency N/A Yes
PEAK Peak value of sine 1.0 No
OFFSET Offset 0.0 No
DELAY Delay before sine starts. 0.0 No
PHASE Phase 0.0 No
CYCLES Number of cycles. Use -1.0 for infinity -1.0 No
MINPOINTS Minimum number of timesteps used per cycle 13 No
RAMP Frequency ramp factor 0.0 No
The sine value is defined as follows:

 if t>0 OR DELAY<0 PEAK * SIN(f*$2\pi$*t+PHASE*$\pi$/180) + OFFSET else PEAK * SIN(PHASE*$\pi$/180) + OFFSET

Where:

• f = FREQ + t$\times$RAMP
• t = time - tref - DELAY
• time is the global simulation time
• tref is the reference time for this spec

### Pulse Parameters

Name Description Default Compulsory
V0 Offset 0 No
V1 Positive pulse value 1.0 No
V2 Negative pules value -1.0 No
RISE Rise time i.e time to change from V2 to V1 PERIOD/1000 No
FALL Fall time i.e time to change from V1 to V2 PERIOD/1000 No
WIDTH Positive pulse width (PERIOD-RISE-FALL)/2 No
PERIOD Period N/A Yes
DELAY Delay before start 0 No
CYCLES Number of complete cycles. -1 means infinity -1 No
RISE, FALL, WIDTH and PERIOD must be greater than zero. DELAY must be greater than or equal to zero