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Preface

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This manual assumes that you are familiar with the development, design, and simulation of integrated circuits and that you have some familiarity with SPICE simulation.

This manual describes equations and parameters for models supported by the Spectre^® circuit simulator.

Spectre is an advanced circuit simulator that simulates analog and digital circuits at the differential equation level. The simulator uses improved algorithms that offer increased simulation speed and greatly improved convergence characteristics over SPICE. Besides the basic capabilities, the Spectre circuit simulator provides significant additional capabilities over SPICE. Verilog^®-A uses functional description text files (modules) to model the behavior of electrical circuits and other systems. Spectre RF Simulation Option adds several new analyses that support the efficient calculation of the operating point, transfer function, noise, and distortion of common RF and communication circuits, such as mixers, oscillators, sample holds, and switched-capacitor filters.

This preface discusses the following topics:

• Related Documents
• Typographic and Syntax Conventions

Related Documents

The following can give you more information about the Spectre circuit simulator and related products:

• The Spectre circuit simulator is often run within the Virtuoso^® analog design environment, under the Cadence^® design framework II. To see how the Spectre circuit simulator is run under the analog circuit design environment, read the Cadence Analog Design Environment User Guide.
• To learn more about specific parameters of components and analyses, consult the Spectre online help (spectre -h) or the Spectre Circuit Simulator Reference manual.
• For more information about using the Spectre circuit simulator with Verilog-A, see the Verilog-A Language Reference manual.
• If you want to see how SpectreRF is run under the analog circuit design environment, read SpectreRF Simulation Option User Guide.
• For more information about RF theory, see SpectreRF Simulation Option Theory.
• For more information about how you work with the design framework II interface, see Design Framework II Help.
• For more information about specific applications of Spectre analyses, see The Designer’s Guide to SPICE & Spectre1.

Typographic and Syntax Conventions

This list describes the syntax conventions used for the Spectre circuit simulator.