I'd like to thank you for this excellent training. The course was what we expected and much more. I am sure that attending this training will help our group to better understand the tools we use and thus to design better circuits".
(Attendee feedback, November 2012)
The purpose of the course is to help circuit designers better understand the operation of a SPICE circuit simulator and semiconductor device models with emphasis on Deep-Submicron (DSM) transistors. The course also addresses the different levels of modeling, structural and behavioral, simulation controls available to the user and new types of analysis such as steady-state particularly suited for RF design. Participants will have an opportunity to experiment on workstations/PCs the various concepts presented in the course.
Course Objectives
At the end of this training people should have:
o Improved their knowledge in Electrical Simulation and Modeling
o Learnt how to solve Convergence and Accuracy Issues
o Learnt about deep-submicron transistor behavior and the corresponding SPICE models
o Learnt about new functionality and features
o Understood how to simulate very large circuits and get the quickest turn-around
o Acquired some basic knowledge in Analog Hardware Description Languages.
Audience
o Analog IC Designers
o Analog Designers
o RF Designers
o IC Designers
o IC Process Characterization/Modeling Engineers
o Analog/Mixed-Signal IC Designers
o Cell Library Development Engineers
o Electrical Engineers
Software
Workstations/PCs equipped with Cadence Virtuoso Schematic Editor, Virtuoso Analog Design Environment [ADE], and Analog Simulators from the MMSIM portfolio tools such as Spectre, Ultrasim and APS. If the course takes place at a customer site, third-party simulators can be used if integrated in ADE.
Prerequisites
o There are no prerequisites to attend this course.
Course Agenda
Day 1 - The SPICE Simulator/IC Technology Scaling/SPICE Algorithms
o History of SPICE, past, present and future developments
o Technology Scaling: Impact on Integrated Circuits and simulation technology
o SPICE algorithms and simulation options for accuracy and speed
o SPICE LAB: simulation accuracy and options.
Day 2 - SPICE Simulation/Modeling
o Simulation Models: Definitions, Built-in SPICE element models
o Basic models: diode, BJT, JFET, MOSFET
o Advanced BJT models for DSM: VBIC95, Mextram
o SPICE LAB: diode parameter extraction.
Day 3 - MOSFET/Complex Models
o MOSFET device: physical phenomena, geometry specifics and associated models
o Deep Submicron MOS models for current technologies: BSIM3/4, PSP, EKV3
o Deep Submicron MOS models: Parameter variation and Monte-Carlo simulation
o Higher-level Modeling: Introduction to Analog Hardware Description Languages (Verilog-AMS)
o SPICE LAB: DSM MOS characteristics, behavioral example
Day 4 - State-of-the-Art SPICE Simulation
o Convergence, Accuracy, Speed
o RF Simulation: RF Circuit Design Issues, Simulation Algorithms and Analysis Types
o Very Large Circuit Simulation: FASTSPICE and Parallel Simulation
o SPICE LAB: convergence fixes, RF analysis.
Who is the trainer?
Andrei Vladimirescu is a key contributor to the SPICE program development at the University of California, Berkeley. His key achievements include the SPICE 2G6 release, on which leading commercial versions like HSPICE are based, a parallel SPICE called CLASSIE for Single-Instruction Multiple-Data (SIMD) architectures and the design of a SPICE HW accelerator. Andrei is the author of the leading text on circuit simulation, The SPICE Book, published by J. Wiley and Sons. In the EDA industry he managed several teams as R&D director for analog/mixed-signal tools at Daisy, Analog Design Tools, Valid and Cadence. He is currently a professor at UC Berkeley and Institut Superieur d’Electronique de Paris.