Engineers can now simulate and analyze power and signal-chain products from Texas Instruments Inc. much faster thanks to a custom version of the PSpice simulator from Cadence Design Systems Inc. This marks the first time Cadence has developed a custom PSpice simulator for an IC manufacturer.
PSpice for TI enables designers to simulate complex analog circuits with a full-featured circuit simulation for more than 5,700 analog IC models, making it easier to evaluate components for new designs. As new IC models are introduced, they are automatically synced into the new tool, making it easy to select, evaluate, and verify the components for new designs.
SPICE circuit simulation has been helping engineers solve hardware problems for decades, said John Caldwell, business unit manager for TI’s linear amplifiers group. “SPICE is used by virtually every design engineer as a part of their design process and it allows them to design a product which meets their goals while minimizing development time and cost.”
Caldwell said three key benefits for engineers are device evaluation, design verification, and design debug.
The first benefit is device evaluation, he said. “Customers today have to choose between multiple product offerings for many different suppliers and SPICE stimulation makes it possible to measure the performance of a component such as an integrated circuit in specific applications sometimes even before the real device or circuit is physically available.”
Next is design verification, Caldwell continued. “So engineers use SPICE models as they are building and simulating system level designs before they build a physical prototype. This really is the meat of SPICE simulation. It allows them to test circuit operation in all sorts of conditions, for example, how their circuit will behave over a wide range of temperatures or component tolerances.”
Finally, there is design debugging, he said. “As we all know sometimes when you’re designing a system things don’t go as planned and that’s when simulation can be used to troubleshoot problems or vulnerabilities in the system.”
There are several drivers behind the increased need for simulation software, said Caldwell. “There’s an increasing need for stimulation software to test new design concepts, accelerate product development, and demonstrate regulatory compliance in many situations. Timelines for engineers also are getting shorter and this is where the right design tool can make life significantly easier.
“And now that working from home is more common, using simulation means that you can make progress on a project without needing to wait for parts, PCBs, and lab equipment, so in our modern working environment situation it’s becoming increasingly more critical,” he added. “We’ve also seen a desire among engineers for more advanced simulation to help them reduce the risk of circuit errors in their designs.”
PSpice for TI enables designers to reduce the risk of circuit errors with full validation of system-level designs before prototype, offering greater analysis capabilities than many other simulators on the market.
“PSpice for TI is based on a popular PSpice simulator that many of our engineers know and love. This is a full featured tool that will enable engineers to build a complete schematic and simulate at the system level with no design size limitation,” said Caldwell.
With the new tool engineers can build a complete schematic without size limitations using a built-in library of TI power and signal chain models, as well as PSpice analog behavioral models, enhanced primitives, and new capability for power designers with configurable power field-effect transistors and power diodes.
Advanced capabilities include automatic measurements and post-processing, as well as Monte Carlo and worst-case analysis. These features allow engineers to fully validate their designs over a wide range of operating conditions and device tolerances with just a few clicks.
In addition, with synchronized library updates it eliminates the need to manually import the latest TI models individually. Designers also have access to TI data sheets, product information, reference design test circuits, and relevant search queries from TI E2E technical support forums right within the tool with a few clicks.
After completing validation in PSpice for TI, users can open the design in commercial versions of PSpice Designer, and transfer the design to other Cadence PCB tools such as OrCAD/Allegro PCB Designer without having to recreate their schematic. TI offers a paper on how to simulate complex analog power and signal-chain circuits using PSpice for TI as well as several videos to get you started.
PSpice for TI is now available for download at no cost. Customers can use their myTI account to register for the tool.
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