Don’t Let Current Sources And Grounds Derail Your Spice Simulations

Focus:

Though they’ve been in use for decades, Spice simulators still have their quirks that cause them to behave in unexpected ways. Usually, these are problems with the models, whether they be the ones inherent to the version of the program you’re using, or problems with a model you’ve been given for a specific device. Either way, the results can frustrating if you’re not aware of the problems and the easy fixes that you can apply. This article identifies some common problems with current sources and grounds in Spice, and describes the easy fixes. Circuit examples are presented to illustrate the problems and solutions.

What you’ll learn:

• How to identify simulation errors introduced by ideal Spice models and correct them
• How to identify simulation errors introduced by grounding issues in isolated circuits and macromodels, and correct them

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Author & Publication:

Jerry Steele, Red Hill Labs, Tucson, Ariz., How2Power Today, Jan 15 2021

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