[Gnucap-devel] Re: [Help-gnucap] Books on Circuit Simulation Software Design

[Al Davis]

It isn't off topic for the developer list.  If anyone else has 
references, please share them here.


On Sunday 01 June 2003 09:18 am, Nuno Miguel Fernandes Sucena 
Almeida wrote:
>       this is a bit off topic but here it goes. Which books do you
> recomend for learning circuit simulation software design?
> From the following or any other, which one would you buy? I
> went to the local library and brought home:
>
>       - Computer Methods for Circuit Analysis and Design (1983
> Edition) Jiri Vlach ; Kishore Singhal
>       (there's a new 1993 Edition, but I don't have access to it)

This is the one I used when I was getting started. (1983 
edition).  Good, a bit heavy for a beginner.

>       - Circuit Simulation Methods and Algorithms (1994 Edition)
>               Jan Ogrodzki
>               CRC Press

Lots of detail.  Traditional methods.

>       - Analog Methods for Computer-Aided Circuit Analysis and
> Diagnosis (1988 Edition)
>               edited by Takao Ozawa

I am not familiar with this one.

>       - Computer-aided design of microwave circuits (1981 edition)
>               K. C. Gupta, Ramesh Garg, Rakesh Chadha
>               Artech House

I am not familiar with this one.

>       I've searched amazon and found others:
>
>       - Electronic Circuit and System Simulation Methods
>               (1999 Reprint Edition)
>               Pillage, Rohrer

Good coverage of alternative methods, particularly AWE and 
similar methods.  (Pillage == Pileggi)  Some coverage of "fast" 
methods.

>       - Computer-Aided Analysis of Nonlinear Microwave Circuits
> (1998) Paulo J. C. Rodrigues
>               Artech House

I am not familiar with this one.

>       My main interest is simulation of radio-frequency circuits,
>       from MHz to the low GHz range, using transient analysis.
===========
Focus on harmonic balance method, derived from Ken Kundert's 
Ph.D. dissertation, which is also good reading.

Kundert, White, Sangiovanni-Vincentelli - "Steady State Methods 
for Simulating Analog and Microwave Circuits", Kluwer 
0-7923-9069-1
===========
Traditional, easier reading than others:

McCalla - "Fundamentals of Computer-Aided Circuit Simulation", 
Kluwer 0-89838-248-3
========================
Good understanding of the algorithms, leaning toward user 
perspective:

Kundert - "Designer's Guide to Spice & Spectre", Kluwer 
0-7923-9571-9
=======================
Focus on relaxation methods, "mixed-mode".  (Gnucap does 
mixed-mode, but not by relaxation).

White, Sangiovanni-Vincentelli - "Relaxation Techniques for the 
Simulation of VLSI Circuits", 1987, Kluwer 0-89838-186-X

Saleh, Newton - "Mixed-Mode Simulation", 1990, Kluwer 
0-7923-9107-1 (obsolete)

Saleh, Jou, Newton - "Mixed-Mode Simulation and Analog 
Multilevel Simulation, 1994, Kluwer 0-7923-9473-9
=================
I don't have the details handy, but ....

Larry Nagle's Ph.D. thesis (Berkeley, 1970's) is an excellent 
introduction.

Karem Sakallah's Ph.D. thesis (Carnegie Mellon 1984??) is an 
excellent introduction to hierarchical mixed-mode simulation.

My Ph.D. thesis (U. of Rochester 1992) covers the "implicit" 
(automatic selection" mixed mode algorithms.


>       By the way, is there any plan on adding a lossy transmission
> line model to gnucap ? 

Maybe.  Do you want to help?

> And about the server support or any
> other easier way of controlling gnucap from a (to be done)
> graphical frontend?

There are people working on it.