Efficient methods for simulating highly nonlinear multi-rate circuits

ABSTRACT

Widely-separated time scales appear in many electronic circuits, making traditional analysis difficult or impossible if the circuits are highly nonlinear. In this paper, an analyticalformulation and numerical methods are presented for treating strongly nonlinear multi-rate circuits effectively. Multivariate functions in the time domain are used to capturewidely separated rates efficiently, and a special partial differential equation (the MPDE) is shown to relate the multivariate forms of a circuit's signals. Time-domain and mixedfrequency-time simulation algorithms are presented for solving the MPDE. The new methods can analyze circuits that are both large and strongly nonlinear. Compared to traditional techniques, speedups of more than two orders of magnitude, as well as improved accuracy, are obtained.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  B. Hardware
  B.7 INTEGRATED CIRCUITS
      B.7.2 Design Aids
          Subjects: Simulation

Additional Classification:
  C. Computer Systems Organization

General Terms:
Design, Experimentation, Measurement, Performance, Theory