Spectre Circuit Simulator

Last updated February 06, 2024

Spectre is a SPICE-class circuit simulator owned and distributed by the software company Cadence Design Systems. It provides the basic SPICE analyses and component models. It also supports the Verilog-A modeling language. Spectre comes in enhanced versions that also support RF simulation (SpectreRF) and mixed-signal simulation (AMS Designer).

Specifications

List of supported device models

Advanced-node models, including the latest versions of the BSIM CMG, BSIM IMG, and UTSOI models
MOSFET models, including the latest versions of the BSIM3, BSIM4, BSIM Bulk (BSIM6), PSP, and HiSIM
High-voltage MOS models, including the latest versions of the HiSIM HV, MOS9, MOS11, and EKV
Silicon on insulator (SOI), including latest versions of BTASOI, SSIMSOI, BSIMSOI, BSIMSOI PD, and HiSIM SOI
Bipolar junction transistor (BJT) models, including the latest versions of VBIC, HICUM, Mextram, HBT, and Gummel-Poon models
Diode models, including the diode, Phillips level 500, and CMC diode models
JFET models, including the JFET, Phillips level 100 JFET, and Individual dual-gate JFET models
IGBT models, including PSpice® IGBT model and HiSIM IGBT models
Resistors, including linear resistor, diffused resistor, CMC two-terminal and three-terminal resistor, and physical resistor models
GaAs MESFET models, includes latest versions of GaAs, TOM2, TOM3, and Angelov
GaN MESFET models, including Angelov, ASM, and MVSG models
Silicon TFT models, including RPI Poly-Silicon and Amorphous silicon Thin-Film models
Verilog-A compact device models
Z and S domain sources
User-defined compiled model interface (CMI), allowing for the rapid inclusion of user-defined models
Josephson Junctions
Specialized reliability models (AgeMOS) for simulating the effect of HCI and BTI
Miscellaneous power models, including the relay, transformer, non-linear magnetic core, and winding
Miscellaneous RF models, including the DC block, DC feedthrough, and microstrip and stripline elements (bend, cross, corner, curve, open line, tee models)

Language and Netlist support

The netlist formats, behavioral modeling languages, parasitic netlist formats, and stimulus files are common across the Spectre Simulation Platform. Supported formats include:

Spectre and SPICE netlist formats
Spectre, SPICE, and PSpice models
Verilog-A 2.0 LRM-compliant behavioral models and structural netlists
DSPF/SPEF parasitic formats
S-parameter data files in Touchstone, CITI-file, and Spectre formats
SST2, PSF, PSF XL, and FSDB waveform formats
Digital vector (VEC), Verilog-Value Change Dump (VCD), Extended Verilog-Value Change Dump (EVCD), and digital stimulus

Spectre simulation options

The Spectre X-RF Option provides accurate and fast simulation for RFIC circuits and includes periodic steady-state, small-signal, and noise analyses along with harmonic balance (HB) analysis capabilities to maximize performance without loss in accuracy. Taking advantage of the Spectre X architecture, HB analysis can be distributed to multiple cores to power through the simulation task faster
The Spectre CPU Accelerator Option enables multi-thread simulation for transient and periodic steady-state analysis, extremely useful for verification of parasitic back-annotated designs across multiple CPUs
The Spectre Power Option provides dedicated transistor-level electro-migration and IR drop (EM-IR) analysis that can be used on the command line or within the front-to-back flow, leveraging the Cadence Voltus-Fi Custom Power Integrity Solution
Part of the Cadence Safety Solution providing fast fault injection and simulation to accelerate the functional safety closure of analog/mixed-signal designs

Spectre products

Spectre Simulation Platform
Spectre Products	Features
Spectre X Simulator:	Solves large-scale verification simulation challenges for complex analog, RF, and mixed-signal blocks and subsystems Scalable and massively parallel simulation for today’s cloud 3X to 10X speed increase and 5X capacity improvement while maintaining Spectre golden SPICE-level accuracy
Spectre FX Simulator	Performance Gains: Up to 3X speed up over the latest FastSPICE simulators while delivering equal or better accuracy and high capacity Scalability: Up to 32 cores with multi-threading to parallelize transient simulations for improved productivity Easy to Use: Out of the box, intuitive use model requires minimal tuning for optimal accuracy/ performance balance Ease of Adoption: seamless integration into Cadence Virtuoso ADE Product Suite provides adoption into Spectre and SPICE flows. Expanded Verification: Extensive verification capabilities and comprehensive analyses
Spectre AMS Designer	Ensures design quality with proven Spectre analog and Xcelium digital simulation technologies Supports both the analog design flow use model in the Virtuoso ADE Product Suite as well as the digital verification use model in the Xcelium environment Allows a higher level of abstraction and accelerates simulation to achieve fast turnaround time with extensive language support, such as Verilog, VHDL, SystemVerilog, SystemVerilog Assertion, Verilog-AMS, VHDL-AMS, SystemVerilog Real Number Modeling (RNM) Accelerates simulation of RF circuits at full SPICE accuracy by combining envelope analysis of RF transceivers with digital baseband simulation
Spectre RF Option	High-performance simulation of linear and non-linear RF circuits Enables verification of designs with complex modulated signals Verification of RF designs in context of on- and off-chip passive circuitry
Spectre Accelerated Parallel Simulator	Provides 10X-100X the single-thread performance (10X over Spectre Circuit Simulator) with out-of-box SPICE accuracy and convergence Enables high-precision simulation for large, post-layout analog designs and subsystems without compromising accuracy Delivers scalable performance with a multi-core architecture, allowing higher levels of analog design integration and verification Uses foundry-certified device models (common across all simulation engines in the Virtuoso Multi-Mode Simulation solution) to ensure silicon-accurate analog designs TÜV SÜD “Fit for Purpose – TCL1” certified to meet ISO 26262 automotive functional safety requirements
Virtuoso ADE Product Suite	Circuit exploration of analog, mixed-signal, and RFIC designs made easy Extensive design exploration, simulation, and verification Analog specification-verification cockpit A new level of statistical analysis for high-yield and advanced-node designs TÜV SÜD “Fit for Purpose – TCL1” certified to meet ISO 26262 automotive functional safety requirements Part of the Cadence Safety Solution automating the functional safety test set up and debug of analog/mixed-signal designs
Legato Reliability Solution	Improves test coverage of manufacturing test using analog defect simulation Advanced aging analysis better predicts device operating lifetime Performs dynamic electrothermal simulation of design to prevent thermal overstress during operation Analog defect simulation is integrated into the Spectre AMS Designer to enable simulation of mixed-signal design Based on Virtuoso custom IC design platform and Spectre Accelerated Parallel Simulator (APS) for fast, easy adoption Part of the Cadence Safety Solution providing automated fault identification and diagnostic coverage for analog/mixed-signal design failure modes
Spectre eXtensive Partitioning Simulator (XPS)	High performance and capacity pre- and post-layout simulation for design and IP characterization at the block and full-chip level, delivering a significant reduction in simulation run time compared to a traditional FastSPICE simulator Fully compatible with Spectre simulation platform using a unified simulation front-end Comprehensive set of transistor-level static and dynamic circuit checks to identify issues early in the design flow Predictable accuracy and runtime tradeoff with speed option to accommodate different needs Seamless integration of design and verification in the Virtuoso ADE Product Suite
Voltus-Fi Custom Power Integrity Solution	Transistor-level power grid and signal net EM-IR accuracy, performance, and accuracy by Cadence Spectre simulator and its patented, voltage-based, iterated matrix-solving technology Foundry enablement and certification on EM rules and IR drop accuracy on advanced FinFET and FD-SOI nodes Seamless integration in Cadence Virtuoso Digital Implementation platform for highly efficient analog/mixed-signal EM-IR analysis, debug, and fixing Comprehensive, single path in the Virtuoso flow from Cadence Physical Verification System/Assura DRC/LVS to Quantus Extraction Solution to Virtuoso ADE/Spectre EM-IR, Voltus-Fi Custom Power Integrity Solution, and Virtuoso Layout Suite Power-grid view macro model generation for top-level, full-chip Voltus tool power signoff

History

Spectre was developed at Cadence Design Systems by Ken Kundert and Jacob K. White. The software is continuously being improved upon and developed further to bring high quality, accurate analog simulation. Spectre is currently a leading circuit simulator, competing with HSPICE and several others.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electronic circuit simulation</span>

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SpectreRF is an option to the Spectre Circuit Simulator from Cadence Design Systems. It adds a series of analyses that are particularly useful for RF circuits to the basic capabilities of Spectre. SpectreRF was first released in 1996 and was notable for three reasons. First, it was arguably the first RF simulator in that it was the first to be designed for large bipolar and CMOS RF circuits; it used shooting methods as its base algorithm; and it pioneered the use of Krylov subspace methods. The use of shooting methods gave SpectreRF remarkable robustness and the Krylov methods gave it capacity that was roughly 100 times greater than existing simulators at the time. Previously such simulators were designed to simulate very small GaAs integrated circuits and hybrids. These simulators were based on harmonic balance and could reliably simulate circuits with tens of transistors whereas SpectreRF could simulate circuits with thousands of transistors.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Kundert</span> Creator of Spectre, SpectreRF, and Verilog-A; pioneer of analog verification

Kenneth S. Kundert is an engineer that is notable for his work in the area of Electronic Design Automation (EDA). He studied electrical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley under professors Alberto Sangiovanni-Vincentelli and Robert G. Meyer and received his doctorate in 1989. During this time, he created the circuit simulator that eventually became the Advanced Design System from what is now PathWave Design and the Spectre circuit simulator from Cadence Design Systems.

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References

"Spectre® Circuit Simulator Reference" (PDF). eece.cu.edu.eg. Retrieved 2021-12-10.

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