NAME¶
gnucap - GNU Circuit Analysis Package
SYNOPSIS¶
gnucap [
-b filename] [
-i filename]
DESCRIPTION¶
GNUCAP is a general purpose circuit simulator. It performs nonlinear dc
and transient analyses, fourier analysis, and ac analysis linearized at an
operating point. It is fully interactive and command driven. It can also be
run in batch mode or as a server. The output is produced as it simulates.
Spice compatible models for the MOSFET (level 1,2,3) and diode are included in
this release.
Since it is fully interactive, it is possible to make changes and re-simulate
quickly. The interactive design makes it well suited to the typical iterative
design process used it optimizing a circuit design. It is also well suited to
undergraduate teaching where Spice in batch mode can be quite intimidating.
This version, while still officially in beta test, should be stable enough for
basic undergraduate teaching and courses in MOS design, but not for bipolar
design.
In batch mode it is mostly Spice compatible, so it is often possible to use the
same file for both GNUCAP and Spice.
The analog simulation is based on traditional nodal analysis with iteration by
Newton's method and LU decomposition. An event queue and incremental matrix
update speed up the solution for large circuits (at some expense for small
circuits).
It also has digital devices for mixed signal simulation. The digital devices may
be implemented as either analog subcircuits or as true digital models. The
simulator will automatically determine which to use. Networks of digital
devices are simulated as digital, with no conversions to analog between gates.
This results in digital circuits being simulated faster than on a typical
analog simulator, even with behavioral models. The digital mode is
experimental and needs work. There will be substantial improvements in future
releases.
OPTIONS¶
Two command-line options are available. Only one of these may be specified. If
no parameters are given, gnucap will start in interactive mode.
- -b filename
- execute the commands in the named file then exit (batch mode)
- -i filename
- execute the commands in the named file then go into interactive mode
BUGS¶
See
/usr/share/doc/gnucap/bugs for a list of known bugs in this release.
GNUCAP is an ongoing research project. It is being released in a preliminary
phase in hopes that it will be useful and that others will use it as a thrust
or base for their research. I also hope for some comments that may help me
direct my research.
AUTHOR¶
GNUCAP is being written by Albert Davis <aldavis@ieee.org>
This manual page was written by Jon Rabone <jkr@debian.org> and maintained
by Hamish Moffatt <hamish@debian.org> for the Debian package of gnucap.
For the full LaTeX documentation, please see
/usr/share/doc/gnucap/manual.