User Guide

Chapter 1 Things you need to know
2
What is PSpice?
OrCAD PSpice is a simulation program that models the
behavior of a circuit containing analog devices. Used with
OrCAD Capture for design entry, you can think of PSpice
as a software-based breadboard of your circuit that you
can use to test and refine your design before ever touching
a piece of hardware.
Run basic and advanced analyses PSpice can
perform:
• DC, AC, and transient analyses, so you can test the
response of your circuit to different inputs.
• Parametric, Monte Carlo, and sensitivity/worst-case
analyses, so you can see how your circuit’s behavior
varies with changing component values.
Use parts from OrCAD’s extensive set of libraries
The model libraries feature over 11,300 analog models of
devices manufactured in North America, Japan, and
Europe.
Vary device characteristics without creating
new parts PSpice has numerous built-in models with
parameters that you can tweak for a given device. These
include independent temperature effects.
Model behavior PSpice supports analog behavioral
modeling, so you can describe functional blocks of
circuitry using mathematical expressions and functions.
T
h
e range o
f
mo
d
e
l
s
b
ui
l
t into PSpice
include not only those for resistors,
inductors, capacitors, and bipolar
transistors, but also these:
• transmission line models, including
delay, reflection, loss, dispersion, and
crosstalk
• nonlinear magnetic core models,
including saturation and hysteresis
•
six MOSFET models, including BSIM3
version 3.1 and EKV version 2.6
•
five GaAsFET models, including
Parker-Skellern and TriQuint’s TOM2
model
•
IGBTs
Pspug.book Page 2 Wednesday, November 11, 1998 1:14 PM