ADS Fundamentals - 2009

LAB 4: AC Simulations

OverviewThislabcontinuestheamp_1900projectandusesthesamesubcircuitas
thepreviouslab.ThisexerciseteachesthebasicsofACsimulation,includingsmall
signalgainandnoise.Italsoshowsmanydetailedfeaturesofthedatadisplayfor
controllingandmanipulatingdata.

OBJECTIVES

PerformACsmallsignalandnoisesimulations.

Adjustpin/wirelabels.

Sweepvariablesandwriteequations.

Controlplots,traces,datasets,andACsources.

CopyrightAgilentTechnologies
2009

Lab 4: AC Simulations

Table of Contents

1.

Copy & Paste (Ctrl+C / Ctrl+V) from one design to another................................ 3

2.

Modify the copied circuit and pin labels............................................................... 4

3.

Push and pop to verify the sub circuit.................................................................. 5

4.

Set up an AC simulation with Noise. ................................................................... 5

5.

Simulate and list the noise data........................................................................... 5

6.

Control the output of equations and node voltages. ............................................ 6

7.

Simulate without noise......................................................................................... 7

8.

Write a data display equation using a measurement equation............................ 7

9.

Work with measurement and data display equations. ......................................... 8

10.

Plot the phase and group delay for the ac analysis data ................................. 9

11.

Variable Info and the what function................................................................ 10

12.

OPTIONAL - Sweep Vcc (as if the battery voltage is decreasing)................. 11

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2009

Lab 4: AC Simulations

PROCEDURE
1. Copy&Paste(Ctrl+C/Ctrl+V)fromonedesigntoanother.
a. Openthelastdesign(dc_net)andcopythecircuitshownhighlightedhere
bydraggingthecursoraroundtheareathisisknownasrubberbanding.
Withtheitemshighlighted,copythenbyusingthekeyboardkeysCtrl+C
ortheEdit>Copycommand.UsingCtrl+Cispreferredbecauseit
eliminatesmouseclicks.

b. UsetheFile>NewDesigncommandtocreateanewschematicandname
it:ac_sim.ThenuseCtrl+VoruseEdit>Pasteandinsert(ghost
image)thecopybyclickingintothenewschematic.
c. Savetheac_simdesign.Youmustsaveitoritwillnotbewrittentothe
database.
d. ClickthecommandWindow>DesignsOpen.Thiscommandgivesyou
accesstodesignsthatareopeninmemorybutnotvisibleinawindowor
notsavedinmemory.Whenthedialogappears,selectdc_netandclick
OK.Thenclosedc_netdesignusingFile>CloseDesign(noneedtosave
thechanges).
e. Intheemptyschematicwindow,reopentheac_sim
designusingtheFile>OpenDesignicon.Thisgives
youalistofallthedesignsintheproject.Ifadesign
iscreatedbutnotsavedinitially,itwillnotbeinthis
listandyouwillneedtousethecommandWindow>
DesignsOpentoaccessit.

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2009

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Lab 4: AC Simulations

2. Modifythecopiedcircuitandpinlabels.
Deletewires,insertnewcomponents,andrewireasneeded.Thestepsfollow:
a. DisconnecttheDCsourceandmoveittothesidewithaground.
b. InserttwoidealDC_BlockcapacitorsfromtheLumpedComponents
paletteorusecomponenthistory.
c. InsertaV_ACsourcefromtheSourcesFreqDomainpalette.Groundthe
source.Thenadda50ohmloadresistorandgroundtotheoutput.

d. ModifythePin/Wire(node)labels.ClicktheNameicon.AddVccasa
labeltobothRCandtheDCsource.Thiswillconnectthem
electricallyinsteadofawire.
e. AddVinandVoutasshown.Also,ifyoudidany
OPTIONALstepsinlab3,removeVCandVBEby
byclickingonthoselabelswhenthedialogisblank
blank(shownhere)orusethecommand:Edit
>Wire/PinLabel>RemoveWire/PinLabel.
f. Verifythatthecircuitlooksliketheoneshownhere.
here.
NOTEonWire/PinLabelAttributes:Youcandraglabels
tomovethemandyoucaneditattributesbydoubleclicking
onthemorbyusingthecommand:Edit>Wire/PinLabel>
Wire/PinLabelAttributes.

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2009

Lab 4: AC Simulations

3. Pushandpoptoverifythesubcircuit.
a. Selectthebjt_pkgandpushintothesubcircuit(usetheicons)to
tocheckyoursubcircuit,andthenpopoutagain.
4. SetupanACsimulationwithNoise.
a. InsertanACSimulationcontroller.Theneditthestart,stop,
start,stop,andstepfrequencies:100MHzto4GHzin100
100MHzsteps.
b. IntheNoisetab,checktheboxforCalculatenoise
noiseandaddtheVoutnode.SettheModetoSort
toSortbyNameforeachnoisecontributor.Sortby
Sortbyvalueisgoodforlargecircuitstoseethe
thelargestcontributorsfirst.Also,allnoisevalues
valueswillbesimulatedifaDynamicrange
(threshold)is
notset.
c. Turnonthe
Displayfor
eachofthe
parametersas
shownhere.

5. Simulateandlistthenoisedata.
a. Simulate(F7).
b. Inthedatadisplay,insertalist
(icon)ofnameandvnc(voltage
noisecontributors)usingtheCtrl
keytoselectthemboth.Asshown
here,ateachfrequency,Q1.BJT1is
thetotalnoisevoltageforthe
deviceandiscomposedof:
Q1.BJT1.ibeandQ1.BJT1.ice.
However,thesearenotcorrelated
voltagesbuthavebeenaddedas
noisepowers:(Vtotal)2=(Vibe)2+
(Vice)2.Thetotalvncisthesameas
Voutnoise.

NOTE:Theindexwill
automaticallyappear
whenyoulistthe
data.

c. Savetheschematicanddatadisplay.

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2009

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Lab 4: AC Simulations

6. Controltheoutputofequationsandnodevoltages.
a. Intheac_simschematic,insertaMeasEqnfromanysimulationpalette.Or,
palette.Or,youcantypeinMeasEqnincomponenthistory.
b. Directlyontheschematicscreen,edit(type)theequationtocompute
voltagegainusingthenode(pin)labelsVinandVout.Usethekeyboard
arrowkeytomoveacrosstheequal(=)sign.

c. EdittheACsimulationcontrollerandgotothe
Outputtab.Thedefaultisforalllabelednode
voltages(pin/wirelabels)andallMeasurement
Measurementequationstobereportedinthe
dataset.Youwillchangethisinthenextsteps.
d. UnchecktheboxforNodeVoltagesandclickontheAdd/
Removebutton.
e. SelectVinandVoutfromthelistofavailableoutputsandAdd
AddthemasshownherethenclickOK.Onlythosenodevoltageswillbe
writtenintothedatasetaftersimulationandVccwillnot.Thisworksfor
measurementequationsalso.

f. ClickOKtodismissthedialogyouarenowreadytosimulate.
NOTEonnodenamedisplay:Youcandisplaythenodenames(Displaytab
NodeNamecheckbox)butitisnotnecessary.
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2009

Lab 4: AC Simulations

7. Simulatewithoutnoise.
a. Intheschematic,turnoffthenoisecalculationby
changing(typing)yestonoasshownhere.Thiswill
savesimulationtimeandmemory,especiallyfor
largecircuits.Ofcourse,thiswillmakeyourdataset
list(nameandvnc)invalid.
b. SavetheschematicandSimulate(F7).
8. Writeadatadisplayequationusingameasurement
equation.
a. Inthedatadisplay,deletetheinvalidnoiselisting.
b. Insertadatadisplayequation(usetheicon).
c. Inthedialog,writeanequationforthegainindBasshownhere.Notice
thatyouareinsertingtheschematicmeasurementequationintoyour
datadisplayequationandclickOK:

NoteonequationsIfthemeasurementequationforvoltagegainwasnotalready
calculated,youwouldwritethedatadisplayequationwithalltherequiredvalues,for
example:gain_dB=20*log(mag(Vout)/mag(Vin)).However,becausethatvoltage
gainwasalreadycalculated,itiseasiertosimplyinsertithere.

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2009

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Lab 4: AC Simulations

9. Workwithmeasurementanddatadisplayequations.
a. Insertalistandaddthemeasurementequationgain_voltageandalsoadd
alsoaddthedatadisplayequationgaindBasshownhere.Schematic
Schematicmeasurementequationsareautomaticallywrittentothedataset.
dataset.Butdatadisplayequationsarenot.Instead,theyarestoredinthe
inthedatadisplayEquationsmemoryandareselectedandaddedas
shownhere.ClickOKandbothequationswillappearinthelist.
MeasurementEquationslistedhere.

DataDisplayequationslistedhere.

b. Selectthelistandscrolldownto1900MHzusingthelist
thelistscrollbuttonsshownhere.Theninsertthe
thecursordirectlyintothegain_voltagecolumnheading
headingandtypeinthedBfunction
asshownbesuretoadd
parenthesessothatitreads:dB
(gain_voltage).Thisdemonstrates
theflexibilityofthedatadisplayfor
operating(withADS
functions)directlyondata
andequations.
c. ClickthedatadisplayUndo
iconremovethedBfunction.
d. Editthelist(doubleclick)andchangeittoa
arectangularplotbyselectingtheicon.
e. InsertthecursordirectlyontotheYaxislabelandchangegain_voltageto
dB(gain_voltage)similartothewayyoudidinthelist.Thenundoit.
Again,thisshowsthepoweroffunctionsandthedatadisplay.
NOTEondBvalues
ConvertingtheACanalysis
voltagetodBisnotthe
sameasSparameter
analysisindBthatuses
power(VandI)andalso
hasa50ohmsourceZ.
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2009

Lab 4: AC Simulations

10. Plotthephaseandgroupdelayfortheacanalysisdata
a. InsertarectangularplotofthephaseofVinandVoutputmarkerson
1900MHz(typeinthevalue).Thephaseisnot180degreesduetothe
bjt_pkgparasitics.Movethemarkersandseethephasecloserto180at
lowerfrequencies.YoumaywanttoHotKeythenewmarkercommand
usingtheDDSOptions>HotKeysimilartoschematic.

b. Insertanewequationtocalculategroupdelay.Asshownhere,usethe
phaseofVoutandthedifffunctionthenplottheequation.Thediff
functioncalculatesthedifferencebetweenpointsontheslope.Theminus
signgivestheresultindecreasingvalue.Placeamarkeronthetraceand
noticethatitwillbeoneithersideof1900MHz(+/50MHz)becauseof
thedifffunction.

c. Gobacktotheschematic,changethe
stepsizeto10MHz,simulateagain
andwatchtheplotupdate.
d. Edit(doubleclick)themarker.In
theReadouttab,setFormattoEngineeringwith2
with2significantdigitsasshownhere.Noticethe
themarkervaluechangestopico(picoseconds)and
seconds)andtheindependentvalueresolvesto1.90
to1.90GHz.
e. OPTIONALTrygroupingthegroup
groupdelayequationandtheplotso
plotsotheystaytogetherwhenyou
youmovethem.UsetheShiftkeyand
keyandselecttheplotandthe
equation.Thenclick:Edit>Group.
Group.Theyshouldnowmove
togetherinthedatadisplay.

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2009

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Lab 4: AC Simulations

11. VariableInfoandthewhatfunction.
a. Insertanewlist(datasetisstillac_sim).AddVout,selectit,andclickon
theTraceOptionsbutton.Youcandothisinanewpageifdesiredor
zoomoutby2formoreroomonthedisplay.
b. Whenthedialogboxappears,clickonthe
theVariableInfobuttonandanotherdialog
dialogwillappearasshownhere.Selectthe
theVoutdataandyouwillseethatthe
dependencyforVoutis391frequencypoints.
points.Thisshouldbethesameforalltheitems
theitemsinthedatasetbecauseonlyfrequency
frequencywasswept.
c. Closethedialog,clickOK,andgobacktothelist
thelistofVout.InsertthecursorintheVout
Voutcolumnandtypeinthewhatfunctionas
functionasshown:what(Vout).Noticethat
thatyougetthesamevariableinformation.
information.Lateron,youwillusethisfunction
functiontodeterminehowtoindexintodataset
datasettableswithmultiplesweepsormixingproducts.

NOTEonfunctions:Youcanreadaboutthe
whatfunctionandotherADSfunctions(abs,
real,s_stab_circle,etc.)byclickingthe
FunctionsHelpbuttonwheneveryouinsert
anequationinthedatadisplayorwhenever
yougotoTraceOptions.WhentheHelp
browserappears,scrolldowntothefunction
ofinterest.Trythisandlookoversomeofthe
informationtoseehowADSfunctionsare
describedifyouhavetime.

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2009

Lab 4: AC Simulations

12. OPTIONALSweepVcc(asifthebatteryvoltageisdecreasing)
Thisstepwillrequireyoutousetheskillsyoualreadylearnedinthe
previouslabexercises.YouwillsetupaparametersweepforVccfrom2
voltsto5voltsin0.25voltsteps.
a. Inyourschematic,insertaVAR
(variableequation)initializing
Vbias=5V.
b. Redefinethesource:Vdc=Vbias.
c. InsertaParameterSweepfrom
anysimulationpalette.Thenset
theSweepVar(sweepvariable)tobeVbias.BesuretheSimulation
InstanceNameoftheACsimulationcontrollerisalsosetasshownhere.
d. Changethedatasetname=ac_bat_swpandSimulate.Whenthe
simulationiscompletedandtheDDSopens,adialogwillappearaskingif
youwanttochangethedatasetanswerNO.ThenplotthemagofVout.
Asetofcurvesforeachstepwillappearasshownhere.
TraceOptionsusedto
DisplaylabelofVbiason
rightofplot.Tracelines
canalsobethickened.

e. TodisplaytracelabelsofVbias,editthetraceusingtheTraceOptions
tabandchecktheDisplayLabelbox.
f. Insertmarkersasdesired.Rememberthatyoucaninsertthemarkerand
then,inthemarkerreadout,typeinthefrequencyyouwantthemarker
willthengotothatvalueoffreq.

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2009

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Lab 4: AC Simulations

g. Saveallyourwork.Youcankeeptheexistingschematicwindow
openedyouwilluseittostartthenextlabexercise.Butclosethedata
displayifitisstillopened.

EXTRAEXERCISES:
1. Inanewdesign,simulatewithportnoiseandports.Todothis,useaP_ACsourceas
theinputport1(Num=1)andplaceaTermontheoutputasport2(Num=2).These
twocomponentsareshownherewiththeportnumbers.
2. Inanewdesign,insertanI_ACconstantcurrentsourceandsimulate.
3. InserttheP_ACsourceandlookatthepowergain.Also,sweepanotherparameter
andplottheresults.

4. TryusingthenodesettingsintheACsimulationpalette.Youcansetinitialvoltages
atnodesusingtheNodeSetorbyreferringtonamenodesusingthe
NodeSetByNamecomponent.

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CopyrightAgilentTechnologies
2009