LTspice

A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO VISUAL CIRCUIT

SIMULATION AND LEARNING ELECTRONICS

PART -I

by
Pratibha
Mishra

PRATIBHAMISHRA3110@GMAIL.COM
2

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

S.No Topic Page No.

1 Installation Steps 3

2 Getting Started with Your First Circuit 4

a. Shortcut Keys for Components 4

b. Component Library 5

c. Labelling 5

d. Viewing the Output 7

e. Label Net (N) 8

f. Zoom and Customize 9

g. Delete Mode 12

h. Move Tool 12

3 RC Low-Pass Filter 13

a. Breakdown of AC Analysis Tab 15

4 RC High-Pass Filter 18

5 Non-Inverting Amplifier using LM741 Op-Amp 21

a. How to Import Manually in LTspice 21

6 Inverting Amplifier using LM741 Op-Amp 26

7 A Page Just Between Us…. 28

3

LTspice
Installation Steps (Windows)

1.​ Visit the official download page:​

LTspice Download – Analog Devices
2.​ Click “Download for Windows” (Fig.1)
3.​ Run the installer.
4.​ Accept the license agreement. (You didn’t read any license ever and this isn’t the
one to start with.)
5.​ Choose the installation path (default is fine).
6.​ Complete the installation process.
7.​ Launch LTSpice. (Fig.2)

Fig.1 Download LTSpice for Windows

Fig. 2 Launched LTSpice

4

Getting Started With Your First Circuit:

(You're not here to stare at an interface. You're here to make things simulate.)

1.​ File > New Schematic

Start a new schematic file. (Fig. 3)​

(So many icons… we’ll figure them out as we go. For now, we're going to build a
Voltage Divider. Because it’s simple, and it teaches you wires, components, labels,
simulations…. the whole deal.)

Fig. 3 New Schematic File which will be saved as [Draft1.asc] -default name

Bring in basic components like:

●​ Wire (W)
●​ Ground (G)
●​ Voltage Source (V)
●​ Resistor (R)
●​ Capacitor (C)
●​ Inductor (L)
●​ Diode (D)

2.​ You can either use the toolbar or just press the shortcut keys (like R for
resistor).
●​ Place Two Resistors
●​ Click on the resistor tool or just press R.
●​ Place two resistors vertically like a standard voltage divider.
5

3.​ Add Voltage Source

●​ Press P (or use the component icon). (Fig.4)
●​ Search for Voltage and place it above the top resistor.
●​ Alternatively, you can directly use the voltage source icon from the toolbar.

Fig.4 Component (P)

4.​ Add Ground

●​ Click the Ground (G) tool or press G.
●​ Place it at the bottom of the circuit.
●​ Use wire (W) to connect all the components like shown. (Fig. 5)

(“There’s something oddly therapeutic about drawing wires.”)

5.​ Labeling
●​ Use the Text Tool (T) to add labels like "Voltage Divider" or node names. (Fig.5)

Fig. 5
6

6.​ Set Component Values:

Right-click each component to set their values. (Fig.6)

●​ Example:​
Voltage Source: 10V​
R1: 10k​
R2: 20k

Fig. 6

7.​ Run Simulation

●​ Click the green "Run" button.
●​ A dialog box appears. Set:​
Stop Time = 1s (Fig. 7)

Fig. 7

Your voltage divider circuit is ready! We just ran our first simulation.
7

8.​ View Output:

●​ Probe the Circuit:
Hover your mouse over any wire (e.g., top node connected to voltage source)- you’ll
see a voltage probe icon. (Fig.8)

Fig. 8

●​ Click to plot the voltage waveform.

You should see: 10.00V (Fig.9)

Fig.9
8

●​ Now hover and click on the middle node (between the two resistors):

You’ll get approx 6.66V- as expected from a 10k–20k divider. (Fig. 10, 11)

Fig. 10

Fig. 11 Left Click on V(n002)

9.​ Pause the simulation and click on “Label Net (N)” (Fig. 11)

Fig. 11

Fig. 12
9

Name It “Output” (Fig.12) and connect it with wire as shown in (Fig. 13)

Fig. 13

Run The simulation again and this time when you click between the two resistors,
instead of V(n002) you will see V(output)

10.​ Zoom & Customize

●​ Right-click on the graph > Zoom to Fit for a cleaner view.​

●​ Click on any waveform label (e.g., V(n002)) to: (Fig. 14)​

Change color​
Edit the algebraic expression

Fig. 14
10

11.​Check Current Flow

●​ Hover over a component (like a resistor) - the cursor changes to an ammeter.
(Fig. 15)
●​ Click to view current through that element.​
You’ll see approx 3.33 μA (Fig. 16)

Fig. 15

Fig. 16

12.​ Add a Capacitor (Fig. 17)

●​ Place a capacitor (C) between the divider output and ground.
●​ Set its value: 10nF

Since this is a DC circuit, the capacitor won’t influence the output (acts like an open
circuit).

But if you want the capacitor to show an effect…(go to point 13)

Fig. 17
11

13.​ Configure Analysis

●​ Go to: Simulate > Configure Analysis
●​ Choose “Start external DC supply voltages at 0V” (Fig. 18)
●​ Run again and observe how the capacitor affects the waveform. (Fig. 19-a,b)

Fig. 18

Fig.19-a

Fig. 19-b
12

(“I placed the voltage source on the right side of the resistors….​
I wanted it on the left.​
Naturally, I right-clicked… expecting a neat "cut" or "delete" option or maybe “move”,​
like in most other tools I’ve used.​
But nope. Nothing. Classic rookie frustration.​
“Wait... do I have to undo-redo every time I mess up?”​
Unbelievable.

...And then…. ahem…. I noticed Delete Mode.​

Yeah, the little black cross on the toolbar.​
Basically scissors.​
Click it, and snip…. mistake gone.​
Crisis averted.

At this point, I thought…. At least I can cut it if not move it.

But guess what? You can move too.​

Just not the way you’d expect.

Then I found it:​

Move tool…Move Mode (M)....Click that first, then select your component… and now it
moves.​
Simple. Just… not obvious at first.”)

(That felt a bit long.... but it sets the base. From here on, I’ll just show the circuits and
results. No step-by-step, just the key takeaways.... unless something new comes up.)
13

RC Low-Pass Filter:

An RC low-pass filter allows low-frequency signals to pass through while attenuating

(reducing) high-frequency signals.

1. Place Components (Fig.20)

Add the resistor (R) and capacitor (C) components to the schematic.

2. Assign Values to Components (Fig.20)

Right-click on the resistor to set its value (e.g., 1kΩ).

Right-click on the capacitor to set its value (e.g., 1µF).

Fig. 20

3. Add the AC Voltage Source

Right-click the voltage source (Fig. 21), select “Advanced” and set its AC amplitude to
1V, and leave other settings as default. (Fig. 22)

Fig. 21
14

Fig. 22

4. Set Up the Simulation

Go to Simulate > Configure Analysis

Select the AC Analysis tab and set the values as shown (Fig. 23)

Fig. 23
15

Breakdown of Fig.23:

Type of sweep: Decade

●​ This sets the frequency scale to increase logarithmically by decades.

●​ A decade means a 10× jump (e.g., 10 → 100 → 1000 Hz).
●​ Other options:​
Octave: frequency doubles every step (e.g., 10 → 20 → 40 Hz)​
Linear: frequency increases linearly (e.g., 10 → 20 → 30 Hz)​

Number of points per decade: 100

●​ For each 10× frequency range (decade), simulate 100 points.

●​ Gives high resolution in the plot.
●​ Example: Between 10 Hz and 100 Hz → 100 points, then again 100–1000 Hz →
100 more, and so on.​

Start frequency: 10

●​ Simulation starts at 10 Hz.

●​ Useful for seeing low-frequency behavior of filters.​

Stop frequency: 1000000

●​ Simulation ends at 1 MHz (1,000,000 Hz).

●​ You’ll see how your circuit behaves up to very high frequencies.

“Try changing the values and see

what happens…. It's the best way to
learn.”
16

5. Run the Simulation

Click the Run button or press the Run icon.

6. Output: (Fig. 24-a, 24-b)

Fig. 24-a

Fig. 24-b

7. Output Interpretation:

Magnitude Plot (solid green curve)

●​ Starts out flat at low frequencies: input passes through, no problem.

●​ Then it drops off after a “certain point”: this is where high frequencies start getting
filtered out.
●​ That “certain point” is called the cutoff frequency.

("Wait... how do you know where the cutoff is?")

Formula for Cutoff Frequency:

fc = 1 / (2 x π x R x C)
17

Where:

●​ R = resistance in ohms (Ω)

●​ C = capacitance in farads (F)
●​ fc = cutoff frequency in hertz (Hz)

Example:
If:
●​ R=1kΩ
●​ C=1μF
Then:
fc = 1 / (2 x π x 1000 x 1×10^-6) ~ 159.15 Hz

Phase Plot (dashed green curve)

Okay, now this one confused me for a second.

But here's how I talked it out with myself:
●​ At low frequencies, the capacitor doesn’t do much, so output is in sync with input
phase: = 0°
●​ At high frequencies, the capacitor starts acting weird (reactive), and now the
output lags: phase shifts toward -90°.​

So basically:
●​ 0° phase shift at low frequencies
●​ Gradual shift towards -90° as frequency increases

Why?
The capacitor causes output to lag behind input. At higher frequencies, the capacitor
reacts slower, hence more lag.

Check your LTspice plot, around 160 Hz, the green line should cross the −3 dB mark.
(Fig.25)

Fig. 25
18

RC High-Pass Filter:

1.​ Circuit Connection:

To create the RC high-pass filter, connect the components as shown: (Fig. 26)

(Fig. 26)

This arrangement places the capacitor in front of the resistor, which is characteristic of a
high-pass filter.

2.​ Set Up the Simulation

Go to Simulate > Configure Analysis

Select the AC Analysis tab and set the values as shown (Fig. 27)

Fig. 27
19

3.​ Running the Simulation: (Fig. 28)

●​ Click the Run button (the icon with the running man).
●​ In the plot window, click on node b002 to display the output.
●​ The result will show two lines:

A solid line representing the magnitude response.​

A dotted line showing the phase response.

Fig. 28

4.​ Optional Display Settings:

●​ If you want to hide the phase plot, right-click on the right axis (where the phase is
shown), and in the pop-up box, select “Don’t plot phase”. (Fig. 29)
●​ To view plots side-by-side (for example, schematic and graph), go to Window >
Tile Vertically.
●​ To edit the magnitude axis, right-click directly on that axis in the plot window.
(Fig.30)

Fig. 29

Fig. 30
20

5.​ Determining the Cutoff Frequency:

●​ Left-click on the label V(b002) in the plot to bring up a cursor.
●​ Move the cursor to the point where the magnitude is −3 dB.
●​ You will see that the frequency at this point is approximately 79 Hz. (Fig. 31)

Fig. 31

This value matches the theoretical cutoff frequency for this circuit:
fc = 1 / (2πRC)
For example, if:
●​ R = 2kΩ
●​ C = 1μF
●​
Then:
fc = 1 / (2 × π × 2000 × 1 × 10⁻⁶)
~ 79.6 Hz
So, both theory and simulation align perfectly, proving that the filter works as expected.
21

Non-Inverting Amplifier using LM741 Op-Amp:

Basic Definition:
A non-inverting amplifier is an op-amp configuration where the input signal is applied to
the non-inverting (+) terminal. The output is in-phase with the input and amplified.

To simulate and observe this behavior in LTSpice, we’ll use the LM741 op-amp.
However, LM741 is not built into LTSpice by default (Fig. 32), so we’ll need to import it
manually.

Fig. 32

Step 1: Download the LM741 SPICE Model

1.​ Go to Texas Instruments LM741 page

2.​ Click on "Design & development" > “LM741 PSpice Model” (Fig. 33)
3.​ Download the ZIP file.

Fig. 33
22

Step 2: Save the File in a Known Location

●​ Extract the .lib or .cir file.

●​ Place it in a permanent folder, for example: Documents/LTSpice/….

Step 3: Create or Use a Symbol in LTspice

LTspice doesn’t come with a built-in LM741 symbol, so you can use a generic opamp
symbol:

1.​ Open LTspice (File > New Schematic)

2.​ Open the component library
3.​ Type and choose: opamp2 (Fig. 34)​
(This is a generic op-amp symbol)
4.​ Place the symbol

Fig. 34
23

Step 4: Tell LTspice to Use LM741 Model

1.​ Right-click the opamp symbol
2.​ Change Value to:LM741 (Fig. 35)

Fig. 35

3.​ Add a SPICE directive to load the model:​

Right-click > Draft > SPICE directive and paste this: ​
.lib "C:\Users\YourName\Documents\LTspice\Libraries\LM741.lib"
(Use your actual file path) (Fig. 36)

Fig. 36

The LM741 model is now included in LTSpice.

24

Connect the circuit as shown: (Fig. 37)

Fig. 37

Set Input Voltage (Vin=V1) as shown: (Fig. 38)

Fig. 38
25

Run the simulation and the output will look like as shown: (Fig 39)

Where, Purple waves: Vin and Green waves: Vout

Observe how the output waveform mirrors the input waveform’s shape and phase, just
with a higher amplitude.

Fig. 39
26

Inverting Amplifier using LM741 Op-Amp:

●​ An inverting amplifier is an op-amp configuration where the input signal is applied

to the inverting (−) terminal through a resistor, while the non-inverting (+) terminal
is usually grounded. The output is inverted (180° out of phase) meaning if the
input goes up, the output goes down.

Key takeaway: The signal flips and gets amplified, like the op-amp saying, “Whatever
you do, I’ll do the opposite... louder.”

●​ The process of adding the LM741 model, creating the symbol, and writing the
SPICE directive remains the same as described earlier for the non-inverting
amplifier.
●​ The inverting amplifier circuit and its corresponding simulation output are shown
below.

Circuit- Inverting Amplifier-

27

Output: Inverting Amplifier-

28

… Part 2 is on the
way.