A highly efficient transient and frequency-response simulation method for switching converters without using a SPICE-like analog simulator

摘要

This paper introduces and proposes a transient and frequency-response simulation method for switching converters that is both fast and precise; this method uses a behavioral simulation tool without using a SPICE-like analog simulator. The behavioral model is constructed such that it is based on real circuit operation. The non-linear operation of the circuit is considered by splitting the circuit into two parts; the one for the linear part and another for the non-linear part. The nonlinear function is realized by defining the formula based on the circuit operation and by applying feedback. The transient and frequency-response characteristics of the designed and fabricated current-mode buck DC-DC converter using a 0.35-um CMOS process were simulated by SPICE and the proposed program on a behavioral simulation tool, which we named NSTVR (The New Simulation Tool for Voltage Regulators). Comparing the evaluation results of the chip as well, the three kinds of results showed good agreement even though NSTVR was more than 100 times faster than SPICE in CPU time.