Circuit Simulation of Nanotechnology Devices with Non-monotonic I-V Characteristics
Proceedings of the 2003 IEEE/ACM international conference on Computer-aided design
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Rsim is an efficient logic plus timing simulator that employs the switched resistor transistor model and RC tree analysis to simulate efficiently MOS digital circuits at the transistor level. We investigate the incorporation of piecewise linear transistor models and generalized moments matching into this simulation framework. General piecewise linear models allow more accurate MOS models to be used to simulate circuits that are hard for Rsim. Additionally, they enable the simulator to handle circuits containing bipolar transistors such as ECL and BiCMOS. Nonetheless, the switched resistor model has proved to be efficient and accurate for a large class of MOS digital circuits. Therefore, it is retained as just one particular model available for use in this framework. The use of piecewise linear models requires the generalization of RC tree analysis. Unlike switched resistors, more general models may incorporate gain and floating capacitance. Additionally, we extend the analysis to handle non-tree topologies and feedback. Despite the increased generality, for many common MOS and ECL circuits the complexity remains linear. Thus, this timing analysis can be used to simulate, efficiently, those portions of the circuit that are well described by traditional switch level models, while simultaneously simulating, more accurately, those portions that are not. We present preliminary results from a prototype simulator, Mom. We demonstrate its use on a number of MOS, ECL, and BiCMOS circuits.