AUSTIN, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Si2 Compact Model Coalition has released important updates to the popular BSIM-Bulk standard, a compact SPICE model developed by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and supported by developers at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur.
Three years in the making, the latest version of BSIM-Bulk offers improved accuracy, convergence and performance over the previous version and various bug fixes. It also features high-voltage transistor modeling, node collapsing, improved flicker noise modeling, and enhanced tuning flexibility in capacitances.
“The new high voltage model provides a good unified solution to low and medium rating of HV-MOS,” said Kaiman Chan of Texas Instruments, chair of the BSIM-Bulk Working Group. “HV-MOS devices are commonly used in radio frequency power amplifiers, power management integrated circuits, and smart power ICs in consumer and automotive applications. BSIM-Bulk’s latest update enables designers to account for unique device phenomena, which are critical for circuit simulation of high-voltage devices.”
To meet the speed requirements of an evolving industry, the latest version of BSIM-Bulk also offers node collapsing, resulting in faster runtime and reduced simulation and design times for modern billion-transistor systems.
The updates also include a revamped flicker noise model, which is relevant to low-noise analog and radio frequency applications. “As the standard method for small-signal flicker noise does not scale to that of large signals, BSIM-Bulk introduced changes for modeling both small and large signal noise accurately,” said Avirup Dasgupta, post-doctoral developer at the University of California, Berkeley. “BSIM-Bulk updates also provide enhanced tuning flexibility of capacitances, increasing accuracy in AC, transient and RF simulation.”
CMC chair Peter Lee praised the group, saying, “These updates add significant breadth and depth to BSIM-Bulk to ensure the model will continue serving the industry for current and future technology generations. The time savings in circuit simulations alone are impressive and provide a meaningful boost to designers.”
The CMC is a collaborative industry group that standardizes SPICE device models. In addition to direct interaction with model developers and priority standing for bug fix and enhancement requests, CMC members receive 18-month advance model access before general release.
Founded in 1988, Si2 is a leading research and development joint venture that provides standard interoperability solutions for integrated circuit design tools. All Si2 activities are carried out under the auspices of the National Cooperative Research and Production Act of 1993, the fundamental law that defines R&D joint ventures and offers them a large measure of protection against federal antitrust laws.
