Compact modeling of circuits and devices in Verilog-A

Abstract

The compact model of a circuit or device is a system of linear and/or nonlinear differential equations that effectively models the behavior of the circuit or device. Compact modeling plays a critical role in circuit simulation, because in order to simulate a circuit with a specific component, the compact model of this component is needed in the circuit simulator. Two contributions related to compact modeling in Verilog-A are presented in this thesis. The first contribution is an analysis of the feasibility and performance of the Verilog-A language in the context of implementing reduced order models. Reduced order models are a class of purely mathematical compact models, which are significantly faster than compact models based on the physics of a device or system. The second contribution of this thesis is the implementation of a novel MOSFET model in Verilog-A. This MOSFET model is known as the Virtual Source model.