Evaluating mixed-signal simulators

This paper describes various issues related to modes of failure in mixed-signal simulation and identifies how various benchmark circuits can be used to evaluate the implementation of various simulators. This paper serves as a companion paper to the CICC-94 paper which presented a set of mixed-mode benchmark circuits. Important aspects of the analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog interfaces are discussed along with mixed-signal circuit partitioning, analog-digital time synchronization, and digital modeling. This is followed by a survey of implementation techniques in various commercial and university mixed-signal simulators.