Creating a New SpiTran Project
Creating the Project Directory
Choose New from the SpiTran File menu, or click the
icon. The New Project Workspace dialog will appear:
The project Name entered is the name of a directory that will
be created under the Location directory when the Create button
is clicked. The new directory is initially empty. The default Location
is the working directory, which is probably the SpiTran root directory.
Click Browse to open a directory browser for choosing a different
directory under which the new project directory will be created.
Copying SPICE Files into the Project Directory
The New Project Workspace dialog closes and the SpiTran Project
Setup dialog appears:
Set the Buffer Technology popup to the technology of your SPICE
buffer model. This will affect the audits performed on the SPICE buffer
model, and default values for data items will be set accordingly. Click
Browse
to choose your SPICE buffer model file, or directly type the file path
into the Import SPICE File to Project Directory field. If the selected
file includes other files or libraries, these will be copied also.
Using SPICE Libraries
Some buffer models make use of external library files to provide model
parameters for typical, best, and worst case operation. If the imported
SPICE file contains .library statements, then the library file(s)
will have to be imported also. To import the models for typical operation,
first set the Show Models of Type popup to Typ. Click the ...
button above the Libraries list to open a file browser. Select the
file that contains the typical mode models. The Libraries list will
show all models found in the library file. Select the required models and
click Add Model. The added models will then appear in the Models
list. Repeat this process for Best and Worst operating modes.
You may delete models by selecting a model in the Models list
and clicking Del Model. You may also change the Show Models of
Type popup at any time to review the models selected for each mode.
When you click OK the required models will be imported into the
project.
Fixing Up the SPICE File
Click OK in the SpiTran Project Setup dialog when finished, and
SpiTran will open the Audit dialog.
All independent voltage and current sources found in the SPICE files
are shown in the Audit dialog. It is important to verify that they
are essential to the basic operation of the buffer model, and not part
of a test fixture that exercises the buffer. Click the Edit SPICE
button to open the SPICE file in a text editor. Locate the voltage and
current sources, and modify the circuit as needed. The file you are editing
is the copy that resides in the project directory, not the original SPICE
file. After any changes are made, click Reparse in the Audit
dialog to view the audit of the modified SPICE file. If the file is clean
the audit will look like this:
It is not absolutely necessary to obtain a clean audit, as long as
you are certain that the listed elements are required for normal operation
of the buffer model, or that they are in subcircuits that will not be used.
When it appears that the circuit is ready, click Continue to return
to the SpiTran main window:
Saving the New Project
Once a new project has been created, be sure to save the project before
quitting. To save, choose Save from the SpiTran File menu,
or click the
icon. This will
insure that settings such as the buffer technology are saved in the project
file. The project file resides in the project directory. It will have the
same name as the project directory, with a .spp extension.