Types of noise analysis in Spectre platform • Noise analyses used for linear time invariant (LTI) circuits: – Sp noise analysis (sp) – Linear 2 port noise analysis. Done after S-parameter analysis. – Noise analysis (noise) – An ac noise analysis • Small-signal noise analyses for (non) linear periodic time varying circuits: Pnoise/HBnoise analysis – Time averaged noise – USB, LSB, AM, PM – Use for mostly sinusoidal signals – Sampled noise – Time domain – Jitter – Use for pulsed or square-wave signals
• Noise analysis for non-periodic circuits: Transient noise
operating point • noise: Computes the total-noise spectral density at the output. NF and F can also be computed. • sp: Computes S-parameters of the circuit taken as an N-port. When noise selected, computes: – Noise correlation matrix – Linear two-port noise parameters (F, Fmin, NF, NFmin, Gopt, Bopt, and Rn) – Noise circles plotted on Smith Chart
AM, PM: Computes the AM and/or PM components of output noise
ALL (AM/PM, USB, LSB): Computes the output noise spectral
density in the upper sideband, the lower sideband, in addition to their correlation. The correlation term is used to compute the AM and PM components of output noise.
Oscillator FM jitter:
Full-spectrum pnoise: Recommended for the Shooting engine.
• Define jitter as the PSD (power spectral density)
of the sequence of random timing delays between the ideal and the noisy waveform
• Timing jitter is induced by voltage noise at the
crossings, and related to the slope of the large- signal crossings at a user-defined threshold
• Noisetype=jitter performs “timedomain” noise
analysis at the large-signal crossing, and converts sampled noise to jitter
Both noisetype=timedomain and noisetype=jitter are J(f) in above equation is
in s^2/Hz. not only useful for digital dividers, but for all level- To get actual jitter, you sensitive ("digital") circuits. It is also useful for need to integrate J(f) and sampled circuits such as switched-capacitor filters take the square root.
• Performs like a regular transient analysis, with all noise sources in the circuit injecting random noise signals into the simulation at each time step • Thermal, shot, and flicker noise from device models. Frequency dependent noise file supported • The key technology that enables time-domain noise analysis is the ability to properly inject random device noise at each time step • Parameters control things like bandwidth of random noise sources, lowest interested frequency of noise PSD, etc. • Post processing of transient noise done using waveform calculator: DFT, PSD, spectrum, eye diagram, jitter
General noise analysis recommendations for various circuits Circuits Operating Noise Analysis Special Mentions Point Analysis Linear/weakly non-linear circuits OPAMPS DC noise Noise summary is provided. Filters or Sp noise results can be plotted on LNAs by themselves sp noise Smith or rectangular Chart. (e.g. noise circles) Chopper Stabilized Amplifier DC or Shooting noise or pnoise PSS Nonlinear, non-periodic circuits Sigma-Delta ADCs Tran Transient noise Large signal noise analysis. Fract-N and Int-N PLLs No noise summary is provided. SerDes and PHYs Must use noiseon/noiseoff feature
– Allows computing individual contributions of every noise source in the circuit to the output noise spectral density – Composite noise spectral density is calculated afterwards as mean-square sum. – Ac noise, sp noise, pnoise, hbnoise
• Large signal noise analysis
– Used when large signal steady state response is unavailable (no dc, hb, pss) – Equations are non-linear and individual noise contributions cannot be easily separated – noiseon and noiseoff feature used to calculate noise contribution from a device or circuit block, perform transient noise simulation repetitively with noise contribution from certain devices or blocks turned on or off – Transient noise
Demo and Related Content • Demystifying Noise Simulation in RF Circuits: Spectre APS and RF Option (Video)
This video is a demo that complements the IMS microApp paper (with same title) presented at the IEEE International Microwave Symposium in May 2016. The video shows the new HBnoise GUI in IC6.1.7 Virtuoso with MMSIM15.1. The new HB/HBnoise Choosing Analyses forms are described and simulation of a simple oscillator performed. Next, the updated Direct Plot form is used to plot oscillator phase noise and hbnoise separation by sideband number. The video ends with a demonstration of printing Noise Summary results from various noise contributions (AM, PM, USB, etc.).
• Improvements to Pnoise / HBnoise Analysis in MMSIM15.1 and IC6.1.7 (Article)
Additional Notes for Advanced Users High Q LC oscillator circuit is followed by a hard switching buffer
• If the output of the buffer is applied to a mixer where the entire waveform contributes noise to the system, then pnoise/hbnoise timeaverage should be used. • If the output of the buffer drives a circuit which has a threshold e.g. a divider, then hbnoise pm jitter should be used. • Many harmonics will be required in hb. This will slow hbnoise.
• When HB is used: • Set the number of harmonics to the period divided by the fastest rise/fall time in the circuit. • Set oversample to 2. • The risetime here is calculated by taking the highest slew rate in the transition, and calculating the 0 to 100% risetime based on that maximum slew rate.
Additional Notes: When to Use Transient Noise Use Transient Noise for circuits input and output are periodic, but circuit does not have a periodic or quasi-periodic steady state:
• ADC (typically has a number of threshold detectors)
When analog input of threshold detector is close to the threshold voltage, a small variation of the input, due to the thermal noise can cause a state transition at the output - a large voltage change.
• Fractional-N PLL circuit
Random dithering in the divider ratio is used to maintain non-integer ratio between output clock and reference clock frequencies, to avoid spurs in the output spectral density. While both the input and output of the circuit are periodic, the circuit does not have periodic or quasi-periodic steady state, due to the random dithering of the divider ratio
Additional Notes for Advanced Users Guidelines for using Transient Noise analysis on a PLL circuit
Oscillator in the PLL generates most noise in the PLL circuit
• Sinusoidal oscillator: Setting noisefmax larger than the 3rd harmonic frequency is sufficient because the oscillator doesn’t produce much power in the higher harmonics to mix down with. • Ring oscillator (or “square-ish” waveforms): Because there is power at the higher harmonics to mix with, must go higher in frequency with noisefmax. As a guideline for setting noisefmax, look at the spectrum and determine the harmonic that is about 20dB smaller than the fundamental.
