Inter
national
J
our
nal
of
P
o
wer
Electr
onics
and
Dri
v
e
Systems
(IJPEDS)
V
ol.
6,
No.
4,
December
2015,
pp.
665
–
682
ISSN:
2088-8694
665
Co-Simulation
Interfacing
Capabilities
in
De
vice-Le
v
el
P
o
wer
Electr
onic
Cir
cuit
Simulation
T
ools:
An
Ov
er
view
W
entao
W
ang
*
,
W
enying
Y
ang
**
,
and
V
enkata
Dina
v
ahi
*
*
Department
of
Electrical
&
Computer
Engineering,
Uni
v
ersity
of
Alberta,
Edmonton,
AB
T6G
2V4
Canada.
**
School
of
Electrical
Engineering
&
Automation,
Harbin
Institute
of
T
echnology
,
Harbin
150001
China.
Article
Inf
o
Article
history:
Recei
v
ed
Jun
20,
2015
Re
vised
Aug
13,
2015
Accepted
Aug
29,
2015
K
eyw
ord:
Co-simulation
Circuit
simulators
De
vice-le
v
el
modeling
Interf
acing,
Po
wer
electronics
System-le
v
el
simulation.
ABSTRA
CT
Po
wer
electronic
circuit
simulation
t
oday
has
become
increasingly
more
demanding
in
both
the
speed
and
accurac
y
.
Whilst
almost
e
v
ery
simulator
has
its
o
wn
adv
antages
and
disad-
v
antages,
co-simulations
are
becoming
more
pre
v
alent.
This
paper
pro
vides
an
o
v
ervie
w
of
the
co-simulation
capabilities
of
de
vice-le
v
el
circuit
simulators.
More
specifically
,
a
list-
ing
of
de
vice-
le
v
el
simulators
with
their
salient
features
are
compared
and
contrasted.
The
co-simulation
interf
aces
between
se
v
eral
simulation
tools
are
discussed.
A
c
ase
study
is
presented
to
de
monstrate
the
co-simulation
between
a
de
vice-le
v
el
simulator
(PSIM)
inter
-
f
acing
a
system-le
v
el
simulator
(Simulink),
a
nd
a
finite
element
simulation
tool
(FLUX).
Results
demonstrate
the
necessity
and
con
v
enience
as
well
as
the
dra
wbacks
of
such
a
com-
prehensi
v
e
simulation.
Copyright
c
2015
Institute
of
Advanced
Engineering
and
Science
.
All
rights
r
eserved.
Corresponding
A
uthor:
V
enkata
Dina
v
ahi
Dept.
of
Electrical
&
Computer
Engineering
Uni
v
ersity
of
Alberta
9107
116
St.,
Edmonton,
AB
T6G
2V4
Canada
Ph:
(780)
492-1003
Email:
dina
v
ahi@ualberta.ca
1.
INTR
ODUCTION
De
vice-le
v
el
circuit
simulators
are
essential
to
tackle
the
increasing
demand
of
the
accurac
y
and
precision
in
the
design
and
implementation
of
comple
x
systems.
The
special
adv
antage
of
such
simulators
is
based
on
their
conformity
to
fundamental
ph
ysical
principles,
thereby
achie
ving
more
accurate
simulation
results
[1],[2].
Ho
we
v
er
,
since
de
vice-le
v
el
simulators
ha
v
e
to
depict
the
w
a
v
eform
of
a
design
node
in
great
detail,
the
y
are
relati
v
ely
slo
w
in
e
x
ecution
speed,
which
is
the
k
e
y
bottleneck
in
lar
ge
desi
gn
projects.
Besides
accurac
y
and
speed,
man
y
system-
le
v
el
simulation
projects
e
v
en
require
specific
analyses
(e.g.
transient,
statistical
analysis)
in
certai
n
parts
of
the
systems,
which
could
only
be
achie
v
ed
using
ci
rcuit
simulators
[3,
4].
In
such
cases,
hierarchical
design
structure
strate
gies
become
necessary
.
F
or
e
xample,
some
lar
ge
po
wer
system
simulation
tasks
may
require
implementation
in
both
system-le
v
el
lik
e
Matlab/Simulink
R
and
de
vice-le
v
el
circuit
simulators
to
e
xploit
the
modeling
strengths
in
their
respecti
v
e
areas
of
simulation
[5],[6].
Meanwhile,
man
y
of
the
design
projects
today
may
include
analog,
digital
and
mix
ed-signal
simulations,
which
mak
e
it
necessary
for
analog
and
mix
ed-signal
simulators
to
support
the
function
of
co-simulation
within
standard
digital
simulators
[7].
Furthermore,
researchers
ha
v
e
endea
v
ored
to
de
vise
methods
to
enable
de
vice-le
v
el
circuit
simulators
to
co-simulate
with
programming
languages
lik
e
SystemC
TM
,
which
are
especially
u
s
eful
during
hardw
are
realization
[
8
]
,[9].
As
a
result
of
all
aforementioned
f
actors,
the
discussi
on
of
co-simulation
issue
for
de
vice-le
v
el
circuit
simulators
becomes
paramount.
Another
important
issue
about
de
vice-le
v
el
circuit
simulators
ob
viously
is
the
numerical
solution
method.
F
or
nonlinear
dc,
transient
and
linear
ac
circuit
simulations,
the
circuit
may
comprise
of
semiconductor
de
vices
such
as
diodes,
BJTs,
JFETs,
MOSFETs
and
IGBTs;
linear/nonlinear
resistors,
capacit
ors,
inductors,
independent/dependent
v
oltage
and
current
sources,
etc.
[1]
All
these
actual
de
vices
can
be
approximated
by
b
uilt-in
or
user
-defined
models,
where
the
complete
system
of
models
can
be
highly
coupled.
Standard
methods
e
xist
to
solv
e
nonlinear
dif
ferential
Evaluation Warning : The document was created with Spire.PDF for Python.
666
ISSN:
2088-8694
algebraic
equations.
T
ypical
ly
,
numerical
inte
gration,
the
Ne
wton-Raphson
method,
and
sparse-matri
x
techniques
are
applied
[10].
One
of
the
circuit
simulators,
that
applies
the
standard
met
hod
is
SPICE
[11].
This
is
also
true
of
other
simulators
including
those
among
the
SPICE
f
amily
which
are
essentially
based
on
the
k
ernel
of
SPICE
[12],
[13],
[14].
Although
the
standard
methods
are
ef
ficacious
in
man
y
applications,
the
y
were
in
v
ented
se
v
eral
decades
ago,
and
the
y
ha
v
e
the
dra
wback
of
slo
w
computing
speed,
especially
when
used
in
conjunction
with
lar
ger
circuit
simulations.
Therefore,
there
is
an
ur
gent
need
to
de
vise
more
ef
ficient
methods
of
solution.
Actually
,
man
y
of
these
kinds
of
no
v
el
simulators
ha
v
e
been
de
v
eloped,
which
include
MEDUSA
and
CODECS
[15],[16].
The
purpose
of
this
paper
is
to
enumerate
co-simulation
interf
aces
in
de
vice-le
v
el
circuit
simulators,
and
to
identify
their
specific
application
in
the
literature.
A
PSIM
R
-Simulink
R
-FLUX
R
case
study
is
pro
vided
to
demonstrate
the
ef
fecti
v
eness
of
the
co-simulation
interf
acing
in
de
vice-le
v
el
circuit
simulators.
2.
GENERIC
NUMERICAL
SOLUTION
APPR
O
A
CH
IN
DEVICE-LEVEL
CIRCUIT
SIMULA
T
ORS
While
there
are
a
handful
of
commonly
used
and
popular
de
vice-le
v
el
circuit
simulators,
this
study
has
re
v
ealed
a
host
of
other
tools
that
are
less
well
kno
wn
b
ut
nonetheless
unique
in
t
heir
modeling
and
simulation
ca-
pabilities.
T
able
1
enumerates
the
de
vice-le
v
el
circuit
simulators
found
in
this
study
with
their
salient
features
and
rele
v
ant
references,
with
a
special
emphasis
on
their
adv
antages
and
disadv
antages
from
a
user’
s
point
of
vie
w
.
These
simulators
can
be
broadly
cate
gorized
into
research-oriented
simulators
(e.g.,
SPICE,
Ngspice,
Q
UCS,
MEDUSA,
and
CODECS)
and
commercial
simulators
(e.g.,
PSpice
R
,
Saber
R
,
and
PSIM
R
).
In
the
tables,
research-oriented
simulators
are
mark
ed
by
R
and
commercial
ones
are
mark
ed
by
C
.
Furthermore,
a
group
of
simulators,
includ-
ing
SPICE,
S
pice2,
Spice3,
Ngspice,
PSpice,
HomSPICE,
MultiSim
TM
and
so
on
can
be
cate
gorized
as
SPICE-lik
e
simulators,
which
are
essentially
based
on
the
k
ernel
of
SPICE
[12],
[13],
[14],
and
their
transient
analysis
operations
are
basically
the
same.
In
this
section,
the
numerical
solution
approach
for
transient
analysis
used
by
a
majority
of
de
vice-le
v
el
simulators
is
described.
The
first
step
is
the
system
matrix
for
mulation.
The
modified
nodal
analysis
(MN
A)
approach
is
tak
en
by
Saber
and
SPICE-lik
e
sim
u
l
ators,
where
the
system
is
represented
by
a
group
of
nonlinear
first-order
dif
ferential
algebraic
equations
(D
AEs):
N
(
x
(
t
)
;
d
x
(
t
)
dt
;
t
)
=
0
(1)
where
x
(
t
)
is
the
v
ector
of
unkno
wn
circuit
v
ariables,
and
N
(
)
are
the
nonlinear
v
ector
functions
[1],
[11].
In
contrast,
other
circuit
simulators
such
as
PECS,
utilize
a
state-space
approach
to
undertak
e
the
system
matrix
formulation
step
[30].
The
nonlinear
D
AE
group
contain
nonlinear
ordinary
dif
ferential
equations
(ODEs)
of
the
form
[2]:
d
x
(
t
)
dt
=
o
(
x
(
t
)
;
t
)
(2)
T
o
solv
e
(2)
at
the
ne
xt
time-step
t
n
+1
,
numerical
inte
gration
is
applied.
F
or
instance,
SPICE-lik
e
simulators
and
Saber
use
Gear
or
T
rapezoidal
methods.
F
or
the
T
rapezoidal
method,
x
n
+1
=
x
n
+
h
2
[
o
(
x
n
+1
;
t
n
+1
)
+
o
(
x
n
;
t
n
)]
(3)
where
x
n
+1
is
the
solution
of
ne
xt
time-step
t
n
+1
,
and
x
n
is
the
solution
at
the
current
time-step
t
n
[2].
F
or
the
second-order
Gear
method
(the
def
ault
method
for
Saber),
x
n
+1
=
4
3
x
n
1
3
x
n
1
+
2
3
h
o
(
x
n
+1
;
t
n
+1
)
:
(4)
Thus
(2)
is
successfully
transformed
into
nonlinear
algebraic
equations
(N
AEs),
which
ha
v
e
the
general
form
of
F
(
x
)
=
0
;
(5)
where
x
x
n
+1
,
and
F
(
)
is
the
general
nonlinear
operator
[1],
[11].
T
o
solv
e
these
N
AEs,
(5)
needs
to
be
linearized
in
this
step.
SPICE-lik
e
simulators
and
Saber
use
Ne
wton-
Raphson
or
the
Katzenelson
algorithms.
(5)
can
be
further
written
as
F
(
x
)
=
[
f
1
(
x
)
;
f
2
(
x
)
;
:
:
:
;
f
m
(
x
)]
T
;
(6)
IJPEDS
V
ol.
6,
No.
4,
December
2015:
665
–
682
Evaluation Warning : The document was created with Spire.PDF for Python.
IJPEDS
ISSN:
2088-8694
667
T
able
1.
Comparison
of
De
vice-Le
v
el
Circuit
Simulators
Simulators
F
:
Salient
F
eatur
es;
N
:
Adv
antages;
H
:
Disadv
antages
SPICE
(Spice2,
F
:
Simulation
Program
with
Inte
grated
Circuit
Emphasis
(SPICE),
the
most
popular
Spice3)
general
purpose
and
open
source
analog
circuit
simulator[12];
N
:
i)
Lar
ge
model
library;
R
ii)
Ef
ficient
solution
method:
finite
dif
ference
numerical
method;
iii)
Three
time-step
strate-
gies:
iteration
count,
dV/
d
t
cont
rol,
and
local
truncation
error
(L
TE);
i
v)
Simulation
studies:
DC
and
A
C
analysis,
DC
transfer
curv
e
analysis,
Noise
analysis,
T
ransient
analysis.
H
:
i)
Less
simulation
accurac
y
in
a
comple
x
circuit
en
vironment;
ii)
Limited
interf
acing
capability
.
HomSPICE
F
:
A
member
of
SPICE-f
amily
circuit
simulators,
uses
three
homotop
y
algorithms:
R
FIXPDF
,
FIXPNF
,
and
FIXPQF
,
which
is
in
f
a
v
or
of
calculating
a
circuit’
s
dc
operating
points
and
periodic
steady-state
response
[13].
N
:
P
arameter
embedding
methods
are
rob
ust
and
accurate
numerical
techniques
for
solving
nonlinear
algebraic
equations;
H
:
Computational
intensity
is
high.
JSPICE
F
:
Based
on
Spice2,
designed
for
superconductor
and
semiconductor
circuits
[17];
N
:
R
i)
Can
be
incorporated
with
the
Josephson
junction
model;
ii)
Supports
the
same
Spice2
format
and
runs
in
the
batch
mode.
H
:
i)
Only
v
alid
for
transient
simulations;
ii)
DC
operating
point
and
A
C
small-signal
analyses
are
not
allo
wed.
MacSpice
F
:
A
Mac
v
ersion
of
SPICE,
open
source
and
free
for
non-commercial
use
only
[18].
R
N
:
i)
An
adapti
v
e
step-size
algorithm
is
used
to
g
ain
better
con
v
er
gence
during
a
transient
analysis;
ii)
Pro
vides
a
rob
ust
multi-parameter
optimizer
and
f
acility
for
interprocess
commu-
nication
with
other
applications.
H
:
Limited
interf
acing
capability
.
XSpice
F
:
Based
on
SPICE,
b
ut
further
incorporates
arbitrary
user
models
[19].
N
:
i)
Sup-
R
ports
for
adding
“code
models”
written
in
the
C
programming
language
and
contain
o
v
er
40
ne
w
functional
blocks;
ii)
An
embedded
e
v
ent-dri
v
en
algorithm
is
coordinated
with
the
analog
simulation
algorithm
to
pro
vide
f
ast
and
accurate
simulation
of
mix
ed-signal
circuits
and
sys-
tems;
iii)
An
interprocess
communicati
on
interf
ace
for
connection
to
CAE
system
softw
are.
H
:
A
C
analysis
is
not
supported
for
circuits
with
e
v
ent-dri
v
en
nodes.
Ngspice
F
:
A
mix
ed-le
v
el/mix
ed-signal
circuit
simulator
[20];
Based
on
three
softw
are
pack-
R
ages:
Spice3f5,
Xspice
and
Cider1b1;
Ngspice
is
part
of
gED
A
project,
de
v
elopment
from
its
users
contrib
ution;
N
:
i)
Pro
vides
additional
C
language
code
models
to
support
analog
beha
v-
ioral
modeling
and
co-simulation
of
digital
components
through
a
f
ast
e
v
ent
dri
v
en
algorithm;
ii)
In
v
olv
es
a
numerical
de
vice
sim
u
l
ator
to
couple
the
circuit
le
v
el
simulator
to
the
de
vice
simulator
to
pro
vide
enhanced
simulation
accurac
y
(at
the
e
xpense
of
increase
d
simulation
time);
iii
)
Mi
grates
to
ot
her
com
mercial
SPICE
simulator
fla
wlessly;
i
v)
Supports
both
W
in-
do
ws
and
Linux
platforms;
H
:
i)
Man
y
SPICE
param
eters
will
not
be
supported
by
Ngspice
and
simulation
results
can
be
inaccurate;
ii)
Does
not
pro
vide
schematic
capture
function.
Q
UCS
F
:
An
inte
grated
circuit
simulator
with
a
graphical
user
interf
ace[21];
Simulates
the
R
lar
ge-signal,
s
mall-signal
and
noise
beha
vior
of
the
circuit.
Pure
digital
simulations
are
also
supported
using
VHDL
and/or
V
erilog;
N
:
i)
A
graphical
interf
ace
for
schematic
capture.
Sim-
ulation
data
can
be
represented
in
v
arious
types
of
diagrams,
including
Smith-Chart,
Cartesian,
T
ab
ular
and
so
on;
ii)
Existing
SPICE
models
can
be
imported
for
use;
H
:
Only
supports
the
GNU/Linux
OS.
HSpice
R
F
:An
analog
circuit
simulator
similar
to
Spice3
b
ut
has
better
con
v
er
gence,
commercial
C
product
from
Synopsys
R
[22].
N
:
i)
Performs
transient,
steady-state,
and
frequenc
y
do-
main
analyses;
ii)
Better
con
v
er
gence
than
SPICE3.
H
:
i)
GUI
(graphic
user
interf
ace)
is
n
ot
friendly;
ii)
T
ime-step
setting
is
a
littl
e
complicated
when
performing
high
frequenc
y
analysis.
Orcad
R
/PSpice
F
:
As
a
PC
v
ersion
of
SPICE,
PSpice
R
is
a
dominant
industrial
standard
for
circuit
C
and
system
analysis,
w
orks
in
analog
and
mix
ed
signal
en
vironments,
supports
the
functions
for
analog
beha
vioral
modeli
ng
[14]
[23];
N
:
i)
Comprehensi
v
e
model
library
(about
30000);
ii)
Po
werful
w
a
v
eform/simulation
result
analysis
interf
ace;
iii)
Of
fers
models
for
all
kinds
of
de
vices
lik
e
Electromechanical
systems
(Resolv
ers,
Brushless
Co-Simulation
Interfacing
Capabilities
in
De
vice-Le
vel
Cir
cuit
Simulation
T
ools
()
Evaluation Warning : The document was created with Spire.PDF for Python.
668
ISSN:
2088-8694
T
able
1.
Comparison
of
De
vice-Le
v
el
Circuit
Simulators
(Continued)
Simulators
F
:
Salient
F
eatur
es;
N
:
Adv
antages;
H
:
Disadv
antages
DC
motors
etc.),
Mechanical
systems
(Flywheel
etc.);
i
v)
Support
co-simulation
with
Matlab;
v)
W
ith
se
v
eral
Adv
ance
Analysis
modes
-
check
for
reliability
/stress
(SMOKE
Analysis),
calculates
Y
ield
for
m
ultiple
goals
(Monte
Carlo),
Optimization
Module
with
multiple
optimization
engines
(Optimizer),
Design
Space
e
xplorations
(P
arametric
Plotter);
vi)
W
ell
inte
grated
with
complete
system
design
and
analysis
tools
(PCB
Editor).
H
:
i)
Allo
w
user
to
select
specific
components
with
industry
standard
part
numbers
and
specifications.
But
searching
for
these
components
is
time-consuming;
ii)
Comple
x
circuit
simulator;
iii)
The
setting
of
simulation
parameters
is
critical
and
dif
ficult
to
set
in
order
to
a
v
oid
numerical
con
v
er
gence
problems.
i
v)
No
data
visualization
during
simulation.
Saber
R
F
:
A
comprehensi
v
e
mix
ed-signal
simulator
,
pro
vides
a
v
ersatile
modeling
language
named
C
MAST
,
which
mak
es
i
t
possible
t
o
di
vide
specific
models
from
simulation
al
go
r
ithms;
applied
to
electrical,
optical,
thermal,
mechanical
systems
[10],
[24].
N
:
i)
Comprehensi
v
e
model
library:
30,000+
models;
ii)
Accurate
and
ef
ficient
solution
method:
adopts
the
piece
wise
linear
e
v
aluation
technique
and
subdi
vision;
iii)
Fle
xible
time-step
strate
gy:
fix
ed
and
v
ariable;
i
v)
V
ery
friendly
GUI:
for
generating
virtual
prototypes
of
po
wer
system
netw
orks;
v)
Po
werful
interf
acing
capabil-
ity:
with
popular
3D
CAD
tools
(Catia
V5,
Siemens
(UGS),
Pro/E),
MA
TLAB/Simulink,
Zuk
en,
Mentor
Graphics,
Cadence,
Synopsys
VCS;
vi)
V
arious
simulation
studies:
DC
and
A
C
static
(steady)
or
transient
solution,
r
o
b
ust
design
methods
(e.g.,
Stress,
Sensiti
vity
,
Monte
Carlo,
etc.)
;
vii)
W
ide
range
of
industrial
applications,
for
design
v
alidation
and
optimization
for
automo-
ti
v
e,
aerospace,
industrial
po
wer
and
ener
gy
systems;
viii)
Supports
for
MAST
and
VHDL-AMS
language
standards;
ix)
V
erify
the
beha
vior
of
ph
ysical
systems
(i.e.,
electrical,
mechanical,
h
y-
draulic
etc.);
x)
Use
grid
computing
to
minimize
time
for
compute
intensi
v
e
statistical
analyses.
H
:
i)
No
front
end
for
algorithmic
modeling;
ii)
No
links
to
rapid
prototyping
or
to
operation
with
hardw
are-in-the-loop
Simulation;
iii)
Co-simulation
with
Simulink
requires
that
Saber
is
running.
PSIM
R
F
:
A
strong
simulation
platform
for
po
wer
electronics
and
motor
dri
v
e
control
[25].
N
:
i)
C
W
ith
strong
algorithm
dedicated
to
electrical
circuits
(piece
wise
method,
generic
models
and
a
fix
ed
time-step)
and
simulation
times
are
significantly
reduced;
ii)
Friendly
user
interf
ace;
iii)
Po
werful
interf
acing
capability:
with
Matlab/Simulink,
JMag
and
Magnet;
Link
to
e
xternal
C/C++
Code
via
DLL.
i
v)
V
arious
simulation
studies:
A
C
Analysis,
A
C
Sweep,
Harmonic
Analysis,
Motor
Dri
v
e
Analysis,
Switch
Losses
Calculation
and
Thermal
Analysis.
H
:
Comple
xity
of
the
block
diagrams
used
to
simulate
the
po
wer
circuits
can
increase
drastically
with
the
number
of
semi-conductors
in
the
circuit.
PLECS
R
F
:
A
Piece-wise
Linear
Electrical
Circuit
Simulator
(PLECS)
based
on
the
state-v
ariable
C
formulation
w
orking
within
Matlab/Simulink
en
vironment
and
inte
grating
circuits
entered
into
Simulink
as
S-functions
[26].
N
:
i)
Direct
access
to
Matlab/Simulink
en
vironment.
ii)
Nonlinear
component
and
thermal
modeling
library
are
included.
H
:
i)
Semiconductor
models
are
not
includ-
ing
all
ef
fects.
ii)
Onl
y
electrical
domain
simulation
(some
thermal
domain
components
e
xist).
iii)
Limited
to
place
electric
components
in
restricted
modeling
area.
HSIM
R
F
:
Designed
to
meet
the
requirement
of
nanometer
circuit
analysis,
able
to
perform
C
hierarchical
simulation,
commercial
product
de
v
eloped
by
Synopsys
R
[27];
N
:
i)
T
echniques
of
hierarchical
storage
and
isomorphic
matching
in
HSIM
speed
up
the
simulation
of
lar
ge
circuits;
ii)
Full
SPICE
functionality:
A
C,
DC,
transient,
Monte
Carlo
and
FFT
analyses.
H
:
Needs
to
set
man
y
options
to
get
the
correct
simulation.
XSIM
F
:
An
ef
ficient
crosstalk
simulator
,
based
on
indigenous
methodology
in
V
isual
C++[28].
R
N
:
i)
Friendly
graphical
user
interf
ace;
ii)
Ex
ecutes
a
parallel
application
with
a
virtual
w
all
clock
time.
H
:
i)
Simulation
studies
are
limited;
ii)
Needs
to
enlar
ge
the
model
library
.
Multisim
TM
F
:
A
updated
v
ersion
of
SPICE;
softw
are
simulation
kit
pro
vides
dynamic
simulation
C
models,
with
po
werful
interacti
vity;
has
po
werful
Design-Rules-Check
and
Connect
i
vity
Check
with
the
breadboard
tool
[12],
[29].
N
:
i)
Comprehensi
v
e
model
library;
ii)
Friendly
graphical
user
interf
ace;
iii)
V
arious
simulation
studies.
H
:
Interf
acing
capability
should
be
further
impro
v
ed.
IJPEDS
V
ol.
6,
No.
4,
December
2015:
665
–
682
Evaluation Warning : The document was created with Spire.PDF for Python.
IJPEDS
ISSN:
2088-8694
669
T
able
1.
Comparison
of
De
vice-Le
v
el
Circuit
Simulators
(Continued)
Simulators
F
:
Salient
F
eatur
es;
N
:
Adv
antages;
H
:
Disadv
antages
PECS
F
:
Po
wer
Electronics
Circuit
Simulator
(PECS),
e
xcels
in
time-domain
simulation
of
R
switched
netw
orks
with
nonlinearity[30].
N
:
i)
Friendly
graphical
user
interf
ace;
ii)
State-space
method
for
the
analysis
of
switched
netw
orks
is
adopted
to
achie
v
e
both
high
speed
and
accurac
y
.
H
:
i)
Model
library
is
small;
ii)
Simulation
studies
are
limited.
TIT
AN
F
:
A
complete
customizable
simulator
,
which
pro
vides
the
freedom
to
di
vide
the
whole
C
circuit
into
arbitrary
subcircuits
[31].
N
:
i)
V
arious
simulation
studies;
ii)
Circuit
equations
are
solv
ed
by
special
v
ectorized
solv
er
.
H
:
Interf
acing
capability
should
be
impro
v
ed.
PETS
F
:
Po
wer
Electronics
T
ransient
Simulator
(PETS),
used
for
time-domain
analysis,
pro-
R
vides
freedom
to
choose
dif
ferent
de
grees
of
comple
xity
for
piece
wise-linear
models[32].
N
:
i)
Supports
continuously
dif
ferentiable
nonlinear
models
by
applying
a
delay
approximation
method
with
Ne
wton-Raphson
iteration.
ii)
Automatic
time-step
control.
H
:
i)
Model
library
is
small;
i
i)
Simulation
studies
are
limited.
Spectre
R
F
:
An
impro
v
ed
SPICE-lik
e
analog
simulator
from
Cadence
R
[33].
N
:
i)
Pro
vides
an
C
adapti
v
e
time-step
control
algorithm
that
reliably
follo
ws
rapid
changes
in
the
solution
w
a
v
eforms;
ii)
Impro
v
es
simulation
speed
by
increasing
the
ef
ficienc
y
of
the
simulator
,
typically
tw
o
to
three
times
f
aster
than
SPICE;
iii)
V
arious
simulation
studies:
DC
and
A
C
analysis,
Monte
Carlo
analy-
sis,
S-P
arameter
analysis,
etc.
H
:
Limited
interf
acing
capability
.
MEDUSA
F
:
A
user
-oriented
simulator
for
modular
circuits,
satisfies
the
needs
for
de
vice
and
circuit
R
simulations
at
the
same
time
[15].
N
:
Solv
es
the
lar
ge
circuits
ef
fecti
v
ely
by
utilizing
system
modularity
.
H
:
i)
Simulation
studies
are
limited;
ii)
Interf
acing
capability
could
be
impro
v
ed.
CODECS
F
:
A
mix
ed-le
v
el
circuit
simulator
,
based
on
Spice3,
while
incorporates
a
set
of
numer
-
R
ical
models
under
its
main
structure
without
changi
ng
its
Spice3
core
[16].
N
:
i)
Supports
v
arious
simulation
studies:
dc,
transient,
small-signal
ac
and
pole-zero
analysis;
ii)
Numeri
cal
models
in
CODECS
include
ph
ysical
ef
fects,
such
as
bandg
ap
narro
wing,
Shockle
y-Hall-Read
and
Auger
recombination,
etc.
H
:
Simulation
ef
ficienc
y
could
be
impro
v
ed.
CASPOC
R
F
:
A
multi-le
v
el
simulator
de
v
eloped
for
the
simulation/animation
of
po
wer
electronics
C
and
electrical
dri
v
es,
especially
suited
for
the
simulation
of
switching
ci
rcuits
with
highly
nonlin-
ear
models
[34,
35].
N
:
i)
Adds
fle
xible
rob
ust
non-linear
function
solv
er
for
modeling
non-linear
components;
ii)
Friendly
user
interf
a
ce;
iii)
Fle
xible
interf
acing
capability:
coupling
to
Simulink,
T
esla
(a
machine
design
tool)
and
ANSYS
R
.
H
:
Simulation
studies
can
be
added
more;
ii)
Simu-
lation
accurac
y
should
be
impro
v
ed.
A
WEswit
F
:
A
mix
ed
analog
and
digital
circuit
simulator
,
special
for
the
switched
capacitor
circuits
C
[36].
N
:
i)
Emplo
ys
asymptotic
w
a
v
eform
e
v
aluation
(A
WE)
technique
to
ef
ficientl
y
e
v
aluate
more
detailed
circuit
models;
ii)
Pro
vides
fle
xibility
in
circuit
formulations.
H
:
i)
Simulation
studies
are
limited;
ii)
Interf
acing
capability
should
be
impro
v
ed.
DesignLab
F
:
A
W
indo
ws
v
ersion
of
PSpice
R
,
de
v
eloped
in
the
form
of
web
pages
with
multimedia
C
ef
fect
for
analysis
and
design
of
circuits
and
electronics
[37].
N
:
i)
Comprehensi
v
e
model
library;
ii)
V
arious
simulation
studies:
DC
and
A
C,
transient,
Monte
Carlo
analysis,
etc.;
iii)
Good
inter
-
f
acing
capability
.
H
:
i)
User
interf
ace
still
requires
refinement;
ii)
No
data
visualization
during
simulation.
Eldo
TM
F
:
An
analog,
digital
and
mix
ed
circuit
simulator
with
a
VHDL-based
Analog
Hardw
are
C
Language
[38].
N
:
i)
Extensi
v
e
de
vice
model
libraries
including
lea
d
i
ng
MOS,
bipolar
and
MES-
FET
transistor;
ii)
Of
fers
a
unique
partitioning
scheme
allo
wing
the
use
of
dif
ferent
algorithms
on
dif
fering
portions
of
design;
iii)
3
to
10
g
ain
in
simulation
speed
o
v
er
other
commercial
SPICE
simulators,
while
maintaining
same
accurac
y;
i
v)
V
arious
simulation
studies:
pole-zero,
enhanced
Monte-Carlo
analys
is
and
reliability
simulation.
H
:
W
eak
interf
ace
capability
with
other
simulators.
IsSPICE4
F
:
An
impro
v
ed
v
ersion
from
Spice3f5
and
XSpice,
adding
some
strong
interacti
v
e
features
C
and
e
xtensions[39].
N
:
i)
Adds
a
v
ariety
of
ne
w
models:
lossy
transmission
line
model,
GaAs
Mesfet
models,
JFET
model,
etc.;
ii)
Friendly
user
interf
ace;
iii)
V
arious
simulation
Co-Simulation
Interfacing
Capabilities
in
De
vice-Le
vel
Cir
cuit
Simulation
T
ools
()
Evaluation Warning : The document was created with Spire.PDF for Python.
670
ISSN:
2088-8694
T
able
1.
Comparison
of
De
vice-Le
v
el
Circuit
Simulators
(Continued)
Simulators
F
:
Salient
F
eatur
es;
N
:
Adv
antages;
H
:
Disadv
antages
studies:
DC
and
A
C
sensiti
vity
,
transient,
pole-zero
analysis,
etc.
H
:
Limited
Interf
acing
capabil-
ity
.
Gnucap
F
:
A
general
purpose
mix
ed
analog
and
digital
circuit
simulator
,
fully
interacti
v
e,
compat-
R
ible
to
SPICE,
containing
a
s
imple
beha
vioral
modeling
language
[40].
N
:
i)
Emplo
ys
plugins
to
mak
e
the
simulation
e
xtremely
fle
xible;
ii)
Fle
xible
interf
ace
to
other
softw
are;
iii)
Impro
v
es
ac-
curac
y
through
rigorous
error
control
method;
i
v)
Multiple
simulation
languages,
including
Spice,
V
erilog
and
Spectre.
H
:
User
interf
ace
requires
w
ork.
L
TSpice
F
:
A
high
performance
simulator
,
with
man
y
enhancements
based
on
traditional
SPICE
R
simulator
[41].
N
:
i)
Stable
SPICE
circuit
simulation
with
unlimited
number
of
nodes;
ii)
F
ast
simulation
of
switching
mode
po
wer
supplies
(SMPS);
iii)
Lar
ge
model
library:
o
v
er
1100
macro-
models
of
Linear
T
echnology
products
and
500+
SMPS.
H
:
i)
More
simulation
studies
are
better
to
add;
ii)
Interf
acing
capability
with
other
simulators
can
be
impro
v
ed.
TIN
A-TI
TM
F
:
A
user
-friendly
,
po
werful
circuit
simulator
based
on
a
v
ersion
of
SPICE
[42].
N
:
i)
C
Includes
more
SPICE
models
and
e
xample
circuits;
ii)
Supports
multi-core
processor
and
mak
e
simulations
run
2-20
times
f
aster;
iii)
Friendly
user
graphic
interf
ace;
i
v)
V
arious
simulation
stud-
ies:
DC,
A
C,
transient,
noise
analysis.
H
:
Interf
acing
capability
with
other
simulators
can
be
impro
v
ed.
where
f
1
(
)
;
f
2
(
)
;
:
:
:
;
f
m
(
)
are
all
nonlinear
operators
[1].
F
or
the
Ne
wton-Raphson
algorithm,
the
Jacobian
matrix
must
be
formulated,
which
is
gi
v
en
as
J
(
x
k
)
=
0
B
@
@
f
1
@
x
1
j
x
k
@
f
1
@
x
2
j
x
k
@
f
1
@
x
m
j
x
k
.
.
.
.
.
.
@
f
m
@
x
1
j
x
k
@
f
m
@
x
2
j
x
k
@
f
m
@
x
m
j
x
k
1
C
A
(7)
where
x
k
is
the
solution
at
the
k
th
Ne
wton
iteration
[1].
Then,
a
linearized
system
of
equations
is
obtained
as:
x
k
+1
=
x
k
J
(
x
k
)
1
F
(
x
k
)
(8)
where
x
k
+1
is
the
solution
at
the
(
k
+
1
)th
iteration
[1].
Notably
,
when
e
v
aluating
the
Jacobian
matrix,
Saber
applies
a
simplified
subdi
vision
technique
to
calcu-
late
the
first
deri
v
ati
v
es
thereby
reducing
the
computational
b
urden
at
e
v
ery
iteration,
which
is
dif
ferent
from
SPICE
[10].
When
applying
the
Ne
wton-Raphson
method,
the
SPICE-li
k
e
simulators
apply
pre-specified
tolerances
(e.g.
ABST
OL
,
REL
T
OL
,
and
CHGT
OL
)
to
determine
con
v
er
gence
to
a
v
alid
solution.
In
contrast,
Saber
uses
no
tolerance
to
determine
con
v
er
gence,
since
the
system
of
equations
are
e
v
aluated
piece
wise
linearly
and
solv
ed
e
xactly
[10].
The
CODECS
simulator
,
ho
we
v
er
,
use
a
modified
tw
o-le
v
el
Ne
wton
algorithm
[16]
in
this
step.
Apart
from
Ne
wton-
Raphson,
the
Katzenelson
algorithm
is
based
on
piece
wise
linear
systems.
Sample
points
are
used
to
find
the
linear
re
gions
for
e
v
ery
nonlinea
r
de
vice
[2].
Finally
,
in
order
to
solv
e
the
linear
algebraic
equations
(8),
SPICE-lik
e
simula-
tors
and
Saber
use
the
methods
of
Gaussian
elimination
or
LU
decomposition
techniques
with
forw
ard
and
backw
ard
substitutions
[1],
[11],
whilst
the
TIT
AN
simulator
uses
a
v
ectorized
solv
er
method
[31].
The
aforementioned
transient
analysis
procedure
(for
e.g.,
in
Saber)
can
be
illustrated
by
the
flo
wchart
in
Fig.
1.
F
or
formulating
the
Jacobian
matrix
other
circuit
simulators
mostly
utilize
the
standard
techniques
mentioned
abo
v
e,
ho
we
v
er
,
b
ut
the
y
also
use
alternate
methods.
F
or
e
xample,
PETS
uses
a
no
v
el
algorithm
to
decide
the
accurate
element
states
of
its
piece
wise-linear
netw
orks
as
well
as
an
ef
ficient
w
ay
to
a
v
oid
its
piece
wise-linear
and
reacti
v
e
elements
from
changing
v
alues
with
each
time-step,
thereby
k
eeping
the
system
matrix
constant
[32].
3.
CO-SIMULA
TION
TECHNIQ
UES
IN
DEVICE-LEVEL
CIRCUIT
SIMULA
T
ORS
There
are
three
main
co-simulation
patterns:
co-simulation
of
de
vice-le
v
el
circuit
simulators
and
system-
le
v
el
simulators,
analog
and
digital
co-simulation
of
circuit
simulators,
and
co-simulation
of
circuit
simulators
with
programming
languages.
IJPEDS
V
ol.
6,
No.
4,
December
2015:
665
–
682
Evaluation Warning : The document was created with Spire.PDF for Python.
IJPEDS
ISSN:
2088-8694
671
Read
initial
point
f
ile
Ordinary
differential
equations
Gear
or
Trapezoidal
numerical
Integration
Linearization
(Newton-Raphson
or
Katzenelson
Algorithm)
Linear
algebraic
equations
Direct
matrix
t
echnique
e.g.
LU
decomposition
Solution
converged?
Error
within
bound?
Modify
time-step
Process
events
Finish
?
Update
time
vector
Write
results
System
matrix
f
ormulation
e.g.
Modified
Nodal
Approach
Initial
guess
of
the
next
time-step
Nonlinear
algebraic
equations
N
Y
N
Y
N
Y
Figure
1.
Flo
wchart
of
transient
analysis
operation
[2].
3.1.
Co-Simulation
of
De
vice-Le
v
el
Cir
cuit
Simulators
and
System-Le
v
el
Simulators
In
this
section,
co-simulation
e
xamples
for
de
vice-le
v
el
circuit
simulators
are
discussed.
3.1.1.
Saber
R
and
Matlab/Simulink
R
Saber
is
a
de
vice-le
v
el
circuit
simulator
which
specializes
in
po
wer
electronic
simulation,
while
Simulink
is
v
ersatile
in
b
uilding
control
systems.
Lik
e
other
m
ulti-domain
designs,
the
co-simul
ation
between
Saber
and
Mat-
lab/Simulink
can
be
v
ery
ef
fecti
v
e
in
man
y
circumstances.
F
or
instance,
the
Saber
solution
could
calculate
de
vice
losses
which
Simulink
by
itself
may
not
be
able
to
do.
The
procedure
of
using
the
Saber
-Simulink
co-simulation
tool
is
discussed
in
[43].
The
principle
of
Saber
-Simulink
interf
acing
is
illustrated
in
Fig.
2.
Notably
,
the
running
processes
of
the
tw
o
simulators
are
fully
independent
e
xcept
when
the
y
need
to
e
xchange
data
at
fix
ed
period
of
interv
als.
This
communication
mechanism
is
realized
by
using
an
S-function.
Additionally
,
a
Saber
Co-simulation
block
(SaberCosim.mdl)
should
be
inte
grated
into
the
Simulink
model,
which
is
then
imported
in
to
Saber
interf
ace
using
Saber
-Simulink
co-simulation
tool.
This
tool
is
responsible
for
producing
the
required
co-simulation
interf
ace
symbol
and
the
MAST
template.
This
e
xpressi
v
e
user
interf
ace
mak
es
it
possible
for
the
co-simulation
to
run
completely
in
the
Saber
interf
ace.
Ref.
[6]
presented
a
method
to
construct
a
high-v
oltage
source
circuit
system
by
the
h
ybrid
modeling
of
Saber
and
Simulink.
In
their
designs,
the
Saber
softw
are
w
as
responsible
for
the
po
wer
electronic
circuit,
while
Simulink
w
as
in
char
ge
of
b
uilding
a
fuzzy
PID
controller
,
because
Saber
is
more
specialized
and
po
werful
in
switched-circuit
analysis,
while
Matlab/Simulink
is
more
po
werful
in
control
sys
tem
design.
The
results
sho
wed
that
the
co-simulation
of
Saber
and
Simulink
w
as
a
highly
ef
ficient
w
ay
to
analyze
and
design
a
switching
circuit
system
which
included
an
intelligent
control
system.
Co-Simulation
Interfacing
Capabilities
in
De
vice-Le
vel
Cir
cuit
Simulation
T
ools
()
Evaluation Warning : The document was created with Spire.PDF for Python.
672
ISSN:
2088-8694
MATLAB
ϟ
ϟ
Simulink
Diagram
Saber
ϟ
Sketch
SaberCosim.mdl
File
inserted
Interface
Symbol
MAST
Template
S-function
Exchange
data
at
fixed
period
Figure
2.
Illustration
of
Saber
R
Simulink
R
co-simulation
interf
ace
[43].
PSpice
ϟ
ϟ
MATLAB
SIMULINK
ϟ
SLPS
Block
A
CIR
file
Analysis
settings
Net
list
information
Figure
3.
Illustration
of
PSpice
R
Simulink
R
co-simulation
interf
ace
[47].
Similarly
,
[44]
applied
the
Saber
and
Simulink
co-simulation
for
the
modeling
of
a
high
pulse
po
wer
circuit.
In
their
studies,
the
ph
ysical
model
of
Re
v
ersely
Switched
Dynistor
(RSD)
w
as
constructed
using
Simulink,
and
Saber
w
as
used
to
model
the
pulse
po
wer
circuit
and
the
magnetic
switch.
In
f
act,
RSD
ph
ysical
model
and
circuit
module
can
both
be
realized
in
M
file
form
of
Matl
ab
and
then
the
whole
simulation
can
be
finished
just
in
only
one
softw
are.
But
there
are
tw
o
disadv
antages
of
this
methodology
,
one
is
that
a
little
change
of
the
circuit
structure
leads
to
re
write
the
code;
the
other
is
that
the
poor
visualization
of
circuit
structure.
The
Saber
-Simulink
Co-Simulation
en
vironment
(SSCSE)
allo
ws
the
algorithm
realized
in
Simulink
and
po
wer
circuit
modeled
in
SABER,
respecti
v
ely
,
and
the
co-
simulation
method
can
o
v
ercome
the
tw
o
dra
wbacks
abo
v
e
easily
.
3.1.2.
PSpice
R
and
Matlab/Simulink
R
PSpice
is
a
simulation
tool
which
can
tackle
models
in
analog
and
mix
ed-signal
en
vironments,
whereas
Matlab/Simulink,
as
a
platform
for
multi-domain
simulation,
is
mainly
based
on
approximate
c
on
t
inuous-time
and
discrete-time
models
of
dynamic
systems.
Ob
viously
,
the
y
both
ha
v
e
adv
antages
in
a
simulation
project,
since
the
former
can
mak
e
it
possible
for
designers
to
perform
simulation
which
includes
realistic
electrical
models,
such
as
the
electrical
circuits
in
switched
reluctance
motor
in
[45]
and
the
zero
v
oltage
switch
(ZVS)
in
v
erter
in
[46],
while
the
latter
is
mainly
focused
on
b
uilding
the
whole
system.
The
co-simulation
between
Matlab/Simulink
and
PSpice
is
realized
by
an
interf
a
ce
tool
named
the
PSpice
SLPS
Interf
ace,
which
enables
electro-mechanical
system
designers
to
perform
system-le
v
el
simulation
which
include
specific
de
vice-le
v
el
circuit
simulation.
More
specifically
,
the
PSpice
SLPS
Interf
ace
mak
es
it
possible
for
the
designer
to
include
realistic
electrical
PSpice
models
of
actual
components
when
per
forming
system-le
v
el
simulation.
The
detailed
procedure
to
use
the
SLPS
interf
ace
is
a
v
ailable
in
[47]
and
the
co-simulation
is
illustrated
in
Fig.
3.
Notably
,
the
co-simulation
of
PSpice
and
Simulink
is
initialized
by
creating
a
CIR
file,
which
specifies
the
PSpice
analysis
settings
(e.g.
the
analysis
time)
and
the
net
list
information,
the
reby
assigning
the
circuit
b
uilt
in
PSpice
to
the
SLPS
block,
which,
in
turn,
is
inte
grated
into
Simulink
models
[47].
The
co-simulation
i
s
dominated
by
Simulink,
which
e
xchanges
data
with
PSpice
at
its
o
wn
time-step
[48].
In
general,
the
internal
time
steps
of
PSpice
are
much
smaller
than
the
Simulink
time
steps.
If
PSpice
uses
the
minimum/maximum
time
step
determined
by
Simulink,
a
con
v
er
gence
error
will
be
lik
ely
to
occur;
that
is,
no
result
can
be
found.
T
o
solv
e
this
problem,
SLPS
calculates
v
alues
suited
to
PSpice
based
on
Simulink
parameters,
and
then
passing
these
to
PSpice.
Fig.
4
sho
ws
the
mechanism
clearly
.
System-le
v
el
simulation
can
be
finished
in
a
short
time,
b
ut
it
can
only
v
erify
the
function
of
design
and
can
not
check
the
performance
and
non-idealities
of
the
real
circuits.
De
vice
le
v
el
simulation
can
solv
e
such
problems
b
ut
it
usually
needs
a
much
l
on
ge
r
simulation
run
time.
So
through
the
combination
of
the
meri
ts
of
the
Simulink
and
PSpice,
the
simulation
run
time
can
be
diminished
greatly
while
the
simulation
precision
can
be
well
ensured
and
a
satisf
actory
simulation
result
is
generated.
The
PSpice
SLPS
Interf
ace
has
been
used
in
man
y
electro-mechanical
designs.
These
applications
include
the
design
presented
in
[5],
which
successfully
simulates
pipeline
ADC
circuits
IJPEDS
V
ol.
6,
No.
4,
December
2015:
665
–
682
Evaluation Warning : The document was created with Spire.PDF for Python.
IJPEDS
ISSN:
2088-8694
673
Figure
4.
Data
e
xchange
mechanism
of
PSpice
R
and
Simulink
R
[48]
MATLAB
Simulink
ϟ
ϟ
PSIM
ϟ
In
Link
Node
Out
Link
Node
SimCoupler
Module
Figure
5.
Illustration
of
PSIM
R
Simulink
R
co-simulation
interf
ace
[51].
and
obtains
satisf
actory
results.
Also,
[49]
presents
a
method
for
the
simulation
of
solar
photo
v
oltaic
(PV)
cell
by
applying
the
PSpice
and
Simulink
co-simulation
interf
ace;
it
b
uilds
a
h
ybrid
model
of
the
PV
module
using
PSpice
and
Simulink.
Additionally
,
Ref.
[50]
presents
a
co-simulation
solution
for
a
high
ef
ficienc
y
full-bridge
DC-DC
con
v
erter
for
fuel
cell;
because
the
Simulink
has
merits
in
b
uilding
the
feedback
controller
of
the
con
v
erter
while
PSpice
e
xcels
in
modeling
the
electronic
circuits.
3.1.3.
PSIM
R
and
Matlab/Simulink
R
Ref.
[51]
introduced
the
SimCoupler
Module
by
which
the
co-simulation
between
PSIM
and
Matlab/Simulink
w
as
made
possible
and
pro
vided
detailed
procedures
to
use
this
module.
The
principle
of
PSIM-Simulink
interf
acing
is
illustrated
in
Fig.
5.
As
a
de
vice-le
v
el
circuit
simulator
which
has
special
adv
antages
in
po
wer
electronics
simulation
[52,
53],
PSIM
has
disadv
antages
to
b
uild
a
control
subsystem.
Ho
we
v
er
,
Matlab/Simulink
is
good
at
constructing
control
circuits.
Therefore,
the
co-simulation
between
PSIM
and
Simulink
has
its
unique
v
al
ue
to
be
studied
and
applied
in
man
y
circumstances.
F
or
e
xample,
[54]
b
uilt
a
simulation
platform
for
a
three-le
v
el
adjustable
speed
dri
v
e.
In
vie
w
of
the
merits
of
PSIM,
the
designer
b
uilt
the
main
circuit
of
the
three-le
v
el
adjustable
speed
dri
v
e
using
PSIM,
whereas
the
y
constructed
the
control
system,
observ
ed
the
output
v
oltage
and
performed
F
ourier
analysis
in
Matlab/Simulink.
Another
case
for
the
application
of
the
co-simulation
between
PSIM
and
Simulink
w
as
presented
in
[55],
where
the
designer
first
compared
PSIM
and
Simulink
separately
in
simulating
single-phase
uncontrolled
rectifier
and
three-phase
controlled
rectifier
.
After
discuss
ing
the
pros
and
cons
of
both
simulators,
the
y
concluded
that
the
co-simulation
between
them
w
as
a
better
solution.
The
simulation
results
states
that
Matlab/Simulink
is
a
suitable
platform
for
control
and
re
gulation
of
the
simulation
processes,
in
additional
to
its
dominant
role
in
conducting
research
tasks.
Con
v
ersely
,
PSIM
is
dedicated
to
po
wer
electronic
circuits
and
machine
simulation
tasks
wit
h
f
ast
and
rob
ust
algorithms.
So
the
authors
concluded
that
the
co-simulation
between
them
w
as
a
better
solution.
3.1.4.
SPICE
and
Matlab/Simulink
R
Ref.
[56]
introduces
a
co-simulation
interf
ace
between
Simulink
and
SPICE,
which
is
realized
by
a
ne
w
Simulink
block
SLSP
.
The
SLSP
block
is
written
in
C
MEX
S-function,
which
is
responsible
for
reading
in
the
circuit
file,
initializing
the
simulation,
performing
the
time-domain
numerical
inte
gration
and
manipulating
the
SPICE-
Simulink
communication.
The
co-simulation
setting
is
simple
to
b
uild
up
as
an
SLSP
block
in
the
Matlab/Simulink
en
vironment
with
a
parameter
for
the
name
of
a
SPICE
circuit
file.
This
mechanism
is
described
in
Fig.
6.
Ref.
[56]
also
elaborates
an
application
to
use
Simulink-SPICE
Interf
ace
to
simulate
a
speed
control
system
of
a
dc
motor
.
Specifically
,
the
whole
system
is
modeled
in
the
Simulink
en
vironment,
e
xcept
for
the
PI
controller
,
the
machine
is
modeled
in
SPICE.
Co-Simulation
Interfacing
Capabilities
in
De
vice-Le
vel
Cir
cuit
Simulation
T
ools
()
Evaluation Warning : The document was created with Spire.PDF for Python.
674
ISSN:
2088-8694
MATLAB
SIMULINK
ϟ
ϟ
SLSP
Block
Spice
Netlist
file
Integrated
to
Simulink
ϟ
Based
on
S-function
Name
specified
in
SLSP
Figure
6.
Simulink
R
-SPICE
interf
ace
mechanism
[56].
MATLAB
Simulink
ϟ
CASPOC
ϟ
From
SLNK
To
SLNK
S-function
Figure
7.
CASPOC
R
Simulink
R
co-simulation
interf
ace
[35].
3.1.5.
PLECS
R
and
Matlab/Simulink
R
PLECS,
is
a
piece-wise
linear
electrical
simulator
that
enters
the
circuit
information
as
netlists,
which
are
in
turn
inte
grated
into
Matlab/Simulink
using
S-functions.
Compared
to
the
Po
wer
System
Blockset
models
of
Simulink,
the
PLECS
impro
v
es
the
performance
greatly
using
the
ideal
switch
models
[26].
Ref.
[57]
applies
Simulink
and
PLECS
co-simulation
in
a
photo
v
oltaic
ener
gy
con
v
ersion
system.
The
control
subsystem
is
modeled
using
Simulink,
whilst
the
plant
subsystem,
including
DC
supply
,
in
v
erter
,
LCL
filter
and
utility
grid,
is
modeled
using
PLECS.
The
simulation
results
sho
w
that
the
co-simulation
between
Simulink
and
PLECS
is
much
f
aster
than
using
Simulink
transfer
functions.
3.1.6.
CASPOC
R
and
Matlab/Simulink
R
CASPOC
is
a
circuit
simulator
dedicated
to
po
wer
electronics
and
electrical
dri
v
es
simulation
[34].
Ref.
[35]
describes
that
simulations
performed
by
coupling
CASPOC
and
Matlab/Simul
ink
of
fer
the
adv
antage
of
modeling
of
the
control
of
Matlab/Simulink
while
connecting
with
CASPOC
modeling
the
po
wer
electronics
de
vices
and
circuits.
Fig.
7
illustrates
CASPOC
and
Sim
ulink
co-simulation
interf
ace.
The
co-simulation
is
performed
through
data
e
xchange
between
CASPOC
and
Simulink
at
e
v
ery
time
step.
Simulati
o
ns
in
Simulink
are
controlled
from
CASPOC
and
the
control
then
can
be
implemented
in
Simulink
and
co-simulated
with
a
simulation
in
CASPOC.
The
co-simulation
be
gins
with
creating
tw
o
function
blocks
in
CASPOC
before
starti
ng
the
simulation
in
Simulink
to
communicate
data.
Then
CASPOC
is
running
in
the
background
while
data
can
be
e
xchanged
between
the
tw
o
simulators
with
the
use
of
S-function
block
in
Simulink.
The
S-function
block
represents
the
complete
CASPOC
simulation.
It
is
required
that
the
step-size
in
CASPOC
and
Simulink
must
be
equal
during
the
simulation.
3.2.
Analog
and
Digital
Co-Simulation
of
Cir
cuit
Simulators
Although
co-simulation
with
some
system-le
v
el
simulators
may
be
ef
fecti
v
e
in
handling
lar
ge
and
comple
x
simulation
tasks,
for
those
applications
such
as
po
wer
and
mechatronic
system
simulations,
which
may
include
a
great
man
y
analog
and
digital
subsystems,
no
v
el
co-simulation
platforms
ha
v
e
become
necessary
[65].
F
or
e
xample,
simulators
such
as
Saber
w
ork
in
analog
and
mix
ed-signal
en
vironments,
whereas
man
y
of
the
control
subsystems
are
performed
in
digital
logic.
Therefore,
co-simulations
with
other
digital
simulators
such
as
ModelSim
R
become
ef
fecti
v
e
solutions
[7].
In
this
section,
se
v
eral
interf
acing
instances
for
analog
and
digital
co-simulation
of
circuit
simulators
are
discussed.
3.2.1.
Saber
R
and
ModelSim
R
According
to
[7],
the
Saber/M
o
de
lSim
co-simulation
interf
ace
enables
Saber
,
an
analog
and
mix
ed-signal
simulator
,
to
support
VHDL
modeling.
More
specifically
,
a
designer
can
model
the
analog
part
by
using
Saber
MAST
IJPEDS
V
ol.
6,
No.
4,
December
2015:
665
–
682
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