The Compact Model Coalition (CMC) of Silicon Integration Initiative has announced the release of a new version of the HICUM_L2 standardized SPICE bipolar model. HICUM stands for HIgh CUrrent Model, and targets bipolar transistor circuits at high frequencies and high current densities. It accurately captures the complex physics in high-frequency RF applications for ever-increasing accurate speed simulations.
Improvements in HICUM_L2 3.1.0 compared to 3.0.0
Accuracy
- Improvements in capacitance modeling and base-emitter current modeling in certain regions
- Improvements in the smoothing function for critical currents used in the modeling of high-injection effects
- Addition of a Gmin conductance between the internal collector and internal substrate nodes
Bug Fixes and Other Changes
- Fixed possible divide-by-zero in MinR calculations
- Physical parameters are now defined in the model code
For a fully detailed description of changes in this model, see the release notes provided with the package.
About the CMC
The CMC is a coalition of semiconductor companies that standardizes semiconductor device models used in a class of circuit simulation tools called SPICE, or Simulation Program with Integration Circuit Emphasis. Companies save time and money by simulating the performance of new or enhanced integrated circuit designs before the ICs are manufactured. The CMC funds leading universities and research institutions to develop, refine and maintain SPICE models which are incorporated into these widely used semiconductor design tools.
