Simulator provides complete solution for PCB design

Cadence Design System has announced it has partnered with MathWorks to streamline system-level design and circuit-level implementation for mixed-signal internet of things (IoT) and automotive applications. Designers can now use the Cadence PSpice analog and mixed-signal simulator, perform MATLAB and Simulink behavioral-level modeling, analysis and visualization, and utilize all post-process MATLAB analysis and measurement functions in a single, integrated system design and debug environment, improving productivity and accelerating time to market. The integration of the PSpice simulator with MATLAB and Simulink provides a complete solution for PCB design and implementation.

Simulink is a multidomain simulation environment for dynamic systems that is used for algorithm development, system modeling and simulation, and verification in a broad range of applications in automotive, aerospace, semiconductor, communications and autonomous systems designs. PSpice is a SPICE-based simulator used for simulation of mixed-signal electrical and electronic circuits.

Prior to this integrated solution, customers had to simulate their design blocks independently without the ability to input feedback from one system into the other. In contrast, simulating the entire system-level design within the integrated debug environment results in a faster, less error-prone process. Such simulation and analysis capabilities are key for IoT customers who want to quickly assemble a board and get to market, and for automotive customers who are concerned about reliability, productivity, cost, manufacturing yield, etc.

Cadence has also enabled a bi-directional flow where designers can export behavioral models from Simulink to the PSpice simulator using model export through code generation, or bring PSpice models into Simulink using co-simulation. In addition, customers now have access to 34,000 PSpice models to combine with the Simulink library of blocks and models, allowing them to create and simulate designs much faster.

“Until now, we had to simulate the algorithmic and circuit/electrical-level blocks separately, without reusing testbenches, signal sources or common measurements,” said Udi Kirmayer, VP R&D at Magnitude Lighting Converters. “Providing a bi-directional link between Simulink and PSpice is a great step forward in system-level simulation. In addition, extending PSpice analysis to harness the power of MATLAB visualization capabilities, including waveform processing, and being able to evaluate MATLAB functions in PSpice can save us weeks and help us reduce respins.”

“This integration of PSpice with MATLAB and Simulink bridges an important gap in engineering workflows,” said Paul Barnard, Director of design automation at MathWorks. “Engineers can now perform analysis and visualization of their PSpice simulations in MATLAB. In addition, the MATLAB and Simulink models that are used in system architecture, modeling and simulation can also directly be used in the verification of detailed PSpice analog/mixed-signal circuit models. Both of these use cases significantly reduce verification engineering time and expenses and improve quality.”

“This collaboration with MathWorks enhances Cadence’s system-level analog/mixed-signal board-level simulation capabilities and furthers our System Design Enablement strategy to help customers create innovative, high-quality electronic products at all levels of integration,” said Steve Durrill, senior product engineering group director of the PCB Group at Cadence. “Integrating these previously separate system engineering and design engineering environments enables tighter integration and reduces human-induced errors, creating system-level design and circuit-level implementation efficiencies.”

While Cadence and MathWorks R&D teams have partnered on the integration, the PSpice simulator will continue to be sold by Cadence or its local channel partners, and Simulink will continue to be sold by MathWorks.