Bias Point Display Reference Guide

Product Version 16.0

June 2007
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Bias Point Display Reference Guide
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Bias Point Display. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
How bias information is stored and updated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Bias point data for multiple analyses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Displaying bias point values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Controlling the display of bias points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Moving bias points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Updating bias point values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Menu commands for bias point display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Toolbar controls for bias point display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Toggling a specic current bias display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Toggling a specic voltage bias display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Differences between bias point display in Capture vs. PSpice Schematics . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Contents
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Bias Point Display
Introduction
Bias conditions are used to set up the correct operation of a circuit. If the results of a
simulation are not what you expect to see, the bias conditions are the rst parameters you
should check.
After simulating with PSpice, you can display bias point information on your schematic page
in Capture. Bias voltages are displayed next to their corresponding nets (nodes) and bias
currents are displayed next to their corresponding device pins. By seeing this data on your
schematic, you can quickly focus in on potential problem areas of your design. PSpice
calculates and saves the bias point currents and voltages for every simulation. Capture reads
all of this information and can display currents on all pins that have models, or voltages for
every net in your circuit.
Note: Bias point information is available for all analysis types except DC Sweep. The bias
point display feature does not work for DC Sweeps.
You can choose to display bias point information in the following ways:
I currents on all modeled pins throughout the design
I currents on only selected modeled pins
I voltages on all wires throughout the design
I voltages on only selected wires
example of current bias point example of voltage bias point
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For currents on pins, a "+" value for the bias point means current is owing into the pin, while
a "-" value means current is owing out of the pin. By default, only voltages are displayed. You
can toggle the currents on or off by using the corresponding toolbar buttons or menu
commands.
How bias information is stored and updated
Not all pins and nets will have bias information. Buses, for example, do not have bias
information, since they are not distinct wires. Bias point data and the locations of the
displayed values are saved as part of the schematic page. Distinct bias point information is
saved for each simulation prole. The data is updated whenever you open a schematic page,
when you resimulate, when you activate a different simulation prole, or when you change the
display characteristics of the labels (such as color, font or precision).
For a schematic containing multiple pages, the bias information is stored with each page. If
you turn off bias point display on one page, this will not affect the display on other pages. If a
page is reused (hierarchical subcircuits), the position of the bias point will be stored with the
page and will be the same for all occurrences of that page, although the values will be
different for each to accurately reect the hierarchy of the circuit.
Bias point data for multiple analyses
If you have set up more than one analysis, you should keep in mind the following:
I Capture will always display the bias information for the last analysis you ran. PSpice runs
analyses in this order: DC, AC, Transient. This means that if you perform a multi-run
analysis like Parametric, Monte Carlo, Sensitivity/Worst-case or Temperature, you will
see bias values for the last run only.
I A given voltage or current source can have a different DCvalue and initial transient value
at TIME=0. This means that the initial transient bias calculation can be different fromthe
DC (small-signal) bias point.
I For a Transient analysis, only the initial transient bias values are shown.
Displaying bias point values
You have the option of enabling the display of bias information for all nets and pins in the
circuit, or of enabling only selected nets and pins. You can also disable bias point display all
together for situations such as large digital designs where the legibility of the schematic might
be reduced.
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To enable or disable the display of all bias information
1. In Capture, fromthe PSpice menu, choose Bias Points. A submenu appears (see gure).
2. From the submenu, select Enable.
By clearing this option, you disable the bias display feature entirely. The presence of the
check mark indicates that this option is enabled. (The default setting is to have this option
enabled.)
To enable or disable the display of all current bias points
1. In Capture, from the PSpice menu, choose Bias Points. A submenu appears.
2. From the submenu, select Enable Bias Current Display.
-or-
Click the toolbar button ( )
By checking this option, you enable the current bias display feature. The presence of the
check mark indicates that this option is enabled. (The default setting is to have this option
disabled.)
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Note: Enabling current bias display simply allows the feature to work, displaying whatever
current bias values were previously selected and toggled on. To learn how to toggle on or off
just one specic current bias display, click Toggling a specic current bias display.
To enable or disable the display of all voltage bias points
1. In Capture, from the PSpice menu, choose Bias Points. A submenu appears.
2. From the submenu, select Enable Bias Voltage Display.
-or-
Click the toolbar button ( )
By clearing this option, you disable the voltage bias display feature. The presence of the
check mark indicates that this option is enabled. (The default setting is to have this option
enabled.)
Note: Enabling voltage bias display simply allows the feature to work, displaying whatever
voltage bias values were previously selected and toggled on. To learn how to toggle on or off
all voltage bias displays, regardless of their previous settings, click Toggling a specic voltage
bias display.
To turn on or off the display of selected current bias points
1. In Capture, click on a pin, or hold the CTRL key and click on several pins to select them.
You can also click on a part to select all of the pins for that part.
2. From the PSpice menu, choose Bias Points. A submenu appears.
3. From the submenu, select Toggle Selected Bias Current.
-or-
Click the toolbar button ( ) after selecting the pins.
The presence of the check mark indicates that this option is turned on. (The default setting is
to have this option turned off.)
Note: You can also turn off selected bias points by pressing the DELETE key. If you use the
DELETE key, the bias point labels will be restored to their default locations the next time you
display them.
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Important
Since the current bias point of a capacitor equals zero, you will not see current bias
point displays for these devices. Similarly, for other two terminal devices such as
resistors, the current bias point will only be displayed on the positive (+) pin, because
the negative (-) pin does not have a bias point value to display.
To turn on display of bias points after turning off selected bias point displays
1. From the Edit menu, choose Select All.
2. Click the toolbar button three times: Once to toggle on the bias displays that were
previously turned off; once more to turn off all bias displays, and a third time to turn them
all back on.
Controlling the display of bias points
You can set the precision of the bias point value that is displayed, and you can change the
color or font of the label. You can also dene whether bias point data should be printed with
the schematic. These settings are all dened using the Bias Point Preferences dialog box
(see gure below).
To set the precision of the bias point values:
1. In Capture, from the PSpice menu, choose Bias Points. A submenu appears.
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2. From the submenu, select Preferences. The Bias Point Preferences dialog box appears.
3. In the Displayed Precision text box, enter the number of decimals you wish to display for
the bias point values.
4. Click OK.
This setting applies globally to all current and voltage bias points in your design. (The default
setting is 4.)
To set the color of the bias point values:
1. In Capture, from the PSpice menu, choose Bias Points. A submenu appears.
2. From the submenu, select Preferences. The Bias Point Preferences dialog box appears.
3. Click in the Color box for either Current or Voltage and select the color you wish to display
from the color palette.
4. Click OK.
These settings apply globally to all current and voltage bias points in your design.
To set the fonts for the bias point values:
1. In Capture, from the PSpice menu, choose Bias Points. A submenu appears.
2. From the submenu, select Preferences. The Bias Point Preferences dialog box appears.
3. Click in the Font box for either Current or Voltage and select the font type, style, and size
you wish to display from the font dialog box.
4. Click OK.
These settings apply globally to all current and voltage bias points in your design. (The default
setting is Arial 7.)
To print the bias point values:
1. In Capture, from the PSpice menu, choose Bias Points. A submenu appears.
2. From the submenu, select Preferences. The Bias Point Preferences dialog box appears.
3. Click the Print check box for either Current or Voltage. The bias point values will then print
with the schematic page.
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4. Click OK.
These settings apply globally to all current and voltage bias points in your design. The
presence of the check mark indicates that this option is enabled. (The default setting is to
have this option enabled.)
Moving bias points
Bias points have a default position near their corresponding wire or pin. You can select the
bias point labels and relocate them to make the schematic page more legible. A dashed
leader line extends fromthe label to the wire or pin it is associated with to indicate where the
label belongs.
To move a bias point label:
1. Click on the label you wish to move to select it.
2. While holding down the left mouse button, drag the label to the new location.
Once you move a label, the new location will be saved with the schematic page so the bias
point will be displayed there again the next time you open that page.
Updating bias point values
The bias point values displayed in Capture reect the data from the last simulation that was
performed in PSpice. In some cases, these may not be the most recent values, depending on
when they were last updated. There are three ways to update the values.
To update the bias point values by resimulating:
In Capture, from the PSpice menu, choose Run.
By re-running the simulation in PSpice, you update the bias points to the correct values.
To update the bias point values by changing proles:
1. In Capture's Project Manager, under the File tab, double-click on the Simulation Proles
folder to see all the dened proles for this project.
2. Right-click on the prole you want to make active. A shortcut menu appears.
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3. From the shortcut menu, select Make Active.
By opening a new simulation prole, you update the bias points to reect the correct values
that were last calculated for that prole.
To update the bias point values by changing the display:
1. In Capture, from the PSpice menu, choose Bias Points. A submenu appears.
2. From the submenu, select Preferences. The Bias Point Preferences dialog box appears.
3. Click OK without changing any settings.
By opening the Preferences dialog box, you force Capture to update the bias points with the
correct values.
Menu commands for bias point display
The following table explains the menu commands for bias point display. You can access these
commands by selecting Bias Points from the PSpice menu in Capture.
To see a map of these commands as they appear under the PSpice menu in Capture, click
Bias Point menu.
Menu command... Function...
Enable Enables or disables the bias point display capability.
Enable Bias Current Display Enables or disables the display of current bias points for all
modeled pins in the entire design.
Toggle Selected Bias Current Turns on or off the display of current bias points for selected
modeled pins.
Enable Bias Voltage Display Enables or disables the display of voltage bias points for all
wires in the entire design.
Toggle Selected Bias Voltage Turns on or off the display of voltage bias points for selected
wires.
Preferences Provides controls for displaying the precision, color, font and
printability of the bias point values.
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Important
In order to access the PSpice menu in Capture, you must be working with a project
that can be simulated. You must create a project (not a design) and select the
Analog or Mixed-Signal Circuit Wizard option in order to be able to simulate the
design with PSpice.
Toolbar controls for bias point display
The following table explains the control buttons in the Bias Point toolbar.
The Bias Point toolbar in Capture
Toolbar Icon Description
Enable Bias
Voltage Display
Enables or disables the display of voltage bias points for all wires
in the entire design.
ToggleSelected
Bias Voltage
Turns on or off the display of voltage bias points for selected
wires.
Enable Bias
Current Display
Enables or disables the display of current bias points for all
modeled pins in the entire design.
ToggleSelected
Bias Current
Turns on or off the display of current bias points for selected
modeled pins.
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Toggling a specic current bias display
To turn on the display of a specic current bias point:
1. In Capture, from the Edit menu, choose Select All.
2. Click the Toggle Selected Bias Current button in the Bias Point toolbar ( ). This will
either turn off all current bias values for every pin on the schematic page, or they will all
be turned on, depending on the previous state. Click the button again, if necessary, to
turn everything off. If there is no change in the display either way, be sure that Enable
Bias Current Display is checked.
3. Click the mouse on an empty area of the schematic page to deselect everything.
4. Click the specic pin you want to display the current on, in order to select it.
5. Click the Toggle Selected Bias Current button in the Bias Point toolbar ( ).
You should now see only the current bias point value for the specic pin you are interested in.
All other current bias points on the schematic page should be turned off.
Toggling a specic voltage bias display
To turn on the display of a specic voltage bias point:
1. In Capture, from the Edit menu, choose Select All.
2. Click the Toggle Selected Bias Voltage button in the Bias Point toolbar ( )
This will either turn off all voltage bias values for every net on the schematic page, or they
will all be turned on, depending on the previous state. Click the button again, if
necessary, to turn everything off. If there is no change in the display either way, be sure
that Enable Bias Voltage Display is checked.
3. Click the mouse on an empty area of the schematic page to deselect everything.
4. Click the specic net you want to display the voltage on, in order to select it.
5. Click the Toggle Selected Bias Voltage button in the Bias Point toolbar ( ).
You should now see only the voltage bias point value for the specic pin you are interested
in. All other voltage bias points on the schematic page should be turned off.
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Differences between bias point display in Capture vs.
PSpice Schematics
Bias point display in OrCAD Capture works very much the same way as in MicroSim
Schematics Release 8. There are, however, a few differences that should be noted.
1. The "stale" condition that was supported in Schematics is not supported in Capture. The
bias point values you see will always reect the calculations from the last simulation run.
2. In Schematics, for a current bias point, the leader line on the bias point label indicated
the direction of the current ow. Current direction is not indicated in Capture.
3. In Schematics, two symbols were provided (VIEWPOINT & IPROBE) that were formerly
used for bias point display. These symbols became redundant in Release 8 with the
improved bias point display feature. These symbols are not available with Capture.
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Index
B
bias point display 7
bias point menu 9
C
Capture vs. PSpice Schematics with bias
point display 17
controlling the display of bias points 11
current bias points 16
D
displaying bias point values 8
M
menu commands for bias point display 14
moving bias points 13
P
PSpice Schematics vs. Capture with bias
point display 17
T
toggling a specific current bias display 16
toggling a specific voltage bias display 16
toolbar controls for bias point display 15
U
updating bias point values 13
V
voltage bias points 16
W
What is bias point display? 7
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