Creating new page entry

Don't hesitate to create a new page (even a placeholder page to help others start) or add a couple of content or material here or there: It does not need to be perfect or complete. Remember that even small contributions and efforts compounded over time can lead to amazing results!

Think about it following the hassle-free (stress-free) wiki mindset, for example you can start by creating a placeholder page, then at a later date putting the schematic drawing, and incrementally uploading some rough simulation plots to illustrate functionality with a short explanation.

The simulation with a narrative interpretation of each plot is the most essential part of each article.

Sections 1-3 are the most important to start, sections 4 and 5 will evolve over time.

Over time you can polish the text, add section headings, categories and page structure with feedback and help from the community.

You can use existent circuit pages on our circuit directory for reference.

Page Title (circuit title e.g. common source)

A short description of the circuit in brief, what it is. A small intro and background intro.

In simple terms, what is the primary function of this circuit (e.g. single-stage voltage amplifier ...etc) and why is it useful in practice.

Schematic Diagram

Use schematic entry software that is able to export SPICE netlists and generate clean and visually pleasing schematic diagrams. Keep schematics topological with no device sizing: so that the schematic does not have to be re-generated every time device sizing is updated which is impractical.

We recommend the use of open software (e.g. KiCad...) to generate the schematics in SVG format if possible.

Circuit Netlist

Make sure to add the formatted netlist following the schematic to make sure all circuits simulation results are reproducible by others: this is what makes ICclopedia different.

SPICE Simulations

We encourage the use of simulations to help follow a top-down approach to learning. Starting with the visual results/graphs that illustrate the primary functionality at work (this helps beginners in understanding and others in recalling information), and subsequently displaying specific results that elaborate on important circuit performance parameters. Make sure each graph/result is labelled appropriately.

Note it is important to use open SPICE software (NGSPICE is strongly recommended) and open educational design kits for simulating the circuits. While these educational kits may not be adequate for practical fabrication purposes, they are incredibly useful for educational and reference purposes to gain experience and intuition which is fundamental to relate simulation and theory. The use of open tools also allows for others to reproduce your work in order to provide feedback and improve each post.

Principle of Operation (opt)

Explaining the principle of operation of the circuit and the theory behind it.

Explain each of the simulation results from a theoretical framework and justify performance results accordingly.

This explanation will most likely evolve incrementally over time. It can come in the beginning of the results section or at the end, whichever way is most natural for the circuit page. Also the principle of operation subheading can be omitted if not necessary, e.g. in cases where the principle of operation explanation is presented together with the results in a nice way.

Design Procedure (opt)

Over time, with a good intuition gained from simulations and a solid theoretical understanding in place: incrementally, some design guidelines will start to evolve based on community feedback. In time, these guidelines will be consolidated to conform to a helpful design procedure.

Ultimately, in the long-term future the hope will be to help others update circuits to fit their needs.

Toolchain

• The SPICE simulator used

• The PDK models (and technology node) used

• Schematic entry tool (optional but helpful)

Source Code

• Circuit Netlist

• Circuit Testbench

References

All references that were used in your post, please add citations and give credit to the work of others that helped you learn.

At the end of every post please add the category the circuit belongs to and the PDK category, e.g. add:
[[Category:Current mirrors]] [[Category:PTM CMOS 130nm]]

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