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Vadim Kuznetsov edited this page Jul 23, 2024 · 1 revision

What is Qucs-S?

Qucs-S is a circuit simulation program forked from Qucs circuit simulator. The "S" letter indicates SPICE. The purpose of the Qucs-S project is to use free circuit simulation kernels (Ngspice, Qucsator, Xyce) with the unified GUI based on Qt6 toolkit. It merges the power of SPICE and the simplicity of the Qucs GUI. Qucs-S is not a simulator by itself, but it requires to use an external simulation backend with it. Qucs-S allows to use the following open-source simulation kernels:

  • Ngspice is recommended to use. Ngspice is powerful mixed-level/mixed-signal circuit simulator. The most of industrial SPICE models are compatible with Ngspice. It has an excellent simulation performance and powerful postprocessor. Google Skywater 130nm PDK supports Ngspice.
  • XYCE is a new SPICE-compatible circuit simulator written by Sandia from the scratch. It supports basic SPICE simulation types and has an advanced RF simulation features such as Harmonic balance simulation.
  • QucsatorRF for RF and microwave circuits design. It provides advanced models for such devices microstrip lines and waveguides. QucsatorRF is not SPICE compatible. The general purpose circuits simulation is also possible but not recommended.
  • SpiceOpus is developed by the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of the Ljubljana University. It based on the SPICE-3f5 code

ne5532 amplifier

Main features

  • Basic and advanced simulation types: AC, DC, transient, S-parameter, FFT, distortion, pole-zero, parametric sweep.
  • Advanced RF simulation with Qucsator RF backend;
  • Quick switching of the simulation kernel without application restart;
  • Tuner simulation mode
  • Direct support of SPICE models from components datasheets;
  • Basic SPICE components: RCL, BJT, MOSFET, JFET, MESFET, switches;
  • Advanced SPICE components: Equation-defined sources and RCLs, transmission lines;
  • Parametric circuits (.PARAM) and SPICE postrprocessor (Nutmeg)
  • Basic SPICE simulations: DC, AC, TRAN;
  • Advanced SPICE simulation: DISTO, NOISE, SENS (added in 0.0.20), Spectrum analysis;
  • Harmonic balance analysis with XYCE and Qucsator RF backends;
  • Nutmeg script simulation: direct access to the SPICE code and construct your own simulation;
  • XYCE script simulation type;
  • XYCE digital devices library;
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