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I am trying to simulate a switch (TS5A3154) which is made by Texas Instruments but the only models they have available are ones called IBIS Models.

Now I have done a little bit of research and found that it means Input/Output Buffer Information Specification but I cannot for the life of me find any software that will allow me to play around with the model and give me some meaningful results!

Here is the link to the IBIS files that I wish to simulate and if anyone could offer me any insight as to what software to use to run these models and where I could obtain said software, that would be great!

I would preferably like to know about free software options if they are available because I am a bit of a scrounger like that.

ocrdu
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MrPhooky
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  • Pspice can use IBIS files. The model editor converts them to the pspice equiv part. Pretty sure most simulation software will be able to import ibis files. – I. Wolfe Feb 04 '15 at 15:35

4 Answers4

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The unfortunate fact is that you need Mentor Graphics Hyperlynx, Cadence SigXplorer, Agilent ADS, Synopsys HSpice or a similar caliber software.

I have looked high and low - tried many different ones - to find any free options for my courses in signal integrity. Unfortunately we are not quite there yet.

Altium can do some IBIS simulation as well, but last time I tried they were not really up to par.

If you have an interesting problem, feel free to put it up as a question and I may just quickly run it through SigXplorer or Hyperlynx for you (and add it to my blog or as an example in my courses).

Did that help?

Rolf Ostergaard
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    If too many companies are releasing ibis models then I wonder why don't they provide a free tool for it. Probably they are targeting big companies who have money to buy all that costly software. :( – Whiskeyjack Jul 07 '16 at 06:55
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Micro-Cap 12 by Spectrum Software is now free and capable of doing IBIS simulations. It used to retail for $4500+ so it's definitely not one to discard on a whim. You can quickly read more about the software by going through this Commercial Circuit Simulator Goes Free Hackaday article.

The Winter 2008 Newsletter - Using the IBIS Components hosted on Spectrum's own site gives an introduction to IBIS modelling, but the screenshots are broken, sadly. Looking at the page through the WayBackMachine will load screenshots properly, though.

This IBIS Output Impedance Made Easy article shows a few screenshots from the software, but lacks practical details on how to use it.

pfabri
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Oh there are lots of tools that use IBIS from spice simulators like H-spice to visual SI tools like a Cadence Sigrity Speed 2000, and the list goes on. Never used a free one but I see support for ibis in eispice and I see gnucap supports it as well.

Some Hardware Guy
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You can use Micro-Cap (evaluation version) to simulate the IBIS model in a Spice environment, using a dedicated IBIS symbol.

Mista G
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