LTspice

LTspice is a free software of the semiconductor manufacturer Linear Technology for circuit simulation. It is based on SPICE, is compatible with it, and especially suitable for the simulation of switching power supplies. It is developed and maintained by Mike Engelhardt.

Origin, development and current status

LTspice in 1999 through SwitcherCAD out, which gave it its second name, and has since been constantly developed. The program has included the previous version already SwitcherCAD (2011) downloaded over 3 million times. Meanwhile, it can use in some cases multiple processors. The Windows version is tested by the author for compatibility with Wine, so you can use it with Linux. For Mac OS X, there is a standalone version.

Models are included for very many blocks from Linear Technology and optimally supported with LTspice. Also included is a - relatively small - Library of discrete devices and integrated circuits from other manufacturers.

Features and Function

Time courses - including parameter variations - can be calculated and represent, in addition, you can also transform it into the frequency domain. Furthermore, one can carry out a small-signal analysis and perform a Monte Carlo simulation. In addition to analog components also idealized digital gates are included in the libraries.

Due to the compatibility with SPICE models can be relatively easily extracted and used from other sources.

License

LTspice is freeware. The software may not be altered, however, be used freely by anyone. Semiconductor manufacturers, however, they may not use in the marketing of their products.

Alternatives

There are a variety of programs that use the SPICE simulation, including many commercial programs.