Circuit simulation using step response analysis in the frequency domain

Apparatus for simulating a response of a circuit to an electrostatic discharge (ESD) input stimulus applied to the circuit, the circuit including at least one mutual inductance element indicative of magnetic coupling in the circuit, the apparatus comprising:

• memory;
• and
• at least one processor coupled to the memory and operative:
• to generate a linear approximation of nonlinear elements in the circuit at respective direct current (DC) bias points of the nonlinear elements based on a description of the circuit;
• to obtain a frequency domain transfer function of the circuit;
• to obtain a time domain impulse response of the circuit as a function of the frequency domain transfer function;
• to integrate the time domain impulse response to yield a step response of the circuit, the step response being indicative of a response of the circuit to the ESD input stimulus;
• and to analyze the step response of the circuit to determine whether the circuit will operate within prescribed parameters corresponding to the circuit.

A computer program product comprising a tangible computer readable recordable storage medium including non-transitory computer usable program code for simulating a response of a circuit to an electrostatic discharge (ESD) input stimulus applied to the circuit, the circuit including at least one mutual inductance element indicative of magnetic coupling in the circuit, the computer program product comprising computer usable program code for performing steps of:

• generating a linear approximation of nonlinear elements in the circuit at respective direct current (DC) bias points of the nonlinear elements based on a description of the circuit;
• obtaining a frequency domain transfer function of the circuit;
• obtaining a time domain impulse response of the circuit as a function of the frequency domain transfer function;
• integrating the impulse response to yield a step response of the circuit, the step response being indicative of a response of the circuit to the ESD input stimulus;
• and
• analyzing the step response of the circuit to determine whether the circuit will operate within prescribed parameters corresponding to the circuit.