Netlist

Purpose

Import or edit a SPICE netlist

Library

SPICE Components

Description

A SPICE netlist can be included and connected to other components in a schematic using the netlist component. See section Netlist Component for a detailed overview.

The Netlist dialog consists of five tabbed panes that are described below.

Netlist

The first tab is equipped with a text editor in which the netlist can be either directly written/edited or imported from file using the Import Netlist button.

When importing, the file can contain multiple circuits (netlist descriptions). You can choose which circuit to import using the selection wizard. If an imported circuit has dependencies (its netlist description refers to subcircuits) within the same file, these are also imported automatically. The netlist description that results from an import does not reference the original imported file (the netlist description is hard-copied).

The first subcircuit in the text editor will be treated as main circuit. Nodes from the main subcircuit are automatically exposed as terminals. See Netlist Cheat Sheets for basic usage and Netlist Syntax Reference for detailed syntax rules.

Terminals

In the Terminals tab you can override the name of the Netlist terminals. There is a table entry for each exposed node of the netlist. Terminal names must be unique.

To move a terminal on the schematic, hold Shift and drag the terminal along the edges of the component.

Probes

The Probes tab allows you to define probe signals for the Netlist component. These signals will be accessible from the PLECS Probe

To define a probe signal, use the plus button next to the table. A dialog will guide you through the creation of either a terminal-based or an internal probe.

• Terminal-based probes measure either the current flowing into a terminal or the voltage difference between two terminals. Terminals are identified using the labels defined in the Terminals pane.

• Internal probes can be used to monitor internal nodal voltages and two-terminal internal components. Probable elements are automatically identified using the call hierarchy of the parsed netlist.

Parameters

Parameters of the main subcircuit can be overwritten in this tab. You can specify specify any value here, including variables from your schematic’s Initialization tab.

Icon

You can define a custom icon for your Netlist component via this tab. Details regarding the supported Lua syntax can found in the description of the Mask Icon.

See also

Using PLECS Spice

How to use PLECS Spice and the Netlist component in a circuit.

Netlist Cheat Sheets

Example netlists introducing the basic syntax.

Netlist Syntax Reference

Documentation of supported netlist syntax.

Netlist File Reference

Alternative component that imports a netlist from a referenced file at runtime.