Simulation of nonlinear microwave circuits-an historical perspective and comparisons

The author presents a historical perspective of microwave circuit simulation, highlighting some of the major advances. It is noted that, by assuming that only a finite number of sinusoids are present in a nonlinear circuit, the computational burden of computing the transient response of the circuit is avoided and only the steady state response, given by the amplitudes and phases of the sinusoids, is required. Methods for computing this response are examined. An historical perspective is presented. Quantitative comparisons of limitations, errors, and dynamic ranges of the various methods are made for the simulation of single-tone and two-tone excitation of microwave amplifiers.<>