A fast method for tracing multi-valued characteristics in nonlinear circuits

The paper offers a method for tracing multivalued, input-output and parametric characteristics in nonlinear resistive circuits. The main idea of the method is creating of a family of some single-valued characteristics, called the test characteristics. Each of them gives certain points of the traced multi-valued characteristic. Since the time of finding the family of test characteristics is considerably shorter than the time consumed by the known methods, leading to the multi-valued characteristic, the approach is efficient. As a result larger-sized circuits can be considered. Comparison with the results provided by DC Sweep analysis of SPICE shows that there are many circuits, where the proposed method gives correct characteristics, whereas the SPICE simulator loses some branches or exhibits their apparent hysterestic nature. Two numerical examples illustrate the proposed approach.