Qucs-S: Getting started analog simulation
Vadim Kuznetsov
July 11, 2024
1 Introduction
Qucs-S was forked from the Qucs cross-platform circuit simulator in 2017. ”S” letter indicates
SPICE. The purpose of the Qucs-S subproject is to use free SPICE circuit simulation kernels
with the Qucs GUI. It merges the power of SPICE and the simplicity of the Qucs GUI. Qucs
intentionally uses its own SPICE incompatible simulation kernel Qucsator. It has advanced
RF and AC domain simulation features, but most of the existing industrial SPICE models
are incompatible with it. Qucs-S is not a simulator by itself, but requires to use a simulation
backend with it. The schematic document format of Qucs and Qucs-S are fully compatible.
Qucs-S allows to use the following simulation kernels with it:
• Ngspice is recommended to use. Ngspice is powerful mixed-level/mixed-signal circuit
simulator. The most of industrial SPICE models are compatible with Ngspice. It has
an excellent performance for time-domain simulation of switching circuits and powerful
postprocessor.
• XYCE is a new SPICE-compatible circuit simulator written by Sandia from the scratch.
• SpiceOpus is developed by the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of the Ljubljana Univer-
sity. It based on the SPICE-3f5 code.
• QucsatorRF for RF simulation with microwave devices and microstrip lines. It is not a
SPICE compatible simulator. Not recommended for general purpose circuits.
Qucs-S is a cross-platform software and supports a number of Linux distributions alongside
with Windows™. The Linux packages are generated automatically with the Open Build Service
(OBS ) system. Check the official website to get the list of supported distributions. Please
keep in mind that the installation packages doesn’t provide the simulation kernel. It need to
be installed separately. The Ngspice is recommended. For Debian and Ubuntu it is installed
automatically as the dependency. Refer to Ngspice website for installation instructions for
other platforms.
2 Setup on the first start
Once the Qucs-S is installed, it asks to select the simulation kernel. Since the version 2.0.0
the application tries to find Ngspice in some usual system locations on the first start. If the
Ngspice executable was found automatically the information message will be shown. Otherwise
the user will be prompted to configure the simulators manually. The following window (Fig.
1) is opened after the first start of the application. Select the default simulator using the
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Figure 1: Simulator setup dialog
drop-down list and correct the simulator executable paths if necessary. These settings could be
corrected later using the Simulation->Select default simulator menu.
Quick switching of the simulation kernel without application restart is supported since
version 2.0.0. See the section 10 for more details.
3 Main window structure
The Qucs-S main window is shown in the Fig. 2. The main window consists of two areas:
schematic editor (4) on the right side and main dock (1) on the left side. Several schematics
could be opened simultaneously. It’s possible to switch between the opened schematics using
the tabular bar above the schematic editor area.
The dock on the left side has four tabs (3): Projects, Content, Components, and Libraries.
The Projects tab is opened after the application start. It is empty, because there is no projects
after the fresh installation. The Components tab (see Fig. 2) contains a list of primitive
devices available in Qucs. The components are divided into several categories (lumped devices,
nonlinear devices, simulation, etc.). The categories could be selected from the drop-down list
(2). The status bar is located on the bottom side of the main window. The active simulation
kernel is displayed on the status bar (for example Ngspice on Fig.2).
The toolbar area is located on the top side of the main window below the main menu. Some
important buttons are located on the toolbar. They are: Wire (6), Node name (7), Ground
(8), and Marker (9).
Everything in Qucs-S is considered to be a component. The simulations, equations, and
SPICE directives are also special components that could be found in dedicated categories in
the component pallet. The diagrams are also special components and could be found in the
diagrams category in the drop-down list (2).
To place the component on schematic choose desired category from the drop-down list (2)
(for example ”lumped components”) and click on the symbol (for example ”Resistor”). Moving
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Figure 2: Qucs-S main window. See text for explanations
the mouse cursor into the working area (4) you are carrying a drawing of a resistor symbol.
Pressing the right mouse button rotates the symbol, pressing the left mouse button places the
component onto the schematic.
The components properties could be edited using the properties dialog (Fig. 3) that is called
from the context menu of the component or after the left mouse button double click.
Figure 3: Component properties dialog
4 Step by step guide how to setup an analog simulation
4.1 AC and transient simulation
Let’s simulated an RC-circuit using Qucs-S with Ngspice backend. The schematic is shown in
the Fig. 4. Let’s perform the AC and transient simulations and plot the magnitude response
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of the circuit and the waveforms on the input and output nodes. Perform the following steps
to draw the schematic and setup the simulation.
Figure 4: RC-circuit in Qucs-S
• Step 1: place components on the schematic and set their properties as show in the Fig.
4. We need resitor, capacitor (both could be found in the lumped devices category) and
AC voltage source (from sources category). The ground and wires could be taken from
the application tool bar (see Fig. 2) using the buttons (6) and (8).
• Step 2: place simulations on the schematic. We need AC simulation and Transient sim-
ulation. Both could be taken from the simulations category (see Fig. 4). The procedure
is same as for usual components. Setup the properties of the simulations as shown in the
Fig. 4. A special dialog window opens upon the double click on the simulation device
(Fig. 5). For AC simulation enter the start (1 Hz) and stop (10 kHz) frequencies and
select the logarithmic sweep type. For transient simulation enter the stop time (2 ms)
and points number (200 points).
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Figure 5: Simulation properties dialog
• Step 3: place the node labels in and out using the button (6) on the toolbar (see Fig.
2). The node name could be set in a special dialog window (Fig. 6).
Figure 6: Node label setup dialog
• Step 4: Place equation for the magnitude response K = Vout /Vin on the schematic.
Equation is the special component called Nutmeg equation that could be found in the
spice specific sections category. The full SPICE syntax for mathematical functions and
node names is supported. Refer to Ngspice manual for more details. The simulation
should be specified for each Nutmeg equation. We will calculate the magnitude response
for the AC simulation only and therefore we need to enter ac as the first property for this
device as shown on the Fig. 7.
• Step 5: Save the schematic document as the file with the *.sch extension using the File
-> Save as menu or press the Ctrl-S shortcut. The schematic is ready for the simulation
now.
• Step 6: simulate the schematic. Press the Simulation -> Simulate or press the F2 hotkey
on the keyboard. The dialog window containing the simulator log messages will appear
shortly (Fig. 8). This dialog window contains the simulation console where the messages
from the Ngspice are shown.
It should report that the simulation finished without errors. If you see error messages
check your schematic and application settings. After the Ngspice reports about the fin-
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Figure 7: Equation setup dialog
ished simulation, close this window clicking the Exit button. Now the diagrams could be
added on schematic field. It is also possible to save the netlist file from this dialog .
Figure 8: Simulation dialog
• Step 7: place diagrams on the schematic (Fig. 9). We need two cartesian diagrams
for magnitude response and transient waveforms. The diagrams are also special compo-
nents that could be found in the diagrams category. The traces could be selected in the
special diagram properties dialog (Fig. 10). Select the ac.k traces for one diagram and
tran.v(in) and tran.v(out) traces for another diagram. It is also possible to setup
the axis limits and type and the color scheme for the diagram. Select logarithmic X-axis
for the magnitude response graph using the settings in the Properties tab. The markers
could be placed on graphs using the button (9) from the toolbar (Fig. 2). The position
of the marker could be adjiusted using the arrow keys on the keyboard.
4.2 DC analysis
Qucs-S unlike Qucs has no special DC simulation mode. If only DC simulation component is
placed on the schematic no simulation will be launched and error message will be shown. This
component is kept for backward compatibility with old Qucs schematics.
But there exists two modes of the DC simulation:
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Figure 9: Schematic with two diagrams added
Figure 10: Diagram properties dialog
• Show operating point directly on the circuit. This mode is activted when pressing F8
keyboard shortcut or using Simulation-¿Show bias menu entry. See the Fig. 11 for
example of such simulation.
• DC sweep mode. You need to insert Parameter sweep simulation component and attach
it to the DC simulation. This simulation mode could be used for plotting IV-curves or
getting table output. See the Fig. 12 for example of this simulation.
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Figure 11: Operating point simulation of the voltage divider
Figure 12: Using DC sweep to get table output of the resistive divider voltage
5 Parameter sweep
5.1 Device sweep
Parameter sweep is defined as the special simulation type that is attached to any other simula-
tion. Let’s consider an example and attach parameter sweep to the circuit shown in the Figure
4. We will see the influence of the resistance of the RC-circuit on the cutoff frequency.
Important note: unlike Qucs before version 0.0.20, Qucs-S doesn’t support the sweep
of variables directly. Legacy Qucs schematics using variable sweep will not work. Parameter
sweep supports only device sweep. Resistor, capacitor or source are accepted.
Perform the following steps to add parameter sweep:
• Step 1: Place parameter sweep component on the schematic sheet (Figure 13). The
Parameter sweep device could be found in the simulations group.
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Figure 13: Adding parameter sweep on the schematic
• Step 2: Set the properties of the parameter sweep simulation. After the double click the
dialog window will be opened (Figure 14). The Simulation drop-down list is the the name
of simulation component to which the parameter sweep is attached. For our example we
need to select the AC1 simulation from the drop-down list, because we attaching the
parameter sweep to the AC simulation. The Sweep parameter input field is the device
name. Variables or other objects name are not acceptable here! Enter the R1 device name
here. The Start, Stop, Step, and Number input fields serve for the definition of the sweep
range. We will sweep the R1 value from 1 kOhm to 5 kOhm and take 4 sweep points.
Figure 14: Setting parameter sweep properties
• Step 3: Run the simulation and place the diagrams as for usual simulation (Figure 15).
You should see the family of the curves. You may place a marker on the diagram and
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move it between the sweep curves with Arrow Up and Arrow Down keys.
Figure 15: Magnitude response of the RC-circuit with the parameter sweep
5.2 DC sweep
DC sweep simulation takes place when parameter sweep is attached to the DC simulation. Such
simulation mode is explained in the Section 4.2. DC sweep only accepts device name (resistor
or source) as the sweep parameter name. The DC sweep with variable name will not work.
This simulation mode usually serves for obtaining the IV-curves.
5.3 Variable sweep
The recent version of the Ngspice support sweeping of the varibles. The variable should be
defined using the .PARAM statement (available at the SPICE specific sections group). Qucs-S
doesn’t create the variable automatically. Refer to the schematic shown in the Figure 16 for
the example of such simulation mode.
6 Digital simulation
6.1 Digital devices with analog model
Digital devices including logic gates, flip-flops, and more complex devices could be found in the
group Digital components. Some of these devices have both analog and digital model. Ngspice
simulation operates using XSPICE models. Here is the list of these devices:
• Logic gates, inverter and buffer
• D-, JK-, T-flip-flops
• Digital source
The usage of these devices in analog simulation mode has no special requirements. The
example shown in the Figure 17 illustrates the transient simulation of the RC oscillator circuit
containing two inverter logic gates. The power supply voltage for digital devices should be set
using the VCC parameter with .PARAM section.
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Figure 16: Magnitude response of the RC-circuit with the parameter sweep
Figure 17: Oscillator example using logic gates
6.2 Digital simulation with Verilog/VHDL
The most of digital components except of the listed in the previous section doesn’t contain
analog SPICE model. These devices are supported by digital simulation mode only. Mixing
digital and analog devices (like RCL) in one circuit is not supported! You need to
install one the following free backends to perform digital simulation
• Icarus Verilog iverilog [Link]
• FreeHDL [Link]
Place on the schematic field a special device named Digital simulation to switch Qucs-S
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to digital mode. Verilog or VHDL backend will be started automatically instead of SPICE if
digital simulation is found in the schematic. User doesn’t need to switch Qucs-S to the digital
mode in the application settings.
There are two modes of the digital simulation: truth table and timing diagram. An example
of the digital simulation of the 2-bit decoder/demultiplexer is shown in the Figure 18. This
simulation uses Verilog and timing diagram mode.
Figure 18: Simulation of the digital circuit with iverilog
7 Tuning mode
Since the version v2.1.0 Qucs-S support the tuning simulation mode. The tuner allows to adjust
the component property values using an interactive sliders and immediately see the result on
diagrams. Tuning mode is supported for all simulation kernels including Ngspice and Qucsator.
Tuner may act as an interactive alternative of the parameter sweep simulation.
Let’s consider how to use the tuning mode for the RC-circuit Fig. 4. The schematic is
required to have the simulations and diagrams placed on schematic. The tuner will not work
without defined simulations and diagrams. The tuner is activated using the Simulation-¿Tune
menu or F3 keyboard shortcut. The following dialog window (Fig. 19) is shown after the
activation. Then user need to click on the device or the device property with the left mouse
button. A new slider will be added to the tuner window. It is possible to manually set the
upper and lower limit of the tuned device property. The default limits are within the ±15%
range from the starting value.
After the sliders are added to the tuner window it is possible to drag the sliders and observe
the changes on the diagrams. For example we can see the cutoff frequency of the RC-circuit
is increasing when C is decreasing. If the tuner window is closed the user will be prompted to
update or revert the components values on schematic.
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Figure 19: Tuner dialog window
Figure 20: Tuning of the RC-circuit
8 SPICE models usage
8.1 Importing SPICE modelcards
The nonlinear devices models like discrete transistors and diodes are distributed as SPICE
modelcards. Here is an example of the modelcard for 1N4007 diode. This modelcard defines
the model named DI_1N4007. The modelcard always starts from the .MODEL directive.
.MODEL DI_1N4007 D ( IS=76.9p RS=42.0m BV=1.00k IBV=5.00u
+ CJO=26.5p M=0.333 N=1.45 TT=4.32u )
Since the version 24.3.0 Qucs-S is able to fill the properties of the unified nonlinear devices
from the SPICE modelcards. The following components support this feature:
• Diode
• Bipolar transistors (NPN, PNP)
• MOSFETs both 3-pin and 4-pin (NMOS, PMOS)
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• JFETs
The devices mentioned above could be found in group nonlinear components in the left panel
and have blue color. The similar red devices from microelectronics group don’t support this
feature. Place the nonlinear device on schematic sheet and open device properties dialog after
the double click on device or using the right mouse button click menu. The device properties
dialog window has the button named Fill from SPICE .MODEL. Press this button to import
the SPICE modelcard. The following dialog window (Figure 21) appears. Insert the SPICE
code of the modelcard in the large input filed and press OK button. The Qucs-S will recognize
the SPICE model and update the device properties automatically.
Figure 21: Importing SPICE diode modelcard
The Convert number notation checkbox enables numbers conversion to Qucs-S compatible
form. Subcircuit type SPICE models cannot be imported this way.
8.2 Importing SPICE subcircuit devices
Complex semiconductor devices like analog and digital ICs are defined as SPICE subcircuit
models. This model starts with .SUBCKT directive. The listing below shows an example of such
model for LM358 operational amplifier. Subcircuits are often collected in SPICE libraries.
*LM358 DUAL OPERATIONAL AMPLIFIER MACRO-MODEL
* connections: non-inverting input
* | inverting input
* | | positive power supply
* | | | negative power supply
* | | | | output
* | | | | |
.SUBCKT LM358 1 2 99 50 28
****************INPUT STAGE**************
IOS 2 1 5N
*^Input offset current
R1 1 3 500K
R2 3 2 500K
I1 99 4 100U
R3 5 50 517
R4 6 50 517
Q1 5 2 4 QX
Q2 6 7 4 QX
*Fp2=1.2 MHz
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C4 5 6 128.27P
***********COMMON MODE EFFECT***********
I2 99 50 75U
*^Quiescent supply current
EOS 7 1 POLY(1) 16 49 2E-3 1
*Input offset voltage.^
R8 99 49 60K
R9 49 50 60K
*********OUTPUT VOLTAGE LIMITING********
V2 99 8 1.63
D1 9 8 DX
D2 10 9 DX
V3 10 50 .635
**************SECOND STAGE**************
EH 99 98 99 49 1
G1 98 9 POLY(1) 5 6 0 9.8772E-4 0 .3459
*Fp1=7.86 Hz
R5 98 9 101.2433MEG
C3 98 9 200P
***************POLE STAGE***************
*Fp=2 MHz
G3 98 15 9 49 1E-6
R12 98 15 1MEG
C5 98 15 7.9577E-14
*********COMMON-MODE ZERO STAGE*********
*Fpcm=10 KHz
G4 98 16 3 49 5.6234E-8
L2 98 17 15.9M
R13 17 16 1K
**************OUTPUT STAGE**************
F6 50 99 POLY(1) V6 300U 1
E1 99 23 99 15 1
R16 24 23 17.5
D5 26 24 DX
V6 26 22 .63V
R17 23 25 17.5
D6 25 27 DX
V7 22 27 .63V
V5 22 21 0.27V
D4 21 15 DX
V4 20 22 0.27V
D3 15 20 DX
L3 22 28 500P
RL3 22 28 100K
.MODEL DX D(IS=1E-15)
.MODEL QX PNP(BF=1.111E3)
.ENDS
Qucs-S provides a special Spice library device component to use SPICE subcircuits in
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schematics. This component could be found at the File components group in the left panel.
Place the Spice library device and enter its properties with the double click or context menu.
The following dialog window (Figure 22) will be opened.
Figure 22: SPICE library device properties
This dialog has a number of input fields and other input controls. Perform the following
steps to setup the SPICE device properties.
1. Specify the path to SPICE library file containing the subcircuit type model using the
SPICE library input field;
2. Select SPICE model to use from the Subcircuit drop-down list. The Qucs-S parses the
specified library file and fills all found .SUBCKT entries in this drop-down list.
3. Select symbol for the SPICE device. Three options are available. Automatic symbol
creates a rectangular symbol. Symbol from template could be selected from the list in
the right side of the dialog window. The Qucs-S contains a set of symbol templates for
the most common ICs and discrete devices. Also you can draw a user symbol and specify
it using the Symbol from file option. The symbol file should be saved as *.sym and could
be created using File-¿New symbol in main menu.
4. Assign symbol pin to every subcircuit pin using the table in the left part of the dialog
window. The NC in the table cells indicates that the pins are not assigned yet. All device
pins must be assigned. The symbol preview in the right part of the window shows the
symbol pins numbers.
After the device and symbol are selected and pins are assigned press the OK button. The
Spice Library Device is ready for the simulation. Please keep in mind that Qucs-S doesn’t em-
bed the SPICE code in the schematic and this file device is still referencing the SPICE library
file. You have to distribute the SPICE library with the schematic. Some SPICE models dis-
tributed by IC vendors may require Ngspice compatibility options setting like PSPICE/LTspice
compatibility. Refer to the model description before using with Qucs-S.
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9 RF simulation
9.1 Common notes on RF circuits analysis
RF circuits are often described by the scattering matrix (S-parameters). Many electrical prop-
erties of networks of components (inductors, capacitors, resistors) may be expressed using
S-parameters, such as gain, return loss, voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR), reflection coeffi-
cient and amplifier stability. It is possible to convert the S-parameters to the Y or Z-matrix to
estimate the input and output impedances of the circuit.
The S-parameters of the two-port circuit have the following meaning:
• S11 = Γ1 input reflection coefficient; if S11 = 0 the circuit is ideally matched without
reflection;
• S21 forward power gain Gp from input (port 1) to output (port 2). For passive circuits
always Gp < 1;
• S12 reverse power gain from output to input.
• S22 = Γ2 output reflection coefficient;
The VSWR and reflection coefficients are related as the following:
1 + |Γ|
VSWR = (1)
1 − |Γ|
9.2 RF simulation with Ngspice
Ngspice supports the S-parameter simulation since the version 37. Make sure that your Ngspice
package has the version above 37. Otherwise this simulation mode will not work. There exists
a special S-parameter simulation component that should be placed on schematic. The input
and output ports of the circuit are represented by power source component (Fig. 23).
Figure 23: The power source representing 50-ohm port
The parameters of this device are port number Num, frequency f , and source power P
expressed in dBm. Two such sources should be connected to schematic input and output nodes
respectively.
Let’s consider an example and simulate the frequency response of the bandpass filter for the
20m hamradio band. The schematic is shown in the Fig. 24.
The filter consists of LC-devices that could be found in the lumped devices group. The filter
schematic contains two 50-ohm port sources connected to its input and output nodes (in and
out). The S-parameter simulation component defines the frequency sweep range from 6 MHz
to 20 MHz.
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Figure 24: The simulation of the band-pass filter with Qucs-S and Ngspice
The simulation of the filter circuit could be launched as usual using the F2 keyboard short-
cut. After the simulation has been finished a number of diagrams could be placed on schematic.
Ngspice represents the S-parameter simulation data as the virtual [Link] example, it’s
need to pick the v(s_2_1) variable to plot the S21 dependency. The cartesian diagram contains
the S11 and S21 dependencies. The S21 is the magnitude response of the filter. The same
dependencies could plot on a Smith chart. Qucs-S provides a number of diagrams that could
be used for RF circuits analysis. These diagrams are: Smith chart, admittance Smith chart,
polar complex plane, and combined Smith chart and complex plane.
Ngspice converts the S-matrix to Y- and Z-matrix automatically. The Y and Z-parameters
frequency dependencies could be plotted after the simulation. The Y and Z parameters are
slow represented as the virtual voltages by Ngspice. For example the v(z_1_1) variable will
represent the Z11 parameter. The simulation of the active RF circuits (like amplifiers) could
be done similar to the passive circuits and will not be considered specially.
9.3 RF simulation with Qucsator/QucsatorRF
Qucsator simulation kernel provides some advanced features for RF circuits analysis. Since
the version v24.2.0 no manual installation of Qucsator is needed. The QucsatorRF simulation
kernel is part of Qucs-S distribution and is shipped with the main application. See the section
10 for more details. Please keep in mind that Qucsator has very poor performance in the time
domain and is not recommended for simulation of the general purpose circuits. Also Qucsator
is not SPICE-compatible and uses another netlist syntax.
But Qucsator supports some advanced RF simulation techniques like multiport S-parameter
simulation (including 1-port) and harmonic balance (HB) analysis. Qucsator provides a number
of improved models for transmission lines (Fig. 25). The most frequently used transmission
lines are listed below:
• 4-terminal transmission line and twisted pair;
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• Coaxial cable;
• Microstrip lines, tees and corners;
• Coupled microstrips;
• Coplanar lines;
• Waveguides;
• Generic RLCG line;
Figure 25: Transmission lines models available for Qucsator backend
Let’s consider the basics of microstrip circuits simulation. Every microstrip line component
requires to attach the substrate. The substrate is represented by special component too (Fig.
26). It is possible to define the substrate material properties and microstrip lines thickness.
Substrate reference should be specified as the first parameter of all microstrip devices.
The simulation of the 1.5 GHz coupled microstrip bandpass filter is shown in the Fig. 27.
The schematic contains two ports P1 and P2 connected to input and output, two microstrip
devices MS1 and MS2, and substrate Subst1. The S-parameter simulation definition has no
difference to Ngspice and represented by a special component. The frequency range is defined
from 1.3 to 1.7 GHz.
The schematic contains two equation that serves to express the S-parameters in Decibels
using dB() function. Keep in mind that equation syntax for Qucsator is different. Ngspice
equations will not work with Qucsator. The S-parameter is represented in S[i,j] form. For ex-
ample S[2,1] for S21 . Qucsator doesn’t calculate Y and Z matrices automatically like Ngspice.
You have to use the functions stoy() and stoz() for matrix conversion. Refer to Qucsator
documentation for more details.
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Figure 26: Substrate properties definition
Figure 27: Coupled microstrip bandpass filter simulation
10 Quick switching of the simulation kernel
10.1 Quick simulator selection
Qucs-S supports a quick switching of the simulation kernel since the version 2.0.0. Application
restart is not required anymore to apply this setting. The simulator could be selected at
any time using the drop-down list on the toolbar Figure 28. The simulator location must be
configure using the application settings dialog Figure 1 and the specified simulator executable
binary must exist. Otherwise the simulator will be not shown in the drop-down list on the
toolbar and not available for selection. The list of the supported simulation kernels could be
found in the section 1.
Also keep in mind that Qucs-S distribution doesn’t provide any simulation kernels and sim-
ulators must be installed separately. If you are using Linux DEB package, the Ngspice will be
installed automatically as the package dependency. This selection affects only analog simula-
tion. The digital simulation kernel will be executed automatically if the schematic contains the
digital simulation (see the section 6.2).
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Figure 28: Simulator choose drop-down list
10.2 Incompatible components
Some of devices may be incompatible with the selected simulation kernel. For example, mi-
crostrip lines are designed for Qucsator and are not available with Ngspice. Such devices will
be not available for insertion in the schematic and will be grayed out (see Figure 29) on the
schematic view. An appropriate warning will be shown if the user tries to simulate the schematic
containing incompatible devices.
Figure 29: Schematic containing incompatible devices
11 List of mathematical functions supported by Nutmeg
equation
The full list of the mathematical functions supported by Nutmeg equations could be found
at the section 17.2 of the Ngspice manual. The next table shows the most frequently used
functions. The input of all functions listed in the next table is a single vector representing
voltage or current. Refer to the section 17 of the Ngspice manual for detailed description and
information on additional functions.
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Table 1: The list of the most frequently used Nutmeg functions
Function Description
mag Magnitude of vector (same as abs(vector))
ph Phase of vector.
cph Phase of vector. Continuous values, no discontinuity at ±π
unwrap Phase of vector. Continuous values, no discontinuity at ±π Real phase vector
in degrees as input
real The real component of vector
imag The imaginary part of vector
conj The complex conjugate of a vector
db Decibels 20 log10 () of the vector
abs The absolute value of vector (same as mag)
integ Integrates over the given vector (versus the real component of the scale vector)
deriv Calculates the derivative of the given vector
vecd Compute the differential of a vector
group delay Calculates the group delay −dϕ/dω
12 Conclusion
In this tutorial it was considered how to perform a first start setup of the Qucs-S with the
Ngspice backend and make an AC and Transient simulation of the simple RC circuit. It was
shown how to add postprocessor equations and waveforms plot. Refer to official Qucs-S and
Ngspice documentation to learn more advanced simulation techniques.
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