ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an insight into introductory concepts in circuit simulation. Circuits are basically composed of branches that are two-poles characterized by a pair consisting of a current and a related voltage. Moreover, branches are connected to certain circuit nodes. Thus electrical phenomena, other than at high frequencies where the size of the system is considerably smaller than the wavelength of any signals, obey Kirchhoff's Laws. The chapter introduces a basic circuit description by means of the canonical equations. It deals with a variety of circuit responses that are derived not only from the types of excitation provided but also from the amount of energy stored in capacitors and inductors. The chapter discusses general-purpose methods, implemented in a variety of circuit simulation programs. Algorithms implementing these methods usually generate circuit responses in the form of numerical tables and/or plots. The chapter also discusses Canonical Circuit Equations to obtain a unified treatment in circuit simulation.
