D.

Diode Page 1 of 4

D. Diode
LTspice XVII ›› LTspice® ›› Circuit Elements ››

D. Diode

Symbol Names: DIODE, ZENER, SCHOTTKY, VARACTOR, LED, TVS.

Syntax: Dnnn anode cathode <model> [area] [off] [m=<val>] [n=<val>]
[temp=<value>]
Examples:
D1 SW OUT MyIdealDiode
.model MyIdealDiode D(Ron=.1 Roff=1Meg Vfwd=.4)
D2 SW OUT dio2
.model dio2 D(Is=1e-10)
Instance parameter M sets the number of parallel devices while
instance parameter N sets the number of series devices.
A diode requires a .model card to specify its characteristics.
There are two types of diodes available. One is a conduction
region-wise linear model that yields a computationally light weight
representation of an idealized diode. It has three linear regions
of conduction: on, off and reverse breakdown. Forward conduction
and reverse breakdown can non-linear by specifying a current limit
with Ilimit(revIlimit). tanh() is used to fit the slope of the
forward conduction to the limit current. The parameters epsilon and
revepsilon can be specified to smoothly switch between the off and
conducting states. A quadratic function is fit between the off and
on state such that the diode's I-V curve is continuous in value and
slope and the transition occurs over a voltage specified by the
value of epsilon for the off to forward conduction and revepsilon
for the transition between off and reverse breakdown.
Below are the model parameters for this type of diode:
Name Description Units Default
Ron Resistance in forward mΩ 1.0
conduction
Roff Resistance when off Ω 1/Gmin
Vfwd Forward threshold voltage to V 0.0
enter conduction
Vrev Reverse breakdown voltage V Infin.
Rrev Breakdown impedance Ω Ron
Ilimit Forward current limit A Infin.
Revilimit Reverse current limit A Infin.
Epsilon Width of quadratic region V 0.0
Revepsilon Width of reverse quad. V 0.0
region

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D. Diode Page 2 of 4

This idealized model is used if any of Ron, Roff, Vfwd, Vrev or

Rrev is specified in the model.
The other model available is the standard Berkeley SPICE
semiconductor diode but extended to handle more detailed breakdown
behavior and recombination current. The area factor determines the
number of equivalent parallel devices of a specified model. Below
are the diode model parameters for this diode.
Name Description Units Default Example
Is saturation current A 1e-14 1e-7
Rs Ohmic resistance Ω 0.0 10.
N Emission coefficient - 1.0 1.0
Tt Transit-time sec 0.0 2n
Cjo Zero-bias junction F 0.0 2p
cap.
Vj Junction potential V 1.0 0.6
M Grading coefficient - 0.5 0.5
Eg Activation energy eV 1.11 1.11 Si
0.69 Sbd
0.67 Ge
Xti Sat.-current temp. exp - 3.0 3.0 jn
2.0 Sbd
Kf Flicker noise coeff. - 0.0
Af Flicker noise exponent 1. 1.0
Fc Coeff. for forward- - 0.5
bias depletion
capacitance formula
BV Reverse breakdown V Infin. 40.
voltage
nbv Reverse breakdown - 1.0 2.0
emission coefficient
Ibv Current at breakdown A 1e-10
voltage
Ibvl Low-level reverse A 0.0
breakdown knee current
nbvl Low-level reverse - 1.0
breakdown emission
coefficient

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D. Diode Page 3 of 4

Tnom Parameter measurement °C 27 50

temp.
Isr Recombination current A 0.0
parameter
Nr Isr emission coeff. - 2.0
Ikf High-injection knee A Infin.
current
Tikf Linear Ikf temp coeff. /°C 0.0
Trs1 linear Rs temp coeff. /°C 0.0
Trs2 Quadratic Rs temp /°C2 0.0
coeff.
Tbv1 Breakdown voltage temp /°C 0.0
coeff.
Tbv2 Quadratic breakdown /°C2 0.0
voltage temp coeff.
Perim Default perimeter m 0.0
Isw Sidewall Is A 0.0
ns Sidewall emission - 1.0
coefficient
Rsw Sidewall series Ω 0.0
resistance
Cjsw Sidewall Cjo F 0.0
Vjsw Sidewall Vj V Vj
mjsw Sidewall mj - 0.33
Fcs Sidewall Fc - Fc
Vp Soft reverse recovery - 0.0 0.65
parameter
The soft reverse recovery parameter, Vp, adds a dQ/dt damping to
diode charge as suggested by K.J. Teng and S. Pan in 'Modified
charge-control equation for simulation of diode reverse recovery',
Electronics Letters, 15th February 1996 Vol. 32 No. 4.
It is possible to annotate a model with voltage and current
ratings. This information is displayed in the schematic capture GUI
to assist in selecting a device but does not directly impact the
electrical behavior in simulation. The following parameters may be
specified.
Name Description Units

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D. Diode Page 4 of 4

Vpk Peak voltage rating V

Ipk Peak current rating A
Iave Ave current rating A
Irms RMS current rating A
diss Maximum power dissipation rating W

Copyright © 1998-2022 by Analog Devices Inc.. All Rights Reserved.

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